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For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.

SUMMARY: This set of fragments discuss the glory of Zeus, and, in particular, that Zeus is the beginning, the middle, and the source of all things. It can be seen that oftentimes, when ancient Greek texts use the word God in the singular, they are referring to mighty Zeus.

21. Νόμοι Πλάτωνος 715 e – 716 b:

ὁ μὲν δὴ θεός, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς λόγος, ἀρχήν τε καὶ τελευτὴν καὶ μέσα τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ἔχων, (716 a) εὐθείᾳ περαίνει κατὰ φύσιν περιπορευόμενος. τῷ δ' ἀεὶ ξυνέπεται Δίκη (v. frr. 22. 23) τῶν ἀπολειπομένων τοῦ θείου νόμου τιμωρός (cf. Crit. 121 b; F. Kluge De Platonis Critia diss. Hal. 1909, 16), ἧς ὁ μὲν εὐδαιμονήσειν μέλλων ἐχόμενος συνέπεται ταπεινὸς καὶ κεκοσμημένος, ὁ δέ τις ἐξαρθεὶς ὑπὸ μεγαλαυχίας, ἢ χρήμασιν ἐπαιρόμενος ἢ τιμαῖς, ἢ καὶ σώματος εὐμορφίᾳ ἅμα νεότητι καὶ ἀνοίᾳ φλέγεται τὴν ψυχὴν μεθ᾽ ὕβρεως, ὡς οὔτε ἄρχοντος οὔτε τινὸς ἡγεμόνος δεόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλοις ἱκανὸς ὢν ἡγεῖσθαι, καταλείπεται ἔρημος θεοῦ, 9716 b) καταλειφθεὶς δὲ καὶ ἔτι ἄλλους τοιούτους προσλαβὼν σκιρτᾷ ταράττων πάντα ἅμα, καὶ πολλοῖς τισιν ἔδοξεν εἶναί τις, μετὰ δὲ χρόνον οὐ πολὺν ὑποσχὼν τιμωρίαν οὐ μεμπτὴν τῇ δίκῃ ἑαυτόν τε καὶ οἶκον καὶ πόλιν ἄρδην ἀνάστατον ἐποίησεν. Cf. Tim. 69 b.

“God, as the old (Orphic) tradition declares, holding in His hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is, travels according to His nature in a straight line towards the accomplishment of His end. Justice always accompanies Him, and is the punisher of those who fall short of the divine law. To justice, he who would be happy holds fast, and follows in her company with all humility and order; but he who is lifted up with pride, or elated by wealth or rank, or beauty, who is young and foolish, and has a soul hot with insolence, and thinks that he has no need of any guide or ruler, but is able himself to be the guide of others, he, I say, is left deserted of God; and being thus deserted, he takes to him others who are like himself, and dances about, throwing all things into confusion, and many think that he is a great man, but in a short time he pays a penalty which justice cannot but approve, and is utterly destroyed, and his family and city with him.”

(trans. Benjamin Jowett, 1892)

Adnotat Scholiasta p. 451 Bekk.:

θεὸν μὲν τὸν δημιουργὸν σαφῶς, παλαιὸν δὲ λόγον λέγει τὸν Ὀρφικόν, ὅς ἐστιν οὗτος·

Ζεὺς ἀρχή, Ζεὺς μέσσα, Διὸς δ' ἐκ πάντα τέτυκται.

Ζεὺς πυθμὴν γαίης τε καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος.

“Indeed, clearly the God (Plato is referring to) is the Dimiourgós, and he tells an ancient Orphic story, that being this:

“Zefs (Ζεὺς) is the beginning, Zefs is the middle; out of Zefs all are produced.

Zefs is the foundation of earth and the starry sky.”

