86 Ernest Heinrich Klotsche 



" O mother Earth, the wise of mortals call thee Hestia whose 

 seat is in the sky." 



The vague belief of the poet finds expression in the following 

 prayer : 



fr. 904: 



aol Tcg TravTcov nebkovTL x^W 



ireKavbv re 4>^pco, Zeis etr' 'Aidrjs 



ovoixa^oixevos (TTepyeis' av 5k {xol 



■&vfflav airvpov irayKapTreias 



Se^ai, TrXrjpr] Trpoxvd^eicTav. 



(TV yap ev re ■deois rots ovpavldais 



(TKrjirTpov TO Aios /j.eraxi'-pi-tcov 



X&ovluv ??' AtSjj /jLerexets dpxv^- 



irkpApov 5' es <^ws xl/vxas kvkpoiv 



rots ^ovKofxkvoii ad^Xovs irpoixa&tiv k. t. X. 



" To thee, ruler of all things, whether thou choosest to be named Zeus 

 or Hades, I bring libation and offerings, etc. . . . thou, who art wielding 

 the sceptre among the Gods in heaven and rulest among the Gods in Hades 

 send souls of those beneath the earth up to light to those who are eager 

 to know the origin of troubles and the source of evils, etc." 



Perhaps line 9 should be read : 



■irkp,ipov nev </)aJs ^vxcus avkpuiv. 

 " Send light to the souls of men ! " 



The following two examples are taken from the fragmenta 

 dubia et spuria of Euripides: 

 fr. 1 104 ascribes to Zeus omniscience and omnipresence: 



5> ZeD iravoirra /cat KaroTrra wavraxov. 



fr. 1094 contains a prayer addressed to Athena, — " almost the only 

 Goddess," as J. Adam says, " from whom the poet refrains his 

 sacrilegious hand " : 



S) Tov fieylffTov Zrivos SCKkiixov reKos 

 naXXcts, r£ dpcbfiep k. t. X. 



"O Pallas, thou mighty Child of great Zeus, what shall we do?" 



In his " Danae " the poet makes one of his characters declaim the 

 following prayer to gold : 



140 



