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 wordThe forms of ψεύδω require attention to voice.
- In the Orphic HymnsRhea is called ψευδομένη beside saviour, releaser and first of the line (XIV.8).
- TranslationThe supplied English “playing false as Plouton” is an interpretive rendering, not a literal active parsing of ψευσθείς.
- A place to readA deceiving attribute stands among Rhea’s saving titles.
- English renderings
- deceive, speak falsely, be deceived
Meaning
The forms of ψεύδω require attention to voice. Rhea’s ψευδομένη is a present middle participle with a deceiving or false-speaking sense. Meilinoe’s ψευσθείς is an aorist passive participle, nominative masculine singular. Their shared stem does not make them interchangeable descriptions of an active deceiver.
Use in the book
Rhea is called ψευδομένη beside saviour, releaser and first of the line (XIV.8). The juxtaposition is striking: false-speaking is not removed simply because the surrounding attributes praise her. Yet the hymn does not narrate what she says falsely, whom she deceives or what object she substitutes. A familiar story from elsewhere cannot be treated as if these details were present in this word.
The Meilinoe line is more difficult. After naming Zeus in the sacred bed and Persephone as the mother, the verse has ᾗ ψευσθεὶς Πλούτων’ ἐμίγη δολίαις ἀπάτῃσι (LXXI.4). The passive morphology suggests being deceived or falsely represented, while the elided accusative Πλούτων’ permits a relation to Plouton different from that of an explicit nominative subject. Neither the morphology alone nor the mention of crafty deceptions settles the whole narrative.
The next line introduces anger, Persephone, a two-bodied surface and an act of drawing or tearing. Since its relations are also disputed, it cannot safely be used to make the preceding participle unequivocally active. The two clauses should be read as connected difficulties rather than as mutually confirming paraphrases.
Places to read
- Hymn XIV · Line 8A deceiving attribute stands among Rhea’s saving titles.
- Hymn LXXI · Line 4Passive morphology and the form of Plouton’s name materially affect interpretation.
Translation
The supplied English “playing false as Plouton” is an interpretive rendering, not a literal active parsing of ψευσθείς. The apparatus reports Πλούτων without the apostrophe, a nominative that would make Plouton an expressed subject. That alternative does not erase the Zeus explicitly printed in line 3. Preserve both the grammatical evidence and the remaining uncertainty instead of replacing Zeus or announcing a settled disguise story.
Attested forms
ψευδομένη; ψευσθεὶς
Occurrence inventory
2 in total. XIV.8; LXXI.4