Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams

Type 6418
(formerly typ/4380)

	Πάλαι μὲν Ὀρφεύς τὴν λύραν κρούων
	ἔτρεπεν, εἷλκεν καὶ εἰς βάραθρον ᾅδου,
	κατηκόντιζεν τοὺς ταύτῃ προσσχομένους·
	ἐμέ δ' ὁ τευξάμενος καὶ ψάλλων πόθῳ
	ἐκπυρσεύεται πράξει καὶ θεωρίᾳ,
	καὶ τῇ εὐρύθμῳ τῆς καλῆς μελουργίας
	νοῦν, ψυχήν, διάνοιαν φωταγωγεῖται.
	Ἀλλ' ὦ Μέδων, Πάνταρχα καὶ Εὐεργέτα,
	τὸν κτισάμενόν με πόθῳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ
	φρούρει, σκέπε, λύτρωσαι τῶν ἀμαρτάδων
	καὶ τὴν ἄληκτον κληρῶσαι βασιλείαν
	καταξίωσον διὰ τῆς Θεοτόκου.

Title(s)	In psalterium
Text source	G. Parpulov, 2014, Toward a History of Byzantine Psalters, Plovdiv: 240
Text status	Text completely known
Editorial status	Not a critical text
Genre(s)	Author-related epigram Patron-related epigram Text-related epigram
Metre(s)	Dodecasyllable
Subject(s)	David Music Orpheus Psalter Theotokos
Tag(s)	Entreaty for a third person Polemic Praise of the author Prayer Reference to content of the book
Bibliography
Number of verses	12
Occurrence(s)	[24590] πάλαι μὲν ὀρφευς τὴν λύρ(αν) κρού(ων) [1116] MESSINA - Biblioteca Universitaria - S. Salv. 117 [1116] (f. 239v) (12 verses)
Acknowledgements	Contributor(s) Maria Tomadaki, Anne-Sophie Rouckhout The credits system has been implemented in 2019. Credits from before the new system was in use might be incomplete.
Identification
Permalink	http://dev.dbbe.ugent.be/types/6418

Last modified: 2026-01-19.