Hymns 9.1–10.1
Greek text: Christ-Paranikas 1871.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 9
9.1Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22
Πολυήρατε, κύδιμε, σὲ μάκαρ, γόνε παρθένου ὑμνῶ Σολυμῇϊδος, ὃς τὰν δολίαν πάγαν, χθόνιον μεγάλων ὄφιν πατρὸς ἤλασας ὀρχάτων· [ὃς καρπὸν ἀπώμοτον τροφὸν ἀργαλέου μόρου πόρεν ἀρχεγόνῳ νοεράν. στεφανηφόρε, κύδιμε, σὲ, πάτερ, παῖ παρθένου ὑμνῶ Σολυμῇϊδος.] Κατέβας μέχρι καὶ χθονὸς ἐπίδημος ἐφαμέροις, βρότεον φορέων δέμας. κατέβας δ᾽ ὑπὸ Τάρταρα, ψυχῶν ὅθι μυρία θάνατος νέμεν ἔθνεα. φρίξεν σε γέρων τότε Ἀΐδας ὁ παλαιγενής, καὶ λαοβόρος κύων ἀνεχάσσατο βηλοῦ· λύσας δ᾽ ἀπὸ πημάτων ψυχῶν ὁσίους χοροὺς θιάσοισιν ἀκηράτοις ὕμνους ἀνάγεις πατρί.
Polyērate, kydime, se makar, gone parthenou hymnō Solymę̄ïdos, hos tan dolian pagan, chthonion megalōn ophin patros ēlasas orchatōn; [hos karpon apōmoton trophon argaleou morou poren archegonǭ noeran. stephanēphore, kydime, se, pater, pai parthenou hymnō Solymę̄ïdos.] Katebas mechri kai chthonos epidēmos ephamerois, broteon phoreōn demas. katebas d᾽ hypo Tartara, psychōn hothi myria thanatos nemen ethnea. phrixen se gerōn tote Aïdas ho palaigenēs, kai laoboros kyōn anechassato bēlou; lysas d᾽ apo pēmatōn psychōn hosious chorous thiasoisin akēratois hymnous anageis patri.
Much-beloved, glorious one, you, Blessed, Offspring of the Virgin of Solyma, I hymn, who drove the treacherous snare, the earthly serpent, from the great Father's gardens; [who gave the forbidden fruit, the nurse of a grievous death, to the first-born, food for the mind. Crown-bearer, glorious one, you, Father, Child of the Virgin of Solyma, I hymn.] You came down even to earth, a sojourner among creatures of a day, wearing a mortal frame; and you came down beneath Tartarus, where countless nations of souls Death was shepherding. Then old Hades, the ancient-born, shuddered at you, and the people-devouring hound drew back from the threshold; and, loosing from their sufferings the holy choirs of souls, with pure companies you bring up hymns to the Father.
Gen 3:1–6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Phil 2:7 (echo, low confidence) · Eph 4:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Pet 3:19 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, born of the Virgin, drove the serpent from Paradise, came down to earth in a mortal body and down to Hades, which trembled, and freed the souls of the holy.
- Lines 4–6: the serpent of Gen 3, driven from the “gardens” (Paradise).
- Lines 7–12 are bracketed by Christ–Paranikas as probably not genuine; translated in brackets. In line 7 “who” refers to the serpent; line 9 is obscure (νοεράν does not agree with “fruit”), and “food for the mind” is uncertain.
- Lines 16–26: the descent to the dead; the “people-devouring hound” is Cerberus, the guard-dog of Hades in Greek myth, used as a figure.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Hymn. 9.1 (Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-hymni-9-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Christ and Paranikas, Anthologia Graeca carminum christianorum (1871), transcribed from the page images; no public-domain English exists, so every line was re-read against the Greek. Replaces an earlier translation made from a damaged OCR of Migne PG 66.
