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 wordσπονδή names a libation, a poured offering.
- In the Orphic HymnsThe Prayer ends by inviting the invoked powers to this sacred service and august libation (Prayer.44).
- TranslationThe English “libation” is the appropriate local equivalent.
- A place to readThe solemn libation coordinated with sacred service at the Prayer’s close.
- English renderings
- libation; poured offering
Meaning
σπονδή names a libation, a poured offering. It is a different ritual term from θυμίαμα, fumigation offering, even when both occur within the same wider devotional setting. The noun can identify the offering as a whole without naming the liquid used or narrating the act of pouring.
Use in the book
The Prayer ends by inviting the invoked powers to this sacred service and august libation (Prayer.44). The accusative σπονδήν is coordinated with θυηπολίην, while each receives its own adjective. The demonstrative “this” gives the invitation an immediate ritual orientation, but the line does not specify the libation’s contents. “August” makes its solemn or revered character explicit rather than supplying a material ingredient. The noun consequently helps the long invocation end in a concrete act of approach: the gods named throughout are asked to attend an offered service.
Places to read
- Prayer to Musaeus · Line 44The solemn libation coordinated with sacred service at the Prayer’s close.
Translation
The English “libation” is the appropriate local equivalent. The related imperative σπένδε in the Amphietes rubric explicitly names milk, whereas this Prayer occurrence does not. That comparison clarifies what information each passage actually provides; it does not authorize supplying the same liquid everywhere. Nor should the pouring term be folded into the incense rubrics simply because all are offerings. The separate lexical forms preserve distinctions within ritual action that a generic “sacrifice” would obscure.
Attested forms
σπονδήν
Occurrence inventory
1 in total. Prayer.44