ORPHIC FRAGMENT 274

OTTO KERN

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

SUMMARY: This fragment, from Tzetzes, quotes from the Ephemerides.

274. (26) ἐξήγησις τοῦ Ἰωάννου Τζέτζου εἰς τὰ Ἔργα καὶ τὰς Ἡμέρας τοῦ Ἡσιόδου 763 (Thomas Gaisford Poetæ Minores Græci II 416, 13):

κατάρχεται γοῦν (sc. Ἡσίοδος) καί φησιν ὁποία τούτων ποίωι τῶν ἔργων καθέστηκε χρήσιμος, κἄν δεινῶς (δειλῶς?) καὶ συγκεχυμένως καὶ κακοζήλως, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ψευδῶς καὶ οὐχ, ὥσπερ ὁ μέγας Ὀρφεύς, διδασκαλικῶς τε καὶ τεταγμένως καὶ κατ’ εὐκρίνειαν, καὶ τὸ πλέον τεχνικωτέρως καὶ ἀληθῶς. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ οὕτω φησί·

πρῶτον μὲν πρώτωι ἐνὶ ἤματι φαίνεται Ἄρης,

Μήνη τ᾽ εἰς Ἄρην ἐπιτέλλεται· ἴσχεο δ᾽ ἔργων.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

τὴνδε γὰρ ἐξανύσασα φύσιν δίκερων ἀναφαίνει.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν τρίτον ἦμαρ ἀπόπροθεν ἠελίοιο,

πᾶσιν ἐπιχθονίοισι φυτοσπόρου αἰτίη ἀλκῆς.

τετράδι δ’ αὐξομένη πολυφεγγέα λαμπάδα τείνει.

καὶ καθεξῆς πέντε ἓξ ἑπτὰ μέχρι τῆς τριακοστῆς· οὗτος δὲ (sc. Ἡσίοδος) τριακοστὴν λέγει ἔννην*.

“In any case, he (Ἡσίοδος) begins and says of these things what kind and to what sort of works a useful thing is instituted, even if in a strange, confused manner, with no sense of taste, and yet also falsely, and not, like the great Orphéfs (Ὀρφεύς), (who speaks) instructively and in an orderly fashion, and with clarity, and in a more artistic and true manner. For the latter (Ὀρφεύς) speaks in this way:

‘First, on the first day, Mars (Ἄρης) appears,

and the Moon rises toward Mars; but you should refrain from actions (ἔργων).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Indeed, having completed the journey to this appearance, it (ed. the moon?) appears two-horned.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

But when the third day is far away from the sun,

it is the cause of the generative strength for all on earth.

And on the fourth day, having increased, it deploys a bright shining light.’

“And successively, on the fifth, sixth, seventh, up to the thirtieth; but this (sc. Ἡσίοδος) says the thirtieth nine*.”

(trans. by the author)

*Translator’s note: I am translating ἔννην as “nine.” The word ἔννην is present infinitive of ἐννέω, “to swim,” which makes no sense in this phrase. The text, however, is talking about numbers and ἐννεά, a similar word, is “nine” but it is indeclinable by case, so my translation is likely incorrect, particularly since it does not help with the meaning, but I cannot uncover a more logical translation.

Herm. XLI; Christian Lobeck Aglaophamus I 419. 428 (attempts by Joseph Justus Scaliger in Opus de emendatione tempore); Josef Heeg 40.

Concerning the day of Ares’ birth, indicated in vs. 1, see Josef Heeg 43.

On vs. 6 compare to the astrological poet Cleostratus of Tenedos fr. 1 quoted in Hermann Diels Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker II³ 197: ἀλλ’ ὁπόταν τρίτον ἦμαρ ἐπ’ ὀγδώκοντα μένηισι “but whensoever the third day after eighty remains.”

Maximilian Breithaupt De Parmenisco Grammatico (Στοιχεῖα IV) 31. From Selenodromia (Moon-phase book) Catalogus Codicum Astrologorum III 32 and IV 142 bears some similarities Josef Heeg 41.

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.