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 wordσπένδω means to pour a libation in its attested use here.
- In the Orphic HymnsThe Amphietes rubric first prescribes all fumigation materials except frankincense, then adds καὶ σπένδε γάλα, “and pour milk as a libation” (LIII.rubric).
- TranslationThe lexical account follows the printed imperative and its object.
- A place to readThe imperative σπένδε with milk as its explicit object.
- English renderings
- pour a libation
Meaning
σπένδω means to pour a libation in its attested use here. The source gives σπένδε, a second-person singular imperative, in a rubric rather than a verse. Unlike the many descriptive participles of ritual activity in the poems, this form is a direct instruction to perform an action.
Use in the book
The Amphietes rubric first prescribes all fumigation materials except frankincense, then adds καὶ σπένδε γάλα, “and pour milk as a libation” (LIII.rubric). The conjunction coordinates two kinds of offering, but their grammar keeps them distinct. The liquid milk is the object of the pouring verb, not simply another item silently added to a list of things to burn. The command therefore gives unusually explicit local evidence for the action as well as its material. It also shows why the rubric’s expansive “all” must be read with the stated exception rather than treated as permission to ignore the rest of the prescription.
Places to read
- Hymn LIII · Incense rubricThe imperative σπένδε with milk as its explicit object.
Translation
The lexical account follows the printed imperative and its object. The noun σπονδή elsewhere names a libation without specifying its contents; it should be compared, not used to supply wine in place of the milk explicitly named here. The rubric provides no quantity, vessel or timed sequence beyond the coordinated instructions, so those practical details remain unstated rather than reconstructed.
Heading and incense rubric evidence
σπένδε · LIII.rubric. θυμίαμα πάντα πλὴν λιβάνου, καὶ σπένδε γάλα
Local sense
pour a libation, a direct ritual instruction