Orphic tablets (Lamellae Orphicae) are called the inscriptions written on thin sheets of gold and were deposited in graves. The tablets are named Orphic by modern scholars, as they are related to the initiates in mystery cults, with rites shrouded in secrecy, associated with the mythical poet Orpheus (Orphic Mysteries, Orphism). The tablets usually bear a short text proclaiming the deceased’s special status and providing guidance for his or her journey into the Underworld. So, thanks to the participation in these rites and armed with the privileged information as to where to go in the Underworld and what to say, the initiated deceased could be able to obtain a happier afterlife.

On this lamella the text is in the form of a dialogue between the dead initiate and a spring in the Underworld.

ΔΙΨΑΙΑΥΟΣΕΓΩΚΑΠΟΛΛΥΜΑΙ / ΑΛΛΑΠΙΕΜΟΥΚΡΑΝΑΣΑΙΕΙΡΟΩ / ΕΠΙΔΕΞΙΑΛΕΥΚΕΚΥΠΑΡΙΣΣΟΣ / ΤΙΣΔΕΖΙΠΩΔΕΖΙΓΑΣΥΙΟΣΕΙΜΙ / ΚΑΙΟΥΡΑΝΟΣΑΣΤΕΡΟΕΝΤΟΣ / ΑΥΤΑΡΕΜΟΙΓΕΝΟΣΟΥΡΑΝΟΝ

Δίψαι αὖος ἐγὼ κ᾽απόλλυμαι ἀλλὰ πιέ μου κράνας αἰειρόω ἐπὶ δεξιά λευκῆ κυπάρισσος “τίς δ᾽έζι? πῶ δ᾽έζι?” Γᾶς υἰός εἰμί καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος αὐτάρ ἐμοὶ γένος οὐρανόν.

Translation of the inscription in english (by Roy Kotansky, 2017):

(Initiate): I am parched with thirst and perishing!

(Spring): Then come drink of me, the Ever-Flowing Spring. On the right there is a bright cypress. Who are you? Where are you from?

(Initiate): I am the son of Earth and Starry Heaven. But my race is heavenly.