ORPHIC FRAGMENT 249 - OTTO KERN

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

SUMMARY: The initial quotation in this fragment, from the Chiliades of Tzetzes, quotes the beginning three lines of the book Dodecaeterides, which refers to “the Daemon;” there are additional quotations from various sources on the Daemon.

249. (21) Χιλιάδες τοῦ Ἰωάννου Τζέτζου* XII 399 vs. 152; Ioannis Tzetzae Historiarum Variarum Chiliades p. 445 Johann Gottlieb (Theophilus) Kiessling:

*Translator’s note: This quotation from Tzetzes comes from a section of the Chiliades which discusses Meton (Μέτων ὁ Ἀθηναῖος) the astronomer; the text is trying to discover which men were the first astronomers.

τῶν Δωδεκα<ε>τηρίδων δὲ ἡ καταρχὴ τοιάδε·

δεῦρό νυν οὔατά μοι καθαρὰς ἀκοάς τε πετάσσας

κέκλυθι τάξιν ἅπασαν, ὅσην τεκμήρατο Δαίμων

ἔκ τε μιῆς νυκτός, ἠδ’ ἐξ ἑνὸς ἤματος αὕτως.

“The beginning of the Dôdækaætîrídæs (Δωδεκαετηρίδες) is this:

‘Come now, opening ears and clear hearing to me,

listen to the whole arrangement, as the Daimôn ordained,

from a single night, and a single day, in the same way.’ ”

(trans. by the author)

Herm. XXXVII 4; Christian Lobeck Aglaophamus I 416; Bernhard Ludwig Giseke 102; Josef Heeg 20. 26 fr. 1.

Δαίμων· Εὐχὴ πρὸς Μουσαῖον 31:

Δαίμονά τ’ ἠγάθεον, καὶ Δαίμονα πήμονα θνητῶν.

“The most holy Daimôn, and the Daimôn who is baneful to mortals.”

(trans. by the author)

Ὕμνος Ὀρφέως 73 Δαίμονος:

Δαίμονα κικλήσκω, μέγαν εὐηγήτορα, φρικτόν,

μειλίχιον Δία, παγγενέτην, βιοδώτορα θνητῶν,

Ζῆνα μέγαν, πολύπλαγκτον, ἀλάστορα, παμβασιλῆα·

πλουτοδότην, ὁπόταν γε βρυάζων οἶκον ἐσέλθῃ,

ἔμπαλι δὲ τρύχοντα βίον θνητῶν πολυμόχθων·

ἐν σοὶ γὰρ λύπης τε χαρᾶς κλῇδες ὀχοῦνται.

τοιγάρ τοι, μάκαρ, ἁγνέ, πολύστονα κήδέ ἐλάσσας,

ὅσσα βιοφθορίην πέμπει κατὰ γαῖαν ἅπασαν,

ἔνδοξον βιοτῆς γλυκερὸν τέλος ἐσθλὸν ὀπάζοις.

“Thee, mighty-ruling, Dæmon dread, I call,

Mild Jove, life-giving, and the source of all:

Great Jove, much-wand'ring, terrible and strong,

To whom revenge and tortures dire belong.

Mankind from thee, in plenteous wealth abound,

When in their dwellings joyful thou art found;

Or pass thro’ life afflicted and distress’d,

The needful means of bliss by thee supprest.

‘Tis thine alone endu’d with boundless might,

To keep the keys of sorrow and delight.

O holy, blessed father, hear my pray’r,

Disperse the seeds of life-consuming care;

With fav’ring mind the sacred rites attend,

And grant my days a glorious, blessed end.”

(trans. Thomas Taylor, 1792)

(compare to Ὕμνος Ὀρφέως 27 Μητρὸς Θεῶν 4 ss.; see above in Orphic Fragment 83, see below in Orphic Fragment 255: ἔτος ὡρίσθη ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάμφορον “the all-productive year was determined from the beginning” (or by the Daimôn [ὑπὸ Δαίμονος] or by the almighty Dîmiourgós [ὑπὸ παντοκράτορος δημιουργοῦ] Josef Heeg 20 n. 2).

Compare to Parmenides fr. 1 vs. 3 (Herman Diels Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker I³ 148) and fr. 12 (Diels I³ 161):

αἱ γὰρ στεινότεραι πλῆντο πυρὸς ἀκρήτοιο,

αἱ δ' ἐπὶ ταῖς νυκτός, μετὰ δὲ φλογὸς ἵεται αἶσα·

ἐν δὲ μέσωι τούτων δαίμων ἣ πάντα κυβερνᾶι·

“The narrower circles are filled with unmixed fire,

and those surrounding them with night, and in the midst of these rushes their portion of fire.

In the midst of these circles is the divinity that directs the course of all things.”

(trans. John Burnet,1892)

The Daimôn of Parmenídîs (Παρμενίδης) may show influence of Orphic religion, according to Erwin Pfeiffer in Studien zum antiken Sternglauben Στοιχεῖα II 1916, 126 (from Orphic fragment 83).

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.