Hey hey, all you lovely people! First of all, thank you to all who liked and/or reblogged my last recording, it means a lot! I wasn’t expecting much of a reaction from Tumblr since I don’t have many followers, but I was very pleased to see that my post found its way to a fair number of you. And really, so long as what I do is useful or meaningful to at least one person, I’m happy 🙂
For the second recording of my project, I’ve chosen the Orphic Hymn to Artemis. I’ve been her devotee for eight years now, so this text is very close to my heart. I hope you enjoy it. I’ve tried to fix a few issues I had in the previous video, particularly the rhythm and the distinction between long and short vowels. Again, please let me know if you have any suggestions for further recordings!
TEXT
Κλῦθί μου, ὦ βασίλεια, Διὸς πολυώνυμε κούρη,
Τιτανίς, βρομία, μεγαλώνυμε, τοξότι, σεμνή,
πασιφαής, δᾳδοῦχε, θεά Δίκτυννα, λοχείη,
ὠδίνων ἐπαρωγὲ καὶ ὠδίνων ἀμύητε,
λυσίζωνε, φίλοιστρε, κυνηγέτι, λυσιμέριμνε,
εὔδρομε, ἰοχέαιρα, φιλαγρότι, νυκτερόφοιτε,
κλῃσία εὐάντητε, λυτηρία, ἀρσενόμορφε,
Ὀρθίη, ὠκυλόχεια, βροτῶν κουροτρόφε δαῖμον,
ἀμβροτέρα, χθονία, θηροκτόνε, ὀλβιόμοιρε,
ἣ κατέχεις ὀρέων δρυμούς, ἐλαφηβόλε, σεμνή,
πότνια, παμβασίλεια, καλὸν θάλος αἰὲν ἐοῦσα,
δρυμονία, σκυλακῖτι, Κυδωνιάς, αἰολόμορφε·
ἐλθέ, θεὰ σώτειρα, φίλη μύστῃσιν ἅπασιν
εὐάντητος, ἄγουσα καλοὺς καρποὺς ἀπὸ γαίης
εἰρήνην τ’ ἐρατὴν καλλιπλόκαμόν θ’ ὑγίειαν·
πέμποις δ’ εἰς ὀρέων κεφαλὰς νούσους τε καὶ ἄλγη.TRANSLATION
Hear me, queen, many-named daughter of Zeus,
Titanian, resounding, illustrious, arrow-bearing, holy,
visible to all, torch-bearing, Huntress Goddess who ensnares, presiding at birth,
assistant in childbirth and uninitiated into childbirth,
you with the undone belt, lover of madness, huntress, disperser of troubles,
fast-running, arrow-shooting, lover of the hunt, you who wander at night,
welcome at every door, liberator, shaped like a man,
Upright, you who hasten childbirth, divine nurse to mortal children,
immortal, chthonian, killer of wild beasts, good-fortuned,
you rule the mountain forests, tracker of stags, holy,
sovereign, queen of all, forever possessing beautiful youth,
wood-dwelling, protectress of dogs, Kydonian, ever-changing;
come, saviour Goddess, welcoming friend to all initiates,
to bring us the beautiful fruits of the earth
and pleasant peace and beautiful-haired health;
and may you send to the summits of the mountains sickness and suffering.A few insights:
- Artemis having an undone belt, λυσίζωνε, refers to her role in childbearing. In Ancient Greece (as in most cultures, I’d wager), women would loosen or undo their clothing while giving birth.
- Orthia, Upright, is a Spartan and Arcadian epithet of Artemis.
- while I translated ὀλβιόμοιρε as “good-fortuned”, it literally means “being assigned a happy fate” (ὄλβιος: happy, blessed +
μοῖρα: portion assigned by destiny). This term is probably used in opposition to θηροκτόνε, “killer of wild beasts”. Artemis has the power to kill, but she herself was assigned immortality.- in ἣ κατέχεις ὀρέων δρυμούς, “you rule the mountain forests”, the verb for “rule” can also mean “inhabit” or “preserve” (as well as a dozen other translations which don’t fit into the context). Artemis not only fills the forests entirely, but protects them and keeps them intact.
- θάλος, youth, is a metaphor. In its original meaning, the word describes the freshness of a new plant, which I think fits nicely into Artemis’ imagery.
- Kydonia is a city on the northern coast of Crete.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
The Carving Witch 