HellenicGods.org - ORPHIC FRAGMENT 295

ORPHIC FRAGMENT 295

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, from Servius, asserts that Orpheus said that Gods who swear falsely on the Styx are punished in Tartarus for nine years.

295. (Abel 157) Servii Grammatici in Vergilii Aeneidem commentarii 6.565 (what has been fitting punishments for the Gods):

fertur namque ab Orpheo quod dii peierantes per Stygem paludem novem annorum spatio puniuntur in Tartaro: unde ait Statius (Publii Papinii Statii Thebaidos VIII 30) ‘et Styx periuria divum arguit’.

“For it is asserted by Orpheus that the perjured Gods are punished in Tartarus by agency of the Styx for a period of nine years: from which Statius says (Publii Papinii Statii Thebaidos VIII 30) “And Styx censures the perjuries of the Gods.”

(trans. by the author)

Christian Lobeck Aglaophamus II 812; Gotthold Ettig Acheruntica, Leipziger Studien zur klassischen Philologie XIII 1891, 287 n. 1; Ferdinand Duemmler Delphika: Untersuchungen zur Griechischen Religionsgeschichte p. 11 ═ Kleine Schriften II 134; Richard Heinze Xenokrates p. 87 n. 1; Albrecht Dieterich Nekyia: Beiträge zur Erklärung der neuentdeckten Petrusapokalypse p. 134 n. 1; Ernst Maaß Orpheus p. 188 n. 27; Rudolf Hirzel Der Eid p. 180.

Θεογονία Ἡσιόδου 793:

ὅς κεν τὴν ἐπίορκον ἀπολλείψας ἐπομόσσηι

ἀθανάτων, οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος Ὀλύμπου,

κεῖται νήυτμος τετελεσμένον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν· 795

οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἔρχεται ἆσσον

βρώσιος, ἀλλά τε κεῖται ἀνάπνευστος καὶ ἄναυδος

στρωτοῖς ἐν λεχέεσσι, κακὸν δέ ἑ κῶμα καλύπτει.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ νοῦσον τελέσηι μέγαν εἰς ἐνιαυτόν,

ἄλλος γ᾽ ἐξ ἄλλου δέχεται χαλεπώτερος ἄεθλος. 800

εἰνάετες δὲ θεῶν ἀπαμείρεται αἰὲν ἐόντων,

οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἐς βουλὴν ἐπιμίσγεται οὐδ᾽ ἐπὶ δαῖτας

ἐννέα πάντα ἔτεα· δεκάτωι δ᾽ ἐπιμίσγεται αὖτις

εἴρας ἐς ἀθανάτων, οἳ Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἔχουσιν.

“For whoever of the deathless Gods that hold the peaks of snowy Olympus pours a libation of her water and is forsworn, [795] must lie breathless until a full year is completed, and never come near to taste ambrosia and nectar, but lie spiritless and voiceless on a strewn bed: and a heavy trance overshadows him. But when he has spent a long year in his sickness, [800] another penance more hard follows after the first. For nine years he is cut off from the eternal Gods and never joins their councils or their feasts, nine full years. But in the tenth year he comes again to join the assemblies of the deathless Gods who live in the house of Olympus.”

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

Compare to Καθαρμοὶ τοῦ Ἐμπεδοκλέους τμῆμα 115, 4 Hermann Diels Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker

(I³ 267).

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

HOME GLOSSARY RESOURCE ART LOGOS CONTACT