The Orphic Hymns, a collection of 87 poetic invocations of deities and divine natural forces dating from the pre-Platonic period, are arguably the most complete liturgical texts surviving to us of all ancient Mediterranean Mystery religions. Since ancient times, these hymns have been noted for their “riddling” use of language, as well as their extraordinarily long lists of epithets for each deity. Philosophers, magicians, and astrologers from Plato to Vettius Valens to Iamblichus and Proclus all believed the hymns contained great esoteric wisdom, but no modern scholar has sought to understand the hymns in light of what we know about ancient theories of language and interpretive practice, particularly as they pertain to the ancient Mysteries.
Perhaps for this reason, English translations of the hymns–from Taylor to Athanassakis–have never yet explored the full depth of the esoteric content embedded in the original Greek text. In this talk, classically trained scholar of ancient Mediterranean religion and magic Kristin Mathis explores the deeper layers of meaning in the poems, revealing surprising esoteric content that sheds light not only on the historical development of astrological magic and Western esotericism, but also on the nature of magical incantation and of language itself.
Kristin Mathis is a scholar of religion and ancient history; translator of Ancient Greek texts on magic, myth, and esoterica; poet and teacher. Kristin is dedicated to revealing the wildly liberatory power of the teachings of the Ancient Mediterranean ancestors to transform and undermine oppressive social structures, showing us how to connect to each other, to our earth, and to the realm of the “more than human”—animals, plants, minerals, and the wide heavens above.