by Unknown
I call upon great and pure,
upon resounding and illustrious,
upon ethereal and blazing Zeus,
whose racing fire shines through the air.
Your light flashes through the clouds
3
with an ear-splitting clap.
O horrid, O wrathful and pure,
O invincible god,
lord of lightning, I call upon you,
O begetter of all, O great king,
to be kind and to bring
6
a sweet end to my life.
21. To the Clouds
incense—myrrh
Airy Clouds, you nourish fruits
and rove the sky,
you bring rain as you are driven
everywhere by the wind.
Filled with blazing thunder,
3
filled with water, you resound
with awesome crashes
in the air-filled vault of heaven
as you are repelled
by the attack of raging winds.
To you I offer my prayers:
6
your dewy cloaks, blown by fair breezes,
send fruit-nourishing rains
to mother Earth.
22. To the Sea
incense—pounded frankincense
I call upon gray-eyed Tethys,
bride of Okeanos,
dark-veiled queen
whose waves dance
as they are blown onto the land
3
by the sweet breezes.
You break your tall waves
upon the rocky beaches,
you are calmed by races
that are gentle and smooth,
you delight in ships,
6
your waters feed wild beasts.
Mother of Kypris,
mother of dark clouds,
mother of every spring
round which nymphs swarm,
hear me, O holy one,
9
please help,
send a fair tail wind to ships,
O blessed one.
23. To Nereus
incense—myrrh
The sea’s foundations are your realm,
the abode of blue-black darkness,
you exult in the beauty
of your fifty daughters
as they dance amid the waves.
3
O Nereus, god of great renown,
O foundation of the sea, O end of the earth,
O beginning of all,
Demeter’s sacred throne trembles
when you hold prisoner
the gusty winds driven
6
to your gloomy depths.
O blessed one,
ward off earthquakes and send
to the initiates peace and prosperity
and gentle-handed health.
24. To the Nereids
incense—aromatic herbs
O lovely-faced and pure nymphs,
daughters of Nereus, lord of the deep,
at the bottom of the sea
you frolic and dance,
fifty maidens revel in the waves,
3
maidens riding on the backs of Tritons,
delighting in animal shapes,
bodies nurtured by the sea,
and in the other dwellers
of Triton’s billowy kingdom.
Your home is the water,
6
you leap and whirl round the waves
like glistening dolphins
roving the roaring seas.
I call upon you to bring
much prosperity to the initiates,
for you were first
9
to show the holy rite
of sacred Bacchos
and of pure Persephone,
you and mother Kalliope
and Apollon the lord.
25. To Proteus
incense—storax
I call upon Proteus,
key-holding master of the sea,
first-born, who showed
the beginnings of all nature,
changing matter
3
into a great variety of forms.
Honored by all, he is wise,
and he knows what is now,
what was before,
and what will be in the future.
He has all at his disposal,
6
transformed far beyond
all other immortals
who dwell on snowy Olympos
and fly through the air
and over land and sea,
for Physis was the first to place
9
everything in Proteus.
Father, attended by holy providence,
visit the mystic initiates,
and bring a good end to a life
of industry and prosperity.
26. To Earth
incense, any grain save beans, and aromatic herbs
Divine Earth, mother of men
and of the blessed gods,
you nourish all, you give all,
you bring all to fruition, you destroy all.
When the season is fair, you teem
3
with fruit and growing blossoms,
O multi-formed maiden,
seat of the immortal cosmos,
in the pains of labor
you bring forth all fruit.
Eternal, revered,
6
deep-bosomed and blessed,
your joy is the sweet breath of grass,
O goddess bedecked with flowers,
yours is the joy of the rain,
the intricate realm of the stars
revolves in endless
9
and awesome flow.
O blessed goddess,
may you multiply the delicious fruits,
and may you and the beautiful Seasons
grant me kindly favor.
27. To the Mother of the Gods
incense—et varia
Divine are your honors, O mother
of the gods and nurturer of all.
Yoke your swift chariot
drawn by bull-slaying lions,
and join our prayers, O mighty goddess.
3
You bring things to pass,
O many-named and revered one,
you are queen of the sky;
in the cosmos yours is the throne,
the throne in the middle,
because the earth is yours,
6
and you give gentle nourishment to mortals.
Of you were born
gods and men,
you hold sway
over the rivers and over all the sea.
Hestia is one of your names,
9
they call you giver of prosperity,
because you bestow on men
all manner of blessings.
Come to this rite,
queen whom the drum delights,
all-taming savior of Phrygia,
12
consort of Kronos,
honored child of Sky,
frenzy-loving nurturer of life,
joyously and graciously
visit our deeds of piety.
28. To Hermes
incense—frankincense
Hear me, Hermes,
messenger of Zeus, son of Maia,
almighty in heart, lord of the deceased,
judge of contests,
gentle and clever, O Argeiphontes,
3
you are the guide
of the flying sandals,
a man-loving prophet to mortals.
A vigorous god, you delight
in exercise and in deceit.
Interpreter of all you are
6
and a profiteer who frees us of cares,
who holds in his hands
the blameless to
ol of peace.
Lord of Korykos, blessed,
helpful, and skilled in words,
you assist in work and you are
9
a friend of mortals in need.
You wield the dreaded, the respected
weapon of speech.
Hear my prayer and grant
a good end to a life of industry,
gracious talk,
12
and mindfulness.
29. Hymn to Persephone
Persephone, blessed daughter
of great Zeus, sole offspring
of Demeter, come and accept
this gracious sacrifice.
Much-honored spouse of Plouton,
3
discreet and life-giving,
you command the gates of Hades
in the bowels of the earth,
lovely-tressed Praxidike,
pure bloom of Deo,
mother of the Erinyes,
6
queen of the nether world,
secretly sired by Zeus
in clandestine union.
Mother of loud-roaring,
many-shaped Eubouleus,
radiant and luminous,
9
playmate of the Seasons,
revered and almighty,
maiden rich in fruits,
brilliant and horned,
only-beloved of mortals,
in spring you take your joy
12
in the meadow of breezes,
you show your holy figure
in branches teeming with grass-green fruits,
in autumn you were made
a kidnapper’s bride.
You alone are life and death
15
to toiling mortals,
O Persephone, you nourish all,
always, and kill them, too.
Hearken, O blessed goddess,
send forth the fruits of the earth
as you blossom in peace,
18
and in gentle-handed health
bring a blessed life
and a splendid old age to him who is sailing
to your realm, O queen,
and to mighty Plouton’s kingdom.
30. To Dionysos
incense—storax
I call upon loud-roaring,
reveling Dionysos,
primeval, two-natured,
thrice-born Bacchic lord,
savage, ineffable, secretive,
3
two-horned and two-shaped,
ivy-covered, bull-faced,
warlike, howling, pure.
You take raw flesh in triennial feasts,
wrapped in foliage, decked with grape clusters,
resourceful Eubouleus,
6
immortal god sired by Zeus
when he mated with Persephone
in unspeakable union.
Hearken to my voice, O blessed one,
you and your fair-girdled nurses,
breathe on me in a spirit
9
of perfect kindness.
31. Hymn to the Kouretes
Leaping Kouretes,
stepping to the sound of arms,
howling mountain men
whose feet pound the ground,
discordant is the lyre you strike
3
as you pace, light of foot,
O renowned marshals,
O arm-carrying guards,
priests in the train of a mother
struck with mountain frenzy.
Kindly visit the people
6
who praise you with words,
with joyous heart
be gracious to the oxherd.
32. To Athene
incense—aromatic herbs
Reverend Pallas,
great Zeus bore you by himself,
noble and blessed goddess,