Source recordAncient text
Orphic Hymns
Anonymous (Orphic tradition) · c. 2nd-3rd century CE · Ancient Greek
Ancient text
Orphic Hymns
Anonymous (Orphic tradition)
A collection of 87 short hymns for use in cult, attributed to Orpheus and usually dated to the Roman imperial period, probably from western Asia Minor. It preserves invocations of gods and powers who are otherwise thinly attested, including the only ancient account of Melinoë.
About this work
A collection of 87 short hymns for use in cult, attributed to Orpheus and usually dated to the Roman imperial period, probably from western Asia Minor. It preserves invocations of gods and powers who are otherwise thinly attested, including the only ancient account of Melinoë.
Where to start
Athanassakis's facing-page translation (1977, revised with Wolkow 2013) is the standard modern English edition; Thomas Taylor's 1792 verse translation is out of copyright. Hymn numbers on this site follow the modern numbering used by Athanassakis (1 Hecate, 3 Nyx, 71 Melinoë, 87 Thanatos); Taylor's translation, as reproduced on Theoi.com, gives no separate number to the Hecate hymn and numbers the others one lower (2 Night, 70 Melinoë, 86 Death).
Figures in the text
Heroes and divinities who feature prominently, with where they appear.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.