From the book
The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns
Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordἄναξ names a lord or master, here principally a divine one.
- In the Orphic HymnsZeus, Apollo, Dionysos, Korybas and Ares are among its bearers.
- TranslationThe English “lord” is useful across the cases, but the genitive and plural constructions deserve attention.
- A place to readA direct address to Ares as lord.
- English renderings
- lord; master; sovereign
Meaning
ἄναξ names a lord or master, here principally a divine one. The stem is visible in forms such as ἄνακτα, ἄνακτος and ἄνακτες, which belong with the apparently shorter nominative and vocative ἄναξ. It is an authority title, not automatically a technical political office.
Use in the book
Zeus, Apollo, Dionysos, Korybas and Ares are among its bearers. Kinship phrases can identify a goddess as the mother or daughter of Zeus the lord, while an invocation directly calls Ares lord. The Kouretes are lords in Samothrace and season-nourishing, fruit-bearing lords (XXXVIII.21, 25), showing that the title can belong to a group.
Its reach is not restricted to familiar personal names. Law is the holy lord of immortals and mortals (LXIV.1), and Sleep is lord of the blessed and human beings (LXXXV.1). These descriptions confer authority on powers that govern ordinary life as well as cosmic order. At LXXXVI.11 prayers and sacrifices relieve the anger of “lords”: the religious context identifies divine recipients, not human rulers.
Places to read
- Hymn LXV · Line 3A direct address to Ares as lord.
- Hymn XXXVIII · Line 21Plural lordship of the Kouretes in Samothrace.
- Hymn LXIV · Line 1Law’s lordship over immortals and mortals.
- Hymn LXXXV · Line 1Sleep’s extensive sovereignty.
- Hymn LXXXVI · Line 11Unnamed divine lords whose anger is appeased.
Translation
The English “lord” is useful across the cases, but the genitive and plural constructions deserve attention. The nearby formation ἀνάκτωρ is separately retrieved, and the feminine ἄνασσα has its own distribution. Shared titles express comparable authority without making all their bearers identical.
Attested forms
ἄνακτα; ἄνακτες; ἄνακτι; ἄνακτος; ἀνάκτων; ἄναξ
Occurrence inventory
18 in total. VI.9; XIV.4; XXIV.12; XXX.2; XXXIV.8; XXXIV.24; XXXVIII.21; XXXVIII.25; XXXIX.5; XLIII.1; LIV.8; LXII.2; LXIV.1; LXV.3; LXXIX.6; LXXIX.9; LXXXV.1; LXXXVI.11