Brimo

Brimo is a name for something frightening met in the dark. It belongs with a verb for snorting or raging, and like Eukles it works as a title rather than a personal name — which is the point, in a mystery cult where the real name was not said. The gold leaves name her among the powers the initiate encounters below. Whether she is Demeter in her terrible aspect, or Hekate, or something older than either, the sources do not agree, and the record does not settle it for them.

Variant accounts

• Brimo is identified with more than one goddess.She is read as Demeter by some and as Hekate by others, and the mystery context she belongs to — where saying a name outright was avoided — is exactly what makes the question hard. No Demeter or Hekate record is merged with this one; the identifications are recorded as identifications.Scholarly study of the divinities in the Orphic gold leaves, noting Brimo's identification with Demeter or Hekate. (secondary)

Domains

• underworld
• terror

Relations

• ally: EuklesNamed among the same small group of divinities on the gold leaves as Eukles.Scholarly study of the divinities in the Orphic gold leaves — Euklês, Eubouleus, Brimo, Kybele, Kore and Persephone. (secondary)

Sources

• Brimo, 'the terrible one', is a divinity named on the Orphic gold leaves, identified in the sources sometimes with Demeter and sometimes with Hekate.: The Orphic gold leaves. (epigraphic); Scholarly study of the divinities in the Orphic gold leaves, on Brimo's identifications. (secondary)