Explained vocabulary

Living being — ζῷον

ζῷον

zōion

Living beings receive the Sun’s sight, Aither’s kindling, nourishment, governance, and ultimately Death’s long sleep.

From the book

The Orphic Collection, Volume I: The Hymns

Attributed to Orpheus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →
English renderings
living being; creature

Meaning

Living beings receive the Sun’s sight, Aither’s kindling, nourishment, governance, and ultimately Death’s long sleep. The noun’s scope is broader than human beings alone: Earth nourishes the creatures she contains. In some contexts mortals are particularly relevant, but translating every occurrence as “people” would suppress the inclusive life-language.

Places to read

  1. Hymn V · Line 3Read the word in its hymn.

Attested forms

ζῴοισι; ζωοῖσιν; ζῴων

Occurrence inventory

7 in total. V.3; VIII.3; XI.16; LXIII.15; LXIV.8; LXXXV.2; LXXXVII.5