Orphic Hymns · Hymn 46
Dionysus in the Winnowing Basket
Λικνίτου
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 reception of offerings by Dionysus Liknites, the nurtured and nurturing divine child.
Recite the hymn alone as a prayer inviting Dionysus to receive sacred offerings with kindness. It may also be added to a rite of Dionysian renewal or initiation, particularly where the god’s nurtured childhood is already honored.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 46 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- With these prayers I call upon Dionysus of the winnowing basket,
- Nysian, flourishing on every side, longed-for, kindly Bacchus,
- beloved shoot of the Nymphs and of fair-crowned Aphrodite,
- you who once through the woods tossed your dancing steps,
- driven by sacred frenzy with the gracious Nymphs,
- and by the counsels of Zeus were brought to glorious Persephone,
- and there were nurtured, beloved of the immortal gods:
- come kindly, O blessed one, and accept these welcome sacred offerings.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- Λικνίτην Διόνυσον ἐπ’ εὐχαῖς ταῖσδε κικλήσκω,leek-NEE-teen dhee-OH-nee-sohn ehp’ ehf-HYEHS TEHZ-dheh kee-KLEE-skoh,
- Νύσιον ἀμφιθαλῆ, πεποθημένον, εὔφρονα Βάκχον,NEE-see-ohn ahm-fee-thah-LEE, peh-poh-thee-MEH-nohn, EH-froh-nah VAHK-khohn,
- νυμφῶν ἔρνος ἐραστὸν εὐστεφάνου τ’ Ἀφροδίτης,neem-FOHN EHR-nohs eh-rah-STOHN ehf-steh-FAH-noo t’ ah-froh-DHEE-tees,
- ὅς ποτ’ ἀνὰ δρυμοὺς κεχορευμένα βήματα πάλλεςOHS poht’ ah-NAH dhree-MOOS keh-khoh-rehv-MEH-nah VEE-mah-tah PAH-lehs
- σὺν νύμφαις χαρίεσσιν ἐλαυνόμενος μανίῃσι,SEEN NEEM-fehs khah-REE-eh-seen eh-lahv-NOH-meh-nohs mah-NEE-ee-see,
- καὶ βουλαῖσι Διὸς πρὸς ἀγαυὴν ΦερσεφόνειανKEH voo-LEH-see dhee-OHS PROHS ah-ghah-VEEN fehr-seh-FOH-nee-ahn
- ἀχθεὶς ἐξετράφης φίλος ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν.ahkh-THEES ehk-seh-TRAH-fees FEE-lohs ah-thah-NAH-tee-see theh-EE-seen.
- εὔφρων ἐλθέ, μάκαρ, κεχαρισμένα δ’ ἱερὰ δέξαι.EH-frohn ehl-THEH, MAH-kahr, keh-khah-ree-ZMEH-nah dh’ ee-eh-RAH DHEHK-seh.
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
The winnowing-basket title joins Dionysus with the vessel of his sacred infancy. His life among Nymphs and his nurture beside Persephone are held within the counsel of Zeus. The final petition seeks a favorable exchange between the god’s presence and the offerings made to him.
Ancient offering rubric: Manna.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Eugenius Abel, Orphica (1885), printed pages 83. 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 124350; 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.