The Orphic Poems

by M.L. West

This is a survey of the poetry composed in antiquity under the name of the legendary Thracian singer Orpheus, with particular emphasis on the theogonies. Most of these poems are lost or known only from fragments. West discusses the contents and, so far as determinable, purpose of each poem, and the period and milieu in which it came into being. His analysis of the Derveni papyrus shows that there were two distinct Orphic theogonies of classical date that were later modified and finally amalgamated into the '24 Rhapsodies' from which the Neoplatonists quote. A separate chapter is devoted to the poetry of other mythical poets, in particular the fragments of Linus, which are collected in an appendix.

Genres: Poetry, Literary Criticism, History, Religion

296 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 1984

About the author

Martin Litchfield West was an Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. His many publications include Ancient Greek Music (OUP, 1992), The East Face of Helicon (OUP, 1997), and Indo-European Poetry and Myth (OUP, 2007).

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a thorough account of the various theogonies, although I did find it rather dense, and unless you have a decent grasp of Greek theogony, you might find yourself reading a lot of words. The author assumes a basic understanding on the subject.

I was however, a little disappointed that the book spent the majority of its pages dissecting and comparing the various theogonies as opposed to looking at what we have of the Orphic Poems themselves.

Still, a good read with lots of information.