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The Golden Verses of Pythagoras · 66 of 122 · tr. Florence M. Firth

Section 13 (part 33)

προφερεστάτη ἐστὶν ἁπασέων. Αὗται δ᾽ Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Τηθύος ἐξεγένοντο πρεσβύταται κοῦραι· πολλαί γε μέν εἰσι καὶ ἄλλαι. Τρὶς γὰρ χίλιαί εἰσι τανύσφυροι Ὠκεανῖναι, αἵ ῥα πολυσπερέες γαῖαν καὶ βένθεα λίμνης 365 πάντη ὁμῶς ἐφέπουσι, θεάων ἀγλαὰ τέκνα. Τόσσοι δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἕτεροι ποταμοὶ καναχηδὰ ῥέοντες, υἱέες Ὠκεανοῦ, τοὺς γείνατο πότνια Τηθύς· τῶν ὄνομ᾽ ἀργαλέον πάντων βροτὸν ἀνέρ᾽ ἐνισπεῖν, Οἳ δὲ ἕκαστοι ἴσασιν, ὅσοι περιναιετάωσιν. 370 Θεία δ᾽ Ἠέλιόν τε μέγαν λαμπράν τε Σελήνην Ἠῶ θ᾽, ἣ πάντεσσιν ἐπιχθονίοισι φαείνει ἀθανάτοις τε θεοῖσι, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσι, γείναθ᾽ ὑποδμηθεῖσ᾽ Ὑπερίονος ἐν φιλότητι.
Themes
Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The text consists primarily of a litany of divine names, which in ancient contexts held ontological significance.

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Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] The passage describes deities engaging in human-like actions such as giving birth, pursuing transgressions, and possessing emotions like anger or pity.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

[auto] The text outlines a genealogical chain where Night (Nyx) gives birth to various divine personifications like Nemesis, Strife, and the Fates.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

[auto] The divine beings are depicted as active agents who intervene in human affairs by distributing good and evil and punishing transgressions.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

[auto] The passage explicitly names the triad of Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos) as a structured group governing mortal existence.

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