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 wordΕὐάζω means to utter the celebratory cry represented here in English as euhoi.
- In the Orphic HymnsIn Demeter’s hymn the adopted genitive plural εὐαζόντων belongs to those circling her throne (XL.15).
- TranslationAt XL.15 the apparatus gives reported εὐάζουσα against adopted εὐαζόντων.
- A place to readThe adopted plural assigns the cry to those circling Demeter’s throne.
- English renderings
- utter the euhoi cry
Meaning
Εὐάζω means to utter the celebratory cry represented here in English as euhoi. It describes a vocal action, whereas related εὔασμα names the cry and εὐαστήρ or εὐαστής its utterer. These distinctions remain useful even when all appear in broadly Dionysian settings.
Use in the book
In Demeter’s hymn the adopted genitive plural εὐαζόντων belongs to those circling her throne (XL.15). Their cry accompanies wheeling movement, but the line does not require the whole hymn to be performed as that dance. Dionysos himself cries across Olympos in XLV.4, where loud-roaring and raving descriptions reinforce his sound. In LIII.7 his cry accompanies the stirring of dances in recurring seasons.
The Silenos hymn offers a valuable contrast: its addressee cries euhoi while serene among the companies (LIV.11). The continued address is to Bakchos’s nurse, the best of the Silenoi, not a sudden unannounced replacement by Dionysos. Calmness and a vigorous ritual cry can coexist. The verb therefore should not be defined as necessarily losing control or becoming violent, even though ecstatic and frenzied language occurs nearby in other hymns.
Places to read
- Hymn XL · Line 15The adopted plural assigns the cry to those circling Demeter’s throne.
- Hymn XLV · Line 4Dionysos cries over Olympos.
- Hymn LIII · Line 7The cry accompanies renewed dances.
- Hymn LIV · Line 11Silenos combines the cry with serenity among the companies.
Translation
At XL.15 the apparatus gives reported εὐάζουσα against adopted εὐαζόντων. The former would attach a feminine crying participle differently, rather than naming the circling criers in the same way. The distinction changes agency and must not be treated as mere spelling. Euhoi is the edition’s representation of the cry, not evidence for a securely reconstructed performance or melody.
Attested forms
εὐαζόντων; εὐάζων
Occurrence inventory
4 in total. XL.15; XLV.4; LIII.7; LIV.11