Znaczenie białego cyprysu w orfickich wyobrażeniach o zaświatach
The white cypress of the orphic underworld

Author(s): Mariola Sobolewska
Subject(s): History, Language and Literature Studies, Ancient World, Philology, History of Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: white cypress; orphic underworld; orphic gold tablet; Pelinna; Hipponion
Summary/Abstract: In all the orphic gold tablets it is emphasized that the location of the fountain is indicated by a white cypress. What is new in the tablets is not so much the cypress, as the adjective by which it is qualified, λευκή, which means „shining” or „white”. Some authors have defended the translation „shining”, but the choice between „white’’ and „shining’’ is in fact a problem of our translations, not of the Greek term, which includes both notions simultaneously. I try to explain this question in my article.

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