καὶ ἀρχὴ μὲν οὗτος ὡς ποιητικὸν αἴτιον,τελευτὴ δὲ ὡς τελικόν, μέσσα δὲ ὡς ἐξ ἴσον πᾶσι παρών, κἂν πάντα διαφόρως αὐτοῦ μετέχηι. εὐθείαι δὲ τὸ κατὰ δίκην σημαίνει καὶ ἀξίαν, καὶ ἀπαρεγκλίτως, καὶ οἱονεὶ κανόνι ἑνί, τὸ δὲ περιπορευόμενος τὸ αἰωνίως. τὸ ἀεὶ ὡσαύτως καὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτά· ἡ γὰρ περιφορὰ τοῦτο ἔχει ὡς ἐν αἰσθητοῖς. Cetera v. fr. 22.

“He is the beginning, as the producing cause; but the end, as the final (cause); the middle, as being equally present to all things, although all things partake of him differently. But by ‘that which is direct according to justice,’ (Plato) signifies desert, and the not inclining to one side, and, as it were, by one rule; but by ‘proceeding round,’ he signifies the existing eternally, and that too which is perpetually after the same manner, and according to the same; for the circumference has in sensible objects this property.”

(trans. Thomas Taylor)

21a. (46) Hymnum Orphicum Plato (fr. 21) respexisse verisimillimum est (cf. Schol. fr. 21), cuius vestigia primum occurrunt in Pseudo-Aristotelis libello Περὶ κόσμου 7 p. 401 a 25:

ὡς δὲ τὸ πᾶν εἰπεῖν, οὐράνιός τε καὶ χθόνιος, πάσης ἐπώνυμος ὢν φύσεώς τε καὶ τύχης ἅτε πάντων αὐτὸς αἴτιος ὤν. Διὸ καὶ ἐν τοῖς Ὀρφικοῖς οὐ κακῶς λέγεται

Ζεὺς πρῶτος γένετο, Ζεὺς ὕστατος ἀργικέραυνος·

Ζεὺς κεφαλή, Ζεὺς μέσσα· Διὸς δ’ ἐκ πάντα τέτυκται.

Ζεὺς πυθμὴν γαίης τε καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος.

Ζεὺς ἄρσην γένετο, Ζεὺς ἄμβροτος ἔπλετο νύμφη·

Ζεὺς πνοιὴ πάντων, Ζεὺς ἀκαμάτου πυρὸς ὁρμή.

Ζεὺς πόντοῦ ῥίζα, Ζεὺς ἥλιος ἠδὲ σελήνη·

Ζεὺς βασιλεύς, Ζεὺς ἀρχὸς ἁπάντων ἀργικέραυνος·

πάντας γὰρ κρύψας αὖθις φάος ἐς πολυγηθὲς

ἐξ ἱερῆς κραδίης ἀνενέγκατο, μέρμερα ῥέζων.

“... and to complete the tale of his titles, God of Heaven and the World Below, deriving his names from all natural phenomena and conditions, inasmuch as he is himself the cause of all things. Wherefore it is well said in the Orphic Hymns,

“ ‘Zeus of the flashing bolt was the first to be born and the latest,

Zeus is the head and the middle; of Zeus were all things made;

Zeus is the stay of the earth and the stay of the star-spangled heaven;

Zeus is male and female of sex, the bride everlasting;

Zeus is the breath of all and the rush of unwearying fire;

Zeus is the root of the sea, and the sun and the moon in the heavens;

Zeus of the flashing bolt is the king and ruler of all men

Hiding them all away, and again to the glad light of heaven

Bringing them back at his will, performing wondrous marvels.’ ”

(trans. Edward Seymour Forster, 1914)

Respicit hymnum forsitan ἀπόσπασμα 70 Αἰσχύλου (Εὐφοριώνος?) Nauck:

Ζεύς ἐστιν αἰθήρ, Ζεὺς δὲ γῆ, Ζεὺς δ’ οὐρανός,

Ζεύς τοι τὰ πάντα χ’ ὥτι τῶν δ’ ὑπέρτερον

“Zefs is Aithír, Zefs is earth, Zefs is the sky:

Zefs, mark you, is all that and mightier yet.”

Ad vs. 8 cf. Θεογονία Ἡσιόδου 157 de Caelo:

πάντας ἀποκρύπτασκε, καὶ ἐς φάος οὐκ ἀνίεσκε.

