From the book
The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns
Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →- English renderings
- Bed; sexual or bridal union
Meaning
λέκτρον can place birth and sexual union in a bed-image: Dionysos is begotten in unspeakable beds, and Adonis is born in Persephone’s bed. XLI.7 qualifies the bed as consecrated and belongs to the guide’s revelation; LXXI.3 explicitly names Zeus son of Kronos in the sacred-bed expression. The difficult next verse in Meilinoe’s hymn must not erase that printed name or turn “bed” itself into a settled account of parentage.
Places to read
- Hymn XXX · Line 7Read the word in its hymn.
Attested forms
λέκτροις; λέκτροισι; λέκτρων
Occurrence inventory
4 in total. XXX.7; XLI.7; LVI.9; LXXI.3