ORPHIC FRAGMENT 294

OTTO KERN

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

SUMMARY: This fragment is from Plutarch and the quotation comes from the recollections of a man who claimed to have died, was allowed to see the afterlife, and who then returned to life and reformed himself due to what he had seen.

294. Ἠθικὰ Πλουτάρχου· 44.22 Περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου βραδέως τιμωρουμένων p. 566 c:

ἔλεγεν οὖν ὁ τοῦ Θεσπεσίου ψυχοπομπὸς ἄχρι τούτου τὸν Ὀρφέα προελθεῖν, ὅτε τὴν ψυχὴν τῆς γυναικὸς μετήιει, καὶ μὴ καλῶς διαμνημονεύσαντα λόγον εἰς ἀνθρώπους κίβδηλον ἐξενεγκεῖν, ὡς κοινὸν εἴη μαντεῖον ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Νυκτός· οὐδενὸς γὰρ Ἀπόλλωνι Νύκτα κοινωνεῖν.

“Thus far, said the guide of Thespesius's soul, did Orpheus come, when he sought after the soul of his wife; and not well remembering what he had seen, upon his return he raised a false report in the world, that the oracle at Delphi was in common to Night and Apollo, whereas Apollo never had any thing in common with Night.”

(Translated by several scholars. Corrected and revised by William W. Goodwin, 1874)

Editor’s note: I suppose that Kern quoted this particular section because it mentions Orpheus, not because he is trying to say anything about Apollo and Night, but I suppose that he judged that the reader would be familiar with the essay. For this quotation comes from an elaborate story which concludes the essay, about a man named Thespesius, an acquaintance of a certain Protogenes, who had been among those partaking in conversations with Plutarch and his friends. Thespesius was originally named Aridæus, and he was a disreputable person who engaged in every thing shunned by man. But Aridæus had an accident and apparently died. After three days they were about to bury him, but he suddenly returned to life and completely changed his manner of living, becoming the most excellent of men, who was now called Thespesius, “sent by the Gods.” When asked what caused such a transformation, Thespesius said that when he had died, he witnessed what happened to souls after death, that those who had lived noble lives were happy, but those who had been vicious in life were severely punished.

Christian Lobeck Aglaophamus I p. 374; Eduard Norden P. Virgilius Maro Aeneis Buch VI p. 276. Compare to Richard Wünsch Archiv für Religionswissenschaft XII 1909, p. 19.

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.