Orphic Fragments

AGE AND ANCESTRY 10–13 original Latin: AETAS ET GENUS

"I speak of one who possesses Homer." original Greek: Ὅμηρον ἔχοντα ἐγὼ λέγω. This refers to scholarly debates by Lobeck, Schuster, Zeller, and Geffcken regarding the relationship between the Orphic and Homeric traditions.

11. Josephus, Against Apion I.12: In general, among the Greeks, no acknowledged writing is found to be older than the poetry of Homer. Sextus Empiricus, Against the Professors original Latin title: Adversus Mathematicos I.203: The poetry of Homer is both tested and most ancient. For no poem older than his has reached us. Therefore, we shall discuss these matters following the custom of Homer. But first, it is not agreed by all that Homer is the most ancient poet; for some say Hesiod preceded him in time, as well as Linus, Orpheus, Musaeus, and a great many others. London Scholia ancient commentaries on Dionysius Thrax, Art of Grammar 490: Some say that letters were not known until the time of the Trojan War; and this is clear from the fact that no poem from the time of Homer has been preserved, even though Homer himself introduces poets such as Phemius and Demodocus, and it is recorded that Orpheus, Musaeus, and Linus lived before him. Nevertheless, except for their names, nothing further happened to be preserved for later generations from before the poetry of Homer, nor is any poem preserved that is older than the Iliad and the Odyssey.

12. Plutarch, On Music 1132 f citing Glaucus of Rhegium, a 5th-century BCE writer on music: Terpander a Greek poet and musician of the 7th century BCE is said to have emulated the epic verses of Homer and the songs of Orpheus; but Orpheus seems to have imitated no one, for no one had yet existed except for the players of the flute the text suggests a distinction between aulodic (singing to the flute) and auletic (purely instrumental flute) poetry. In the work of these men, there is nothing that resembles the Orphic work. Ibidem the same source 1134 d: For Glaucus, claiming that Thaletas a Cretan musician and poet lived after Archilochus, says that Thaletas imitated the songs of Archilochus... and introduced the paean a song of praise or triumph and the Cretic rhythm into songwriting, which Archilochus did not use, nor did Orpheus or Terpander. See also 1133 f regarding the poet Stesichorus.

paean a rhythmic foot Ritschl] maron in the manuscripts except for the Parisian 5, which provides karon; Maronea according to Burette; the marching paean according to Westphal.

13. Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods I.107: Aristotle teaches that the poet Orpheus never existed perhaps in his lost dialogue On Philosophy, and the Pythagoreans followers of the philosopher Pythagoras claim that this "Orphic poem" was the work of a certain Cercops; but Orpheus—that is, his image, as you would have it—often occurs to my the character Cotta's mind. See also below under Onomacritus a 6th-century BCE priest and "editor" of Orphic poems.