9.27Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22
[στεφανηφόρε, κύδιμε, σὲ, πάτερ, παῖ παρθένου ὑμνῶ Σολυμῇϊδος.] Ἀνιόντα σε, κοίρανε, τὰ κατ᾽ ἠέρος ἄσπετα τρέσεν ἔθνεα δαιμόνων, θάμβησε δ᾽ ἀκηράτων χορὸς ἄμβροτος ἀστέρων· αἰθὴρ δὲ γελάσσας, σοφὸς ἁρμονίας πατήρ, ἐξ ἑπτατόνου λύρας ἐκεράσσατο μουσικὰν ἐπινίκιον ἐς μέλος. μείδησεν Ἑωσφόρος, ὁ διάκτορος ἁμέρας, καὶ χρύσεος Ἕσπερος, κυθερήϊος ἀστήρ· ἁ μὲν κεροέν σέλας πλήσασα ῥόου πυρὸς ἀγεῖτο σελάνα, ποιμὴν νυχίων θεῶν· τὰν δ᾽ εὐρυφαῆ κόμαν Τιτὰν ἐπετάσσατο ἄρρητον ὑπ᾽ ἴχνιον· ἔγνω δὲ γόνον θεοῦ, τὸν ἀριστοτέχναν νόον, ἰδίου πυρὸς ἀρχάν.
[stephanēphore, kydime, se, pater, pai parthenou hymnō Solymę̄ïdos.] Anionta se, koirane, ta kat᾽ ēeros aspeta tresen ethnea daimonōn, thambēse d᾽ akēratōn choros ambrotos asterōn; aithēr de gelassas, sophos harmonias patēr, ex heptatonou lyras ekerassato mousikan epinikion es melos. meidēsen Heōsphoros, ho diaktoros hameras, kai chryseos Hesperos, kytherēïos astēr; ha men keroen selas plēsasa rhoou pyros ageito selana, poimēn nychiōn theōn; tan d᾽ euryphaē koman Titan epetassato arrēton hyp᾽ ichnion; egnō de gonon theou, ton aristotechnan noon, idiou pyros archan.
[Crown-bearer, glorious one, you, Father, Child of the Virgin of Solyma, I hymn.] As you went up, Lord, the countless ones through the air, the nations of daemons, trembled, and the immortal choir of the pure stars was amazed; and the ether, laughing, wise father of harmony, from the seven-toned lyre mixed music into a victory song. The Morning Star smiled, the messenger of day, and golden Hesperus, Cythera's star; her horned gleam filling with a stream of fire, the moon led the way, shepherd of the gods of night; and his wide-shining hair the Titan spread out beneath your unutterable footstep; and he knew the Offspring of God, the Mind, supreme craftsman, the source of his own fire.
Eph 4:8–10 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 2:2 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: At Christ's ascension the daemons of the air trembled while the heavens, stars, moon, and sun rejoiced and acknowledged him as the source of their light.
- Lines 27–29 (the refrain) are bracketed by Christ–Paranikas; translated in brackets.
- The “seven-toned lyre” is the harmony of the seven planetary spheres. The Morning Star and Hesperus (“Cythera's star”, Aphrodite's) are both the planet Venus; the “Titan” is the sun. The daemons of the air recall Eph 2:2.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Hymn. 9.27 (Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-27
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-hymni-9-27) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Christ and Paranikas, Anthologia Graeca carminum christianorum (1871), transcribed from the page images; no public-domain English exists, so every line was re-read against the Greek. Replaces an earlier translation made from a damaged OCR of Migne PG 66.
9.54Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22
Σὺ δὲ ταρσὸν ἐλάσσας κυανάντυγος οὐρανοῦ ὑπερήλαο νώτων, σφαίρῃσι δ᾽ ἐπέπτας νοεραῖσιν ἀκηράτοις, ἀγαθῶν ὅθι παγά, σιγώμενος οὐρανός· ἔνθ᾽ οὔτε βαθύρροος ἀκαμαντοπόδας χρόνος χθονὸς ἔκγονα σύρων, οὐ κῆρες ἀναιδέες βαθυκύμονος ὕλας· ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς ἀγήραος αἰὼν ὁ παλαιγενής, νέος ὢν ἅμα καὶ γέρων τᾶς ἀενάω μονᾶς ταμίας πέλεται θεοῖς.
