From the book
The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns
Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →- English renderings
- bull-killing
Meaning
In Rhea's hymn the lion drawing her chariot is bull-killing (XIV.2); in the Mother's hymn the adjective qualifies the lions yoked to the vehicle (XXVII.3). The animals, not the goddess herself, are the direct bearers of the epithet. The first passage is also textually consequential: the reported alternative changes the lion and chariot clause, not merely the spelling of this compound.
Places to read
- Hymn XIV · Line 2Read the word in its hymn.
Attested forms
ταυροφόνος; ταυροφόνων
Occurrence inventory
2 in total. XIV.2; XXVII.3