The Orphic hymns. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow, Introduction, and notes by Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow

At the very beginnings of the Archaic Age, the great singer Orpheus taught a new religion that centered around the immortality of the human soul and its journey after death on its way to finding a permanent home. He felt that achieving purity by avoiding meat and refraining from committing harm further promoted the pursuit of a peaceful life. Elements of the worship of Dionysus, such as shape-shifting and ritualistic ecstasy, were fused with Orphic beliefs to produce a powerful and illuminating new religion that found expression in the mystery cults. Practitioners of this new religion composed a great body of poetry, much of which is translated in __The Orphic Hymns__. The hymns presented in this book were anonymously composed somewhere in Asia Minor, most likely in the middle of the third century AD. At this turbulent time, the Hellenic past was fighting for its survival, while the new Christian faith was spreading everywhere. __The Orphic Hymns__ thus reflect a pious spirituality in the form of traditional literary conventions. The hymns themselves are devoted to specific divinities as well as to cosmic elements. Prefaced with offerings, strings of epithets invoke the various attributes of the divinity and prayers ask for peace and health to the initiate. Coauthors Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow have produced an accurate and elegant translation accompanied by rich commentary. Orpheus To Mousaios -- To Hekate -- To Prothyraia -- To Night -- To Sky -- To Ether -- To Protogonos -- To The Stars -- To The Sun -- To The Moon -- To Physis -- To Pan -- To Herakles -- To Kronos -- To Rhea -- To Zeus -- To Hera -- To Poseidon -- To Plouton -- To Zeus The Thunderbolt -- To Astrapaios Zeus -- To The Clouds -- To The Sea -- To Nereus -- To The Nereids -- To Proteus -- To Earth -- To The Mother Of The Gods -- To Hermes -- Hymn To Persephone -- To Dionysos -- Hymn To The Kouretes -- To Athene -- To Nike -- To Apollon -- To Leto -- To Artemis -- To The Titans -- To The Kouretes -- To Korybas -- To Eleusinian Demeter -- To Mother Antaia -- To Mise -- To The Seasons -- To Semele -- Hymn To Dionysos Bassareus And Triennial -- To Liknites -- To Perikionios -- To Sabazios -- To Hipta -- To Lysios Lenaios -- To The Nymphs -- To The God Of Triennial Feasts -- To The God Of Annual Feasts -- To Silenos Satyros And The Bacchae -- To Aphrodite -- To Adonis -- To Chthonic Hermes -- To Eros -- To The Fates -- To The Graces -- Hymn To Nemesis -- To Dike -- To Justice -- Hymn To Nomos -- To Ares -- To Hephaistos -- To Asklepios -- To Hygeia -- To The Erinyes -- To The Eumenides -- To Melinoe -- To Tyche -- To Daimon -- To Leukothea -- To Palaimon -- To The Muses -- To Mnemosyne -- To Dawn -- To Themis -- To Boreas -- To Zephyros -- To Notos -- To Okeanos -- To Hestia -- To Sleep -- To Dream -- To Death. Translation, Introduction, And Notes By Apostolos N. Athanassakis And Benjamin M. Wolkow. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [221]-224) And Index. The best-selling English translation of the mysterious and cosmic Greek poetry known as the Orphic Hymns. At the very beginnings of the Archaic Age, the great singer Orpheus taught a new religion that centered around the immortality of the human soul and its journey after death. He felt that achieving purity by avoiding meat and refraining from committing harm further promoted the pursuit of a peaceful life. Elements of the worship of Dionysus, such as shape-shifting and ritualistic ecstasy, were fused with Orphic beliefs to produce a powerful and illuminating new religion that found expression in the mystery cults. Practitioners of this new religion composed a great body of poetry, much of which is translated in The Orphic Hymns . The hymns presented in this book were anonymously composed somewhere in Asia Minor, most likely in the middle of the third century AD. At this turbulent time, the Hellenic past was fighting for its survival, while the new Christian faith was spreading everywhere. The Orphic Hymns thus reflect a pious spirituality in the form of traditional literary conventions. The hymns themselves are devoted to specific divinities as well as to cosmic elements. Prefaced with offerings, strings of epithets invoke the various attributes of the divinity and prayers ask for peace and health to the initiate. Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow have produced an accurate and elegant translation accompanied by rich commentary.

At the very beginnings of the Archaic Age, the great singer Orpheus taught a new religion that centered around the immortality of the human soul and its journey after death on its way to finding a permanent home. He felt that achieving purity by avoiding meat and refraining from committing harm further promoted the pursuit of a peaceful life. Elements of the worship of Dionysus, such as shape-shifting and ritualistic ecstasy, were fused with Orphic beliefs to produce a powerful and illuminating new religion that found expression in the mystery cults. Practitioners of this new religion composed a great body of poetry, much of which is translated in The Orphic Hymns.

The hymns presented in this book were anonymously composed somewhere in Asia Minor, most likely in the middle of the third century AD. At this turbulent time, the Hellenic past was fighting for its survival, while the new Christian faith was spreading everywhere. The Orphic Hymns thus reflect a pious spirituality in the form of traditional literary conventions. The hymns themselves are devoted to specific divinities as well as to cosmic elements. Prefaced with offerings, strings of epithets invoke the various attributes of the divinity and prayers ask for peace and health to the initiate. Coauthors Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow have produced an accurate and elegant translation accompanied by rich commentary.

An accurate and eminently readable translation of a collection of short religious hymns to the Hellenic gods, attributed to the mythic hero Orpheus, but most likely composed by several authors, collected in the 3rd century C.E. These hymns attest to a vigorous belief in the traditional Hellenic religion in general, and the Orphic Mysteries in particular, persisting at a time when Christianity was becoming more widespread. The prolific notes by Apostolos N. Athanassakis and Benjamin M. Wolkow provide a comprehensive resource for students of mythology, poetry, and ancient religion.