From the book
The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns
Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →- English renderings
- bitter; harsh
Meaning
Physis is bitter to the base but sweet to those who obey (X.15), so the adjective expresses the recipient’s contrasting experience. In appended Ares it qualifies the κακότης to be driven from the speaker (LXXXVIII.12). There “bitter” marks its painful quality without independently deciding whether κακότης means cowardice or a broader badness.
Places to read
- Hymn X · Line 15Read the word in its hymn.
Attested forms
πικρὴ; πικρὴν
Occurrence inventory
2 in total. X.15; LXXXVIII.12