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 wordἀποπέμπω gives sending an outward or removing direction.
- In the Orphic HymnsNight is asked to send away nocturnal fears at III.14, while Herakles is asked to drive away grievous death-dealing powers with his flying, poison-bearing weapons at XII.16.
- TranslationThe English “send away” preserves a shared construction without explaining every object in advance.
- A place to readNocturnal fears sent away.
- English renderings
- send away; dismiss; drive off
Meaning
ἀποπέμπω gives sending an outward or removing direction. It frequently appears as a request that a dangerous thing be sent away from the worshippers. The object of removal is crucial: fear, forgetfulness and harmful impulses are not the same sort of threat as earthquakes or destructive fates.
Use in the book
Night is asked to send away nocturnal fears at III.14, while Herakles is asked to drive away grievous death-dealing powers with his flying, poison-bearing weapons at XII.16. The latter imagery is forceful protection, not a description of those dangers as mental states. The Titans and Korybas are asked to dismiss harsh wrath.
Eros’s hymn turns toward base and alien impulses, explicitly asking their removal from “these people” (LVIII.10). Mnemosyne similarly sends forgetfulness away from the worshippers at LXXVII.10. The repetition ties inner protection to the same directional language used for external perils. Dionysos’s hymn at XLVII.3 differs in tense and function: he has already driven away Earth’s strong convulsions, an achievement recounted rather than merely requested.
Places to read
- Hymn III · Line 14Nocturnal fears sent away.
- Hymn XII · Line 16Herakles’s armed removal of destructive powers.
- Hymn LVIII · Line 10Base and alien impulses removed from the worshippers.
- Hymn LXXVII · Line 10Forgetfulness as the object of the request.
- Hymn XLVII · Line 3Dionysos’s completed suppression of Earth’s convulsions.
Translation
The English “send away” preserves a shared construction without explaining every object in advance. At XXXIX.9 the middle imperative ἀποπέμπεο is retained alongside active forms elsewhere; it still asks Korybas to dismiss wrath. This verb should not be confused with the opposite direction in πέμπω when benefits are sent toward initiates. At XII.16 the apparatus reports ἐπίπεμπε, “send upon” or “send toward,” against the printed ἀπόπεμπε. The prefix reverses the direction of the requested action, so a generic “send” would conceal an important textual difference.
Attested forms
ἀπόπεμπε; ἀποπέμπειν; ἀποπέμπεο; ἀποπέμψας
Occurrence inventory
7 in total. III.14; XII.16; XXXVII.7; XXXIX.9; XLVII.3; LVIII.10; LXXVII.10