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Diotimos Library · Greek Antiquity Collection · Bilingual Edition

Attributed to Orpheus

The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns

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The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The HymnsXXVIII. To Hermes · Lines 7–12

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 56 of 147

XXVIII. To Hermes · Lines 7–12

Ancient Greek

p. 106

XXVIII. ΕΡΜΟΥ

θυμίαμα λίβανον

ὃς χείρεσσιν ἔχεις εἰρήνης ὅπλον ἀμεμφές,

Κωρυκιῶτα, μάκαρ, ἐριούνιε, ποικιλόμυθε,

ἐργασίαις ἐπαρωγέ, φίλε θνητοῖς ἐν ἀνάγκαις,

γλώσσης δεινὸν ὅπλον, τὸ σεβάσμιον ἀνθρώποισι·

κλῦθί μευ εὐχομένου, βιότου τέλος ἐσθλὸν ὀπάζων

ἐργασίῃσι, λόγου χάρισιν καὶ μνημοσύνῃσιν.

106

The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns: XXVIII. To Hermes

p. 107

XXVIII. To Hermes

fumigation from frankincense

you who hold in your hands the blameless weapon of peace,

of Korykos, blessed one, luck-bringing, of intricate speech,

helper in works, dear to mortals in their necessities,

dread weapon of the tongue, the thing revered among men;

hear me as I pray, granting a good end to life

in works, in the graces of the word, and in remembrances.

107

About This Reading Edition

The eighty-eight Orphic Hymns and the Prayer to Musaeus, in Ancient Greek and English, with the supplied critical apparatus, explanatory notes, introduction, glossary and editorial matter.

Historical Text and Translation

Orphic Hymns, attributed to Orpheus. Greek text after Eugenius Abel, Orphica (Leipzig and Prague, 1885), pages 57–102.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The ancient Greek source and the 1885 Abel edition are public-domain material. The supplied new English translation and editorial matter are published with the site owner’s authorization. Both supplied original files remain unchanged.