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Orphic Hymns · Hymn 31
The Curetes: Sacred Dance
Ὕμνος Κουρήτων
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
For the gracious presence of the armed divine dancers and guardians who reveal the Mother’s sacred rites.
Use the hymn as a standalone prayer to the Curetes for guardianship and a joyful reception. It may also be added to a rite of the Mother or a protective initiation, particularly where sacred music and ordered movement already belong to that rite.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 31 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- O leaping Curetes, setting forth the steps of the armed dance,
- resounding with your feet, whirling, mountain-dwellers, raisers of the sacred cry,
- strikers of the lyre, dancers in counter-rhythm, treading with light feet,
- bearers of arms, guardians, bringers of order, gloriously renowned,
- companions of the mountain-maddened Mother, revealers of the mysteries:
- come in kindness to these words of sacred praise,
- meet the herdsman graciously, with hearts ever rejoicing.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- Σκιρτηταὶ Κουρῆτες, ἐνόπλια βήματα θέντες,skeer-tee-TEH koo-REE-tehs, eh-NOH-plee-ah VEE-mah-tah THEHN-dehs,
- ποσσίκροτοι, ῥομβηταί, ὀρέστεροι, εὐαστῆρες,poh-SEE-kroh-tee, rohm-vee-TEH, oh-REH-steh-ree, eh-vah-STEE-rehs,
- κρουσιλύραι, παράρυθμοι, ἐπεμβάται ἴχνεσι κούφοις,kroo-see-LEE-reh, pah-RAH-reeth-mee, eh-pehm-VAH-teh EEKH-neh-see KOO-fees,
- ὁπλοφόροι, φύλακες, κοσμήτορες, ἀγλαόφημοι,oh-ploh-FOH-ree, FEE-lah-kehs, koh-ZMEE-toh-rehs, ah-ghlah-OH-fee-mee,
- μητρὸς ὀρειμανέος συνοπάονες, ὀργιοφάνται·mee-TROHS oh-ree-mah-NEH-ohs see-noh-PAH-oh-nehs, ohr-yee-oh-FAHN-deh·
- ἔλθοιτ’ εὐμενέοντες ἐπ’ εὐφήμοισι λόγοισι,EHL-theet’ ehv-meh-NEH-ohn-dehs ehp’ eh-FEE-mee-see LOH-yee-see,
- βουκόλῳ εὐάντητοι ἀεὶ κεχαρηότι θυμῷ.voo-KOH-loh eh-VAHN-dee-tee ah-EE keh-khah-ree-OH-tee thee-MOH.
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.
| Spelling | Sound to make |
|---|---|
| ah · eh · ee · oh · oo | father · met · see · go without its final glide · moon. Keep these vowels clear in unstressed syllables too. |
| th · dh | The unvoiced th in thin · the voiced th in this. Thus DHEE begins with the sound in “thee.” |
| kh | The ch in Scottish loch or German Bach: let air pass at the back of the mouth, without closing it into a k. |
| hy | The 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.” |
| gh | Make the kh sound above, then add voice. Keep the passage open; this is a flowing sound, not a hard g. |
| y · g | y as in yes, with gentle friction · always a hard g as in get. |
| r | Tap the tongue lightly behind the upper teeth, or use a light roll. |
| ks · ps | Sound both consonants, even at the beginning of a word: ks as in backs, ps as in lips. |
| n-g · m-b · n-d | Sound 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
Armed movement, resounding feet, and the lyre join vigilance with sacred joy. The Curetes attend the mountain-ranging Mother and reveal her mysteries; the closing address asks their favor toward the boukolos, the “herdsman” named in the hymn’s ritual setting.
Textual note
Boukolos, literally “herdsman,” is retained in translation; its ritual use is not replaced with a newly invented priestly office. No incense appears in the printed heading.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Eugenius Abel, Orphica (1885), printed pages 75. 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 124303; 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.