The Golden Verses of Pythagoras · 101 of 122 · tr. Florence M. Firth
Section 13 (part 68)
Παῦρα δὲ Θαύμαντος θυγάτηρ πόδας ὠκέα Ἶρις 780 ἀγγελίην πωλεῖται ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης.
Ὁππότ᾽ ἔρις καὶ νεῖκος ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ὄρηται καί ῥ᾽ ὅς τις ψεύδηται Ὀλύμπια δώματ᾽ ἐχόντων, Ζεὺς δέ τε Ἶριν ἔπεμψε θεῶν μέγαν ὅρκον ἐνεῖκαι τηλόθεν ἐν χρυσέῃ προχόῳ πολυώνυμον ὕδωρ 785 ψυχρόν, ὅτ᾽ ἐκ πέτρης καταλείβεται ἠλιβάτοιο ὑψηλῆς· πολλὸν δὲ ὑπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης ἐξ ἱεροῦ ποταμοῖο ῥέει διὰ νύκτα μέλαιναν Ὠκεανοῖο κέρας· δεκάτη δ᾽ ἐπὶ μοῖρα δέδασται· ἐννέα μὲν περὶ γῆν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης 790 δίνῃς ἀργυρέῃς εἱλιγμένος εἰς ἅλα πίπτει, ἣ δὲ μί᾽ ἐκ πέτρης προρέει μέγα πῆμα θεοῖσιν.
Themes
◆Funerary Navigationpraxis
Texts and rituals guiding the soul through death.
The passage details the geography of the underworld, including gates, guardians, and rivers, serving as a map for the dead.
All passages →◆Psychopomp Journeycosmology
Guided passage of the soul through afterlife realms.
It describes the destination and barriers of the soul's passage into the afterlife realm ruled by Hades and Persephone.
All passages →◇Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
[auto] The passage explicitly describes the soul's release from evil bonds and darkness back into the light (ἐς φὼς ἂψ ἀφῆκεσθε), representing a central theme of returning to the divine origin.
All passages →