“And he used to hide them all away in a secret place of Earth so soon as each was born, and would not suffer them to come up into the light.”

(trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914)

Pseudo-Demosthenes 25.8 (Against Aristogiton 1):

βουλοίμην δ᾽ ἄν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, πρὸ τοῦ περὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἐμὲ τῶν τουτουὶ λέγειν, σπουδάσαντας ὑμᾶς ἐξετάσαι διὰ βραχέων, εἰς ὅσην αἰσχύνην καὶ ἀδοξίαν προῆχε τὴν πόλιν δημοσίαι πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα θηρία, ὧν μέσος καὶ τελευταῖος καὶ πρῶτός ἐστιν οὗτος.

“But before I am willing to speak, oh men of Athens, of the private matters of this man, (I would ask) you to earnestly examine, while yet being concise, as to how great a shame and disgrace is advanced on all the people of the city by wild animals such as these, where this man is first, middle, and last.”

Ἐπιστολαί ψευδές-Πλάτωνος II 312 e:

περὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα πάντ' ἐστὶ καὶ ἐκείνου ἕνεκα πάντα καὶ ἐκεῖνο αἴτιον ἁπάντων τῶν (om. Clem. Euseb. Philopon.) καλῶν.

“As regards the king of all, all things are his, and all are for his sake, and he is the cause of all that is beautiful.”

(trans. George Burges, 1855)

Ps.-Archytas Περὶ σοφίας (cf. Diels I³ 338, 27) ap. Προτρεπτικός τοῦ Ἰαμβλίχου c. 4 p. 23, 3 ss. Pist.:

ὁ θεὸς ἀρχά τε καὶ τέλος καὶ μέσον ἀντὶ (ἐντὶ Mullach FPHG I 559] ἐστι codd.) πάντων τῶν κατὰ δίκαν τε καὶ τὸν ὀρθὸν (v. ὀρθῶς fr. 1) λόγον περαινομένων.

“God is the beginning, end, and middle for the sake of all things accomplished in conformity with justice and upright speech.”

Cf. Weinreich Arch. Religionsw. XVIII 1915, 604. Utitur iisdem versibus etiam Valerius Soranus († 82 a. Chr.: Cichorius Herm. XLI 1906, 63), cuius rei testis est Augustini De civitate Dei Liber VII 9:

In hanc sententiam etiam quosdam versus Valerii Sorani exponit idem Varro in eo libro, quem seorsum ab istis de cultu deorum scripsit (Riese Varr. Sat. Menipp. rel. 252), qui versus hi sunt (Baehrens FPR 273 n. 4):

Iuppiter omnipotens regum rerumque deumque

progenitor genetrixque deum, deus unus et omnes.

Exponuntur autem in eodem libro ita, ut eum marem existimarent qui semen emitteret, feminam quae acciperet; Iovemque esse mundum et eum omnia semina ex se emittere et in se recipere: ‘Qua causa, inquit, scripsit Soranus: Iuppiter progenitor genetrixque; nec minus cum causa unum et omnia idem esse; mundus enim unus, et in eo uno omnia sunt’.

“To this effect, also, the same Varro expounds certain verses of Valerius Soranus in that book which he wrote apart from the others concerning the worship of the Gods. These are the verses:

‘Almighty Jove (Ζεύς), progenitor of kings, and things, and Gods,

And Eke the mother of the Gods, God one and all.

“But in the same book he expounds these verses by saying that as the male emits seed, and the female receives it, so Jupiter (Ζεύς), whom they believed to be the world, both emits all seeds from himself and receives them into himself. For which reason, he says, Soranus wrote, Jove, progenitor and mother; and with no less reason said that one and all were the same. For the world is one, and in that one are all things.”

(trans. Marcus Dods, 1887)

Cetera in Neoplatonicorum Orphicis composita sunt quae hunc hymnum praebent ampliorem v. s. ΙΕΡΟΙ ΛΟΓΟΙ.

The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Rhapsodic 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.

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.

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