ORPHIC FRAGMENT 169
OTTO KERN
HellenicGods.org
HOME GLOSSARY RESOURCE ART LOGOS CONTACT
For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.
SUMMARY: This fragment presents a quotation from an oracle found in Syrianus which glorifies Zeus and contains segments of the Great Orphic Hymn to Zeus (Orphic Fragment 168).
169. (124) Θεοσοφία τοῦ Αριστοκρίτου Μανιχαίων (Tubingensis) 50 p. 109, 23 Bur.:
ὅτι ὁ Συριανὸς ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ πονήμασιν (test. 238) ἀναφέρει χρησµὸν τοιοῦτον·
| 110 Bur. Ἓν κράτος, εἷς δαίµων, γενέτης µέγας, ἀρχὸς ἁπάντων,
ἓν δὲ δέµας βασίλειον, ἐν ᾧ τάδε πάντα κυκλοῦται,
πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γαῖα καὶ αἰθήρ, νύξ τε καὶ ἦμαρ
ϰαὶ Μῆτις, πρῶτη γενέτις ϰαὶ Ἔρως πολυτερπής.
5 πάντα γὰρ ἐν Ζηνὸς μεγάλωι τάδε σώματι κεῖται,
πάντα μόνος δὲ νοεῖ πάντων προνοεῖ τε θεουδῶς·
πάντῃ δὲ Ζηνὸς καὶ ἐν ὄµµασι πατρὸς ἄνακτος
ναίουσ’ ἀθάνατοί τε θεοὶ θνητοί τε ἄνθρωποι,
θῆρές τ’ οἰωνοί θ’ ὁπόσα πνείει τε καὶ ἕρπει.
10 οὐδὲ ἕ που λήθουσιν ἐφήμερα φῦλ’ ἀνθρώπων,
ὅσσ' ἀδίκως ῥέζουσί περ, οὐδ’ εἰν οὔρεσι θῆρες
ἄγριοι, τετράποδες, λασιότριχες, ὄμβριμόθυμοι.
“Syrianós in his books (test. 238) reports this oracle:
‘One power, one daimôn, mighty ancestor, ruler of all,
and one royal body, in whom he encircles all these,
fire, water, earth, and aithír (αἰθήρ), night and day
and Mítis (Μῆτις), first mother and much-delighting Ǽrôs (Ἔρως).
5 For all this is laid up in the vast body of Zefs (Ζεύς),
and he alone conceives everything and divinely foreknows all things;
and everything is from Zefs, and under the watch of their father and lord
the immortal Gods and mortal men dwell,
and the beasts, the birds, and as many as breathe and walk.
10 But the ephemeral tribes of men do not escape his notice -
how many unjust things they all do - nor the beasts in the mountains
wild, the four-footed ones, hairy and strong of spirit.’ ”
(trans. by the author)
Quotation of verses 7. 8 from the above hymn in σχόλιον Πρόκλου επὶ Παρμενίδου Πλάτωνος IV 959, 21 Cous.:
καὶ οὐκ ἂν θαυμασαίμεθα τῶν Ὀρφικῶν ἀκούοντες ἐπῶν, ἐν οἷς φησιν ὁ θεολόγος·
αὕτη δὲ Ζηνὸς καὶ ἐν ὄµµασι πατρὸς ἄνακτος
ναίουσ’ ἀθάνατοί τε θεοὶ θνητοί τε ἄνθρωποι,
ὅσσα τ’ ἕην γεγαῶτα καὶ ὕστερον ὁππόσ’ ἔμελλεν (fragment 167 b verse 6)
πάντων γὰρ ἐστι πλήρης τῶν νοητῶν καὶ πάντων ἔχει τὰς διηιρημένας αἰτίας, ὥστε καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ τἆλλα πάντα γεννᾶι κατὰ τὰς αὐτῶν ἰδιότητας, οὐ καθόσον ἕκαστον θεῖόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ ὁ πρὸ αὐτοῦ πατὴρ ὁ νοητός.
“And we should not marvel hearing (the words) of Orphéfs (Ὀρφεύς), in which the theologian says:
‘And this is (all) from Zefs (Ζεύς); and under the watch of their father and lord
the immortal Gods and mortal men dwell,
as in what has come to be already and as in what is destined to come later.’
“For he is filled with all intelligible things and has the distinguishing causes of all things, so that he generates both men and all other things according to their specific characteristics, not in so far as each one is divine, even as his intelligible father before him.”
(trans. by the author)
Herm. XXXV; Lobeck I 526.
The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Theogony.
We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.
Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.
Introduction to the Thæí (the Gods): The Nature of the Gods.
How do we know there are Gods? Experiencing Gods.
This logo is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia, Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kozmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara, κιθάρα), the the lyre of Apóllôn (Apollo, Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus, Ὀρφεύς).
PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this website, you will find fascinating stories about our Gods. These narratives are known as mythology, the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally. A literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.
We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.
Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.
SPELLING: HellenicGods.org uses the Reuchlinian method of pronouncing ancient Greek, the system preferred by scholars from Greece itself. An approach was developed to enable the student to easily approximate the Greek words. Consequently, the way we spell words is unique, as this method of transliteration is exclusive to this website. For more information, visit these three pages:
Pronunciation of Ancient Greek
Transliteration of Ancient Greek
Pronouncing the Names of the Gods in Hellenismos
PHOTO COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: The many pages of this website incorporate images, some created by the author, but many obtained from outside sources. To find out more information about these images and why this website can use them, visit this link: Photo Copyright Information
DISCLAIMER: The inclusion of images, quotations, and links from outside sources does not in any way imply agreement (or disagreement), approval (or disapproval) with the views of HellenicGods.org by the external sources from which they were obtained.
Further, the inclusion of images, quotations, and links from outside sources does not in any way imply agreement (or disagreement), approval (or disapproval) by HellenicGods.org of the contents or views of any external sources from which they were obtained.
For more information: Inquire.hellenicgods@gmail.com
For answers to many questions: Hellenismos FAQ
© 2010 by HellenicGods.org. All Rights Reserved.