Explained vocabulary

Fair-breathing — εὔπνοος

εὔπνοος

eupnoos

The clouds and nymphs are explicitly εὔπνοοι in relation to breezes; the Curetes receive the epithet alongside fair weather and saving kindness.

From the book

The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns

Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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English renderings
fair-breathing; favourably blowing

Meaning

The clouds and nymphs are explicitly εὔπνοοι in relation to breezes; the Curetes receive the epithet alongside fair weather and saving kindness. Breath and beneficial air meet in this shared language. The referent changes with each hymn, so the compound should not be restricted to either human breathing or meteorological wind alone.

Places to read

  1. Hymn XXI · Line 6Read the word in its hymn.

Attested forms

εὔπνοοι

Occurrence inventory

3 in total. XXI.6; XXXVIII.24; LI.11