The Orphic Poems

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.