Sy de tarson elassas kyanantygos ouranou hyperēlao nōtōn, sphairę̄si d᾽ epeptas noeraisin akēratois, agathōn hothi paga, sigōmenos ouranos; enth᾽ oute bathyrroos akamantopodas chronos chthonos ekgona syrōn, ou kēres anaidees bathykymonos hylas; all᾽ autos agēraos aiōn ho palaigenēs, neos ōn hama kai gerōn tas aenaō monas tamias peletai theois.
And you, plying your wing, over the dark-blue-vaulted heaven's back passed beyond, and alighted on the spheres, intellectual and pure, where the source of good things is, the heaven kept in silence; there neither deep-flowing Time with tireless feet, dragging the offspring of the earth, nor the shameless dooms of deep-surging matter; but ageless Aeon himself, the ancient-born, young and old at once, of the ever-flowing abode is steward for the gods.
Heb 4:14 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ passes beyond the visible heavens to the silent intellectual realm, where there is no time or decay, only ageless Eternity.
- “Aeon” is Eternity personified, as at 3.248.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Hymn. 9.54 (Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-54). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/9-54
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-hymni-9-54) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Christ and Paranikas, Anthologia Graeca carminum christianorum (1871), transcribed from the page images; no public-domain English exists, so every line was re-read against the Greek. Replaces an earlier translation made from a damaged OCR of Migne PG 66.
Chapter 10
10.1Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 23
Μνώεο Χριστέ, υἱὲ θεοῖο ὑψιμέδοντος, οἰκέτεω σεῦ, κῆρ᾽ ἀλιτροῖο τάδε γράψαντος· καί μοι ὄπασσον λῦσιν παθέων κηριτρεφέων, τά μοι ἐμφυῆ ψυχᾷ ῥυπαρᾷ· δὸς δὲ ἰδέσθαι, σῶτερ Ἰησοῦ, ζαθέαν αἴγλαν σάν, ἔνθα φανεὶς μέλψω ἀοιδὰν παιόνι ψυχᾶν, παιόνι γυίων, πατρὶ σὺν μεγάλῳ πνεύματί θ᾽ ἁγνῷ.
Mnōeo Christe, huie theoio hypsimedontos, oiketeō seu, kēr᾽ alitroio tade grapsantos; kai moi opasson lysin patheōn kēritrepheōn, ta moi emphyē psychą rhyparą; dos de idesthai, sōter Iēsou, zathean aiglan san, entha phaneis melpsō aoidan paioni psychan, paioni guiōn, patri syn megalǭ pneumati th᾽ hagnǭ.
Remember, Christ, Son of God who rules on high, your servant, sinful at heart, who wrote these things; and grant me release from the passions that feed death, which are inborn in my soiled soul; and grant me to see, Savior Jesus, your holy radiance, where, appearing, I shall sing a song to the Healer of souls, the Healer of limbs, with the great Father and the holy Spirit.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Luke 23:42 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A short closing prayer: the sinful writer asks Christ to remember him, free him from inborn passions, and let him see his glory and sing to him with the Father and the Spirit.
- This short poem, in a different meter from the others, closes the collection as Hymn 10.
- Line 17: the manuscripts read ψυχὰν; Christ–Paranikas print Boissonade's correction ψυχᾶν (“of souls”).
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Hymn. 10.1 (Christ–Paranikas, Anthologia (1871), 23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-hymni/10-1
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-hymni-10-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Christ and Paranikas, Anthologia Graeca carminum christianorum (1871), transcribed from the page images; no public-domain English exists, so every line was re-read against the Greek. Replaces an earlier translation made from a damaged OCR of Migne PG 66.