by Unknown
justice against her foes.
An enemy of the unjust,
9
you are a gentle goddess to the just.
O goddess, come evenhanded
to thoughts that are noble,
until that fated day
descends on my life.
63. To Justice
incense—frankincense
O paragon of justice to mortals,
blessed and beloved one,
you take equal pleasure
in all men who are just.
Honored by all and blissful,
3
O bold, O lofty Justice,
you are pure of thought,
you reward propriety,
your own conscience is unbreakable
for you break all
who do not submit to your yoke,
6
but ...
in their greed upset
the balance of your mighty scales.
Dauntless, charming,
a lover of revel loved by all,
you rejoice in peace, you strive
9
for a life that is stable.
You loath unfairness,
but fairness delights you;
in you knowledge of virtue
reaches its noble goal.
Hear, O goddess,
12
rightly shatter wicked men,
so that mortals who eat
of the fruits of this earth
and also all living creatures
nursed in the bosom
of Earth, the divine mother,
15
nursed in the bosom of sea-dwelling Zeus,
may follow a path
both balanced and noble.
64. Hymn to Nomos
Upon the holy lord
of men and gods I call,
heavenly Nomos, who arranges
the stars and sets a fair limit
between the earth and the waters of the sea;
3
it is his laws
that ever preserve nature’s balance,
obedient and steady.
Journeying on the heavens,
he brings the laws from above,
with a roar he drives out
6
malicious envy.
Nomos summons
a good end to mortal life,
he alone steers the course
of everything that breathes,
ever the steadfast companion
9
of righteous thought.
Primeval and wise, in peace he shares
the same house with all who abide by the law,
bringing harsh vengeance
upon the lawless.
O blessed bringer of prosperity,
12
beloved of all and honored,
with kindness of heart send forth
memory of you, O mighty one.
65. To Ares
incense—frankincense
Unbreakable, strong-spirited,
mighty, powerful daimōn,
delighting in arms, indomitable,
man-slaying, wall-battering,
lord Ares, yours is the din of arms.
3
Ever bespattered with blood,
you find joy in killing
in the fray of battle, O horrid one,
your desire is for the rude clash
of swords and spears.
Stay the rage, stay the strife,
6
relax pain’s grip on my soul,
yield to the wish of Kypris,
yield to the revels of Lyaios,
exchange the might of arms
for the works of Deo,
yearning for youth-nurturing peace,
9
bliss-bringing peace.
66. To Hephaistos
incense—powdered frankincense
Hephaistos, powerful and strong-spirited,
unwearying fire,
shining in the gleam of flames,
a god bringing light to mortals,
mighty-handed,
3
eternal artisan,
worker, part of the cosmos,
blameless element,
most sublime, all-eating,
all-taming, all-haunting—
ether, sun, stars,
6
moon, pure light:
all these parts of Hephaistos
are revealed to mortals.
All homes, all cities,
all nations are yours.
O mighty giver of many blessings,
9
you dwell in human bodies.
Hear me, lord, as I summon you
to this holy libation,
that you may always come
gentle to joyful deeds,
end the savage rage
12
of untiring fire
as nature itself
burns in our own bodies.
67. To Asklepios
incense—frankincense
Asklepios, lord Paian,
healer of all,
you charm away the pains
of men who suffer.
Come, mighty and soothing,
3
bring health,
put an end to sickness,
then to the harsh fate of death.
O blessed spirit of joyful growth,
O helper, you ward off evil,
honored and mighty son
6
of Phoibos Apollon.
Enemy of disease,
consort of Hygieia the blameless,
come as savior, O blessed one,
bring life to a good end.
68. To Hygeia
incense—frankincense
Charming queen of all,
lovely and blooming,
blessed Hygeia, mother of all,
bringer of bliss, hear me.
Through you vanish
3
the illnesses that afflict man,
through you every house
blossoms to the fullness of joy.
The arts thrive when the world
desires you, O queen,
loathed by Hades,
6
the destroyer of souls.
Apart from you all is
without profit for men:
wealth, the sweet giver of abundance
for those who feast, fails,
and man never reaches
9
the many pains of old age.
Goddess, come, ever-helpful
to the initiates,
keep away the evil distress
of unbearable diseases.
69. To the Erinyes
incense—storax—powdered frankincense
Hear, Tisiphone, Allekto,
noble Megaira,
revered goddesses
whose Bacchic cries resound.
Nocturnal and clandestine,
3
you live deep down
in the dank cave
by the sacred water of the Styx.
Men’s unholy designs
do incur your anger;
rabid and arrogant, you howl
6
over Necessity’s dictates,
clothed in animal skins,
you cause the deep pains of retribution.
O dreaded maidens of the thousand faces,
your realm is in Hades,
phantoms airy, invisible,
9
swift as thought you are.
The speedy flames of the sun
and the moon’s glow
cannot arouse life’s delights
without your aid,
neither can the excellence of wisdom,
12
as well as the virtue and the joy
in bold enterprise
and in the sleekness of fair youth.
Upon the races of all men
that rem
ain countless,
you gaze as the eye of Dike,
15
ever in charge of justice.
O snake-haired and many-shaped
goddesses of fate,
change my thoughts of life
into gentle and soft ones.
70. To the Eumenides
incense—aromatic herbs
Hear me and be gracious,
O renowned Eumenides,
O pure daughters
of the great Chthonic Zeus
and of lovely Persephone,
3
fair-tressed maiden.
Over the lives of impious mortals
you keep a careful eye,
in charge of Necessity,
you punish the unjust.
Black-skinned queens,
6
your awesome eyes flash forth
flesh-eating
darts of light.
Everlasting, repugnant,
frightful, sovereign,
paralyzing the limbs with madness,
9
hideous, nocturnal, fateful,
snake-haired, terrible
maidens of the night,
it is you I summon
to bring me holiness of mind.
71. To Melinoe
incense—aromatic herbs
I call upon Melinoe,
saffron-cloaked nymph of the earth,
whom revered Persephone bore
by the mouth of the Kokytos river
upon the sacred bed
3
of Kronian Zeus.
In the guise of Plouton Zeus tricked
Persephone and through wily plots bedded her;
a two-bodied specter sprang forth
from Persephone’s fury.
This specter drives mortals to madness
6
with her airy apparitions
as she appears in weird shapes
and strange forms,
now plain to the eye, now shadowy,
now shining in the darkness—
all this in unnerving attacks
9
in the gloom of night.
O goddess, O queen
of those below, I beseech you
to banish the soul’s frenzy
to the ends of the earth,
show to the initiates
12
a kindly and holy face.
72. To Tyche
incense—frankincense
I summon you here through prayer,
Tyche, noble ruler,
gentle goddess of the roads,
for wealth and possessions,
I summon you as Artemis the guide,
3
renowned and sprung from the loins
of Eubouleus,
your wish is irresistible.
Funereal and delusive,
you are the theme of men’s songs.
In you lies the great variety
6
of men’s livelihood:
to some you grant a wealth
of blessings and possessions,
to others you bring evil poverty
if you harbor anger against them.
O goddess, I beseech you,
9
come in kindness to my life,
grant me happiness,
grant me abundant wealth.
73. To Daimon
incense—frankincense
I call upon Daimon,
the grand and the dreaded leader,
gentle Zeus, who gives birth to all,
who gives livelihood to mortals.
Great Zeus, wide roving,
3
avenger, king of all,
giver of wealth when you enter the house
in the abundance of your powers,
you refresh the life of mortals
worn out with toil,