Skip to hymn content
Close view of the marble head of the so-called Artemis of Gabii.
Head of the so-called Artemis of Gabii, Roman marble, 14–37 CE, Louvre.Photograph: Marie-Lan Nguyen / Jastrow (2007); Public domain. · Source · Public domain. Detail shown.The hymn to Prothyraia explicitly invokes Artemis and Eileithyia in the care of childbirth.

Orphic Hymns · Hymn 02

Prothyraia

Προθυραίας

Orphic tradition · 14 lines · Prothyraia, Artemis Eileithyia

FertilityProtection

Prayer and ritual

These hymns may be spoken as complete prayers to the Gods. Within the Temple’s practice, a ritual is a direct theurgical act; hymnody gathers the mind and turns it toward the Divine, helping the initiate enter reverent communion with the Gods.

Use a hymn on its own in place of another prayer, or add it to the prayer portion of a suitable ritual. Choose according to the deity addressed and the petition expressed in the hymn. When combining them, preserve the ritual’s prescribed sequence and let the hymn give voice to its purpose.

The petition of this hymn

Prayer to the Goddess who attends childbirth, loosens its bonds, and guards those in labour. Its request for offspring and deliverance is joined to care for the whole household.

Recite as a standalone prayer for favourable birth and the Goddess's sustaining presence. It can also supplement an established prayer or rite to Artemis Eileithyia for childbirth, family, or the protection of a household.

English hieratic rendering

Hymn 02 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.

  1. Hear me, O deeply revered Goddess, Daimon of many names,
  2. helper in birthpangs, sweet presence to women in labour,
  3. saviour of women, sole lover of children, gentle of mind,
  4. who hasten birth and stand beside mortal anguish, Prothyraia,
  5. holder of the key, gracious to encounter, lover of nurture, kindly to all,
  6. who watch over the homes of all and rejoice in their feasts,
  7. loosener of the girdle, unseen, yet revealed in every work.
  8. You share the pangs of labour and rejoice in fortunate births,
  9. Eileithyia, releasing pain in dread necessity;
  10. for women in labour call on you alone, the soul's repose,
  11. for through you the anguish of childbirth forgets its grief.
  12. Artemis Eileithyia, and venerable Prothyraia,
  13. hear, blessed Goddess; grant offspring, coming as our helper,
  14. and save, as by your nature you are forever saviour of all.

Ancient Greek & pronunciation

Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.

14 Greek lines
  1. Κλῦθί μοι, ὦ πολύσεμνε θεά, πολυώνυμε δαῖμον,KLEE-THEE mee, OH poh-LEE-sehm-neh theh-AH, poh-lee-OH-nee-meh DHEH-mohn,
  2. ὠδίνων ἐπαρωγέ, λεχῶν ἡδεῖα πρόσοψι,oh-DHEE-nohn eh-pah-roh-YEH, leh-KHOHN ee-DHEE-ah PROH-sohp-see,
  3. θηλειῶν σώτειρα, μόνη φιλόπαις, ἀγανόφρον,thee-lee-OHN SOH-tee-rah, MOH-nee fee-LOH-pehs, ah-ghah-NOH-frohn,
  4. ὠκυλόχεια, παροῦσ’ ἀνίαις θνητῶν, Προθυραία,oh-kee-LOH-hyee-ah, pah-ROOS’ ah-NEE-ehs thnee-TOHN, proh-thee-REH-ah,
  5. κλῃδοῦχ’, εὐάντητε, φιλοτρόφε, πᾶσι προσηνές,klee-DHOOKH’, eh-VAHN-dee-teh, fee-loh-TROH-feh, PAH-see proh-see-NEHS,
  6. ἣ κατέχεις οἴκους πάντων θαλίαις τε γέγηθας,EE kah-TEH-hyees EE-koos PAHN-dohn thah-LEE-ehs teh YEH-yee-thahs,
  7. λυσίζων’, ἀφανής, ἔργοισι δὲ φαίνῃ ἅπασι,lee-SEE-zohn’, ah-fah-NEES, EHR-yee-see DHEH FEH-nee AH-pah-see,
  8. συμπάσχεις ὠδῖσι καὶ εὐτοκίῃσι γέγηθας,seem-BAHS-hyees oh-DHEE-see KEH ehf-toh-KEE-ee-see YEH-yee-thahs,
  9. Εἰλείθυια, λύουσα πόνους δειναῖς ἐν ἀνάγκαις∙ee-LEE-thee-ah, LEE-oo-sah POH-noos dhee-NEHS ehn ah-NAHN-gehs∙
  10. μούνην γὰρ σὲ καλοῦσι λεχοί, ψυχῆς ἀνάπαυμα∙MOO-neen GHAHR SEH kah-LOO-see leh-HYEE, psee-HYEES ah-NAH-pahv-mah∙
  11. ἐν γὰρ σοὶ τοκετῶν λαθικηδέες εἰσιν ἀνῖαι.ehn GHAHR SEE toh-keh-TOHN lah-thee-kee-DHEH-ehs ee-seen ah-NEE-eh.
  12. Ἄρτεμις Εἰλείθυια, καὶ ἡ σεμνὴ Προθυραία.AHR-teh-mees ee-LEE-thee-ah, KEH ee sehm-NEE proh-thee-REH-ah.
  13. κλῦθι μάκαιρα, δίδου δὲ γονὰς ἐπαρωγὸς ἐοῦσαKLEE-thee MAH-keh-rah, DHEE-dhoo DHEH ghoh-NAHS eh-pah-roh-GHOHS eh-OO-sah
  14. καὶ σῶζ’, ὥσπερ ἔφυς αἰεὶ σώτειρα προπάντων.KEH SOHZ’, OH-spehr EH-fees eh-EE SOH-tee-rah proh-PAHN-dohn.
Short sound guide for English speakers

