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Orphic

Orphic

1 9.9
About Orpheus, old poems and songs, and secret beliefs about life after death
  • adjective
  • /ˈɔr.fɪk/
  • Literature
: orfeico
  • Many musicians claim that their compositions are influenced by the mystical qualities of Orphic traditions.
  • Orphic sanctuary

It was the IT was the Orphic, Oh no, Homeric hymn to Addis.

Examples

  • The poet's Orphic words were inscribed on a smooth plate: "Tell me who you are, and I will tell you who you are."

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The mosaic floor of the Orphic sanctuary at Littlecote was discovered in 1727.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The right side held a specific significance in Orphic liturgy.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Perhaps there is resentment in the Orphic stories, but the makers of those stories knew a wider range of feeling than that.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Later Eleusinian-Orphic initiations were concluded by a ritual of sudden light.

    Academic text (2000)
  • In considering the ornate chamber of the Orphic sanctuary, Walters concludes:

    Academic text (2000)
  • Within the British architectural complex under discussion, the Orphic sanctuary appears to be an addition to the baths, which may have had ritual functions similar to those of Peirene.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The motif of the good road to the right also occurs in Balkan folklore, which may be rightly regarded as preserving important Orphic elements.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Preserved in the earliest Orphic tablets is a reference to taking the road to the right, the one that directs the wandering soul to a point where the supreme pronouncement is issued: "I am the child of Earth and of Starry Heaven" (see Sorel 1998, 142).

    Academic text (2000)
  • The ancient Greeks often turned to Orphic poetry for inspiration in their own artistic endeavors.

Synonyms

orphic
vsOrphic
  • Literature
1 9.9

Mysterious and hard to understand, often about deep spiritual ideas

relates instead to specific poetry music or mystic traditions linked to the myth
Orphean
vsOrphic
  • Literature
9.9

Full of a magical, deeply musical quality that mesmerizes listeners

focuses more on mystic beliefs and literary ties to the mythic figure

Surface Forms

Orphic positive

Morphology

Orphic = Orpheus (opaque) = Orpheus + ic

The word is formally built from the proper noun 'Orpheus' plus '-ic', but the meaning depends on a classical allusion and specialized literary associations rather than a straightforward everyday combination.

Etymology

Orphic comes from the name Orpheus, a legendary Greek singer and poet whose music could charm people and even the dead. Because of the stories about his songs and the religious 'mysteries' of life and death, Orphic now means 'mysterious' or 'poetic' and is used for ideas or art linked to those old myths.