Every line beneath the Greek uses English pronunciation spellings. Say each hyphenated syllable in sequence and emphasize the syllable in CAPITALS. For example, οὐρανόθεν is oo-rah-NOH-thehn. Read adjacent vowels separately: theh-AH has two syllables; oo-rah-NEE-een has four. Hyphens guide the voice; they do not mark pauses.

SpellingSound to make
ah · eh · ee · oh · oofather · met · see · go without its final glide · moon. Keep these vowels clear in unstressed syllables too.
th · dhThe unvoiced th in thin · the voiced th in this. Thus DHEE begins with the sound in “thee.”
khThe ch in Scottish loch or German Bach: let air pass at the back of the mouth, without closing it into a k.
hyThe breathy beginning of a carefully spoken Hugh. Raise the middle of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth and let air pass without voice. In shy, sound s followed by hy; do not use the English sh sound or the English word “shy.”
ghMake the kh sound above, then add voice. Keep the passage open; this is a flowing sound, not a hard g.
y · gy as in yes, with gentle friction · always a hard g as in get.
rTap the tongue lightly behind the upper teeth, or use a light roll.
ks · psSound both consonants, even at the beginning of a word: ks as in backs, ps as in lips.
n-g · m-b · n-dSound the nasal and the following consonant. In AHN-geh-leh, the n-g group is like finger, with the g audible.

Always sound s as in hiss, even at the end of DHEE-kees; z is voiced, as in zero. All other consonants have their usual English sounds. Initial consonant groups may be unfamiliar: sound every written consonant, without inserting an extra vowel. A word without capitals carries no written stress in the Greek. Where two syllables have capitals, both written accents are retained. An apostrophe marks a vowel already elided in the Greek; do not add it back. A hyphen at the end of a Greek verse joins the unfinished word to the next verse.

These spellings follow the Modern Greek liturgical reading used throughout this library. Breathings and iota subscripts are silent; separately pronounced vowels remain separate. The few Greek consonants without an exact English equivalent use the sound cues above. Ancient vowel length, pitch accent and metre are not reconstructed.

Hymn notes

Sacred meaning

The Goddess is invisible yet manifest in her works, sharing the sufferings of childbirth and rejoicing in its good fulfilment. The names Prothyraia, Eileithyia, and Artemis converge here upon the sacred threshold through which life appears.

Ancient offering rubric: Storax.

Textual note

Line 4 follows Abel's printed παροῦσ’ ἀνίαις, present in mortal anguish, rather than the variant παροῦσα νέαις, present to young women. The translation therefore follows the printed reading.

Text and attribution

Greek text: Eugenius Abel, Orphica (1885), printed pages 59. The text follows the printed main reading of this edition; source-specific variants are recorded where relevant. Read the digitised edition. Greek source. Wikisource transcription, revision 124063; checked and corrected against Abel’s print. The English hieratic rendering and suggested devotional use are new editorial work. The applications are guidance for this library, not additional lines of the ancient poem.