you possess the keys to joy
6
and sorrow as well.
So, O pure and blessed one,
drive painful cares away,
cares that dispatch ruin to all that live
throughout the whole earth,
and bring a glorious end to my life,
9
a sweet and noble one.
74. To Leukothea
incense—aromatic herbs
I call upon Leukothea,
daughter of Kadmos, revered goddess,
mighty nurturer
of fair-wreathed Dionysos.
Hearken, O goddess,
3
O mistress of the deep-bosomed sea,
you delight in waves,
you are the greatest savior to mortals,
on you depends the unsteady heave
of seafaring ships,
you alone save men
6
from wretched death at sea,
men to whom you swiftly come
as welcome savior.
O divine lady,
come to the aid
of well-benched ships,
9
do kindly save them,
bring upon the sea
a fair tail wind to the initiates.
75. To Palaimon
incense—powdered frankincense
Comrade of joyous Dionysos
in the revel of the dance,
you dwell in the sea’s
pure, restless depths.
I call upon you, O Palaimon,
3
to come to these sacred rites
with kindness in your heart,
with joy on your youthful face,
come to save your initiates
on land and on sea.
When storms come upon ships
6
that ever rove the seas,
you alone appear incarnate
to save men,
to stay the harsh anger
over the briny swell.
76. To the Muses
incense—frankincense
Daughters of Mnemosyne,
daughters of thundering Zeus,
Pierian Muses,
renowned and illustrious,
many-shaped and beloved
3
of the mortals you visit,
you give birth to unblemished virtue
in every discipline,
you nourish the soul,
you set thought aright
as you become leaders,
6
as you become mistresses of the mind’s power.
Sacred and mystic rites
you taught to mortals,
Kleio, Euterpe,
Thaleia, Melpomene,
Terpsichore, Erato,
9
Polymnia, Ourania,
mother Kalliope,
mighty goddess Hagne.
Do come to the initiates, O goddesses,
in your manifold holiness,
do bring glory and emulation
12
that is lovely and sung by many.
77. To Mnemosyne
incense—frankincense
I call upon queen Mnemosyne,
Zeus’ consort,
who gave birth to the holy,
the sacred, the clear-voiced Muses.
Evil oblivion that harms the mind
3
is alien to her
who gives coherence
to the mind and soul of mortals.
She increases men’s power,
their ability to think,
sweet and vigilant,
6
she reminds us of all
the thoughts we store
forever in our breasts,
never straying and ever rousing
the mind to action.
O blessed goddess,
9
for the initiates stir the memory
of the sacred rite,
ward off oblivion from them.
78. To Dawn
incense—powdered frankincense
Hear, O goddess, you bring
the light of day to mortals,
resplendent Dawn, you blush
throughout the world,
messenger of the great,
3
the illustrious Titan.
Murky, dark,
journeying night
you send below the earth
when you arrive;
mortal men you lead to work
6
as you tend to their lives.
The race of mortal men
delights in you,
no one escapes your sight
as you look down from on high,
when from your eyelids
9
you shake off sweet sleep,
when there is joy
for every mortal,
for every reptile,
for animals,
for birds,
12
for the broods the sea contains.
All blessings that come from work
are your gift.
Goddess, blessed and pure, give
more sacred light to the initiates.
79. To Themis
incense—frankincense
I call upon pure Themis,
daughter of noble Sky
and Earth, Themis the young,
the lovely-faced maiden,
the first to show mortals
3
the holy oracle
as prophetess of the gods
in her Delphic hideaway
on Pythian ground
where Python was king.
You taught lord Phoibos
6
the art of giving laws.
Amid reverence and honor
you shine in the night,
for you were first
howling to Bacchos
9
in nights of revelry;
from you come the honors
of the gods, the honors of the holy mysteries.
O blessed maiden,
come in a joyous, in a kindly spirit
to your very sacred,
12
to your mystical rites.
80. To Boreas
incense—frankincense
Freezing Boreas, your wintry breezes
make the world’s
lofty air quiver,
come from snowy Thrace!
Dissolve the rebellious alliance
3
of clouds and moist air,
turn the water
to rushing drops of rain,
bring fair weather everywhere,
brighten Ether’s face
as the sun’s rays
6
shine upon the earth.
81. To Zephyros
incense—frankincense
Western breezes born of the open sea,
ethereal wonders,
as you blow gently
your whisper brings rest from toil.
Vernal, meadow-haunting,
3
you are loved by harbors
because to ships you bring
a gentle passage, soft light wind.
Come in a generous spirit,
blow in unblemished ways,
O airy, O invisible,
6
O light-winged ones.
82. To Notos
incense—frankincense
Quickly leaping
through the moist air
as both of your swift wings vibrate,
O father of rain, come,
riding the southern clouds.
3
Zeus did grant you
this lofty prerogative:
to send the rain-giving clouds
from sky to earth.
For this we pray to you, O blessed one,
take delight in our sacr
ifice,
6
do send fruit-nourishing rains to mother Earth.
83. To Okeanos
incense—aromatic herbs
I summon Okeanos,
ageless, eternal father,
begetter of immortal gods,
begetter of mortal men.
Your waves, O Okeanos,
3
gird the boundaries of the earth.
From you come all the seas,
from you come all the rivers,
from you come the pure, the flowing waters
of earth’s springs.
Hear me, O blessed god,
6
O highest, O divine purifier,
where you end the earth ends,
the pole begins where ships glide on,
come, grant favor,
grant grace to the initiates.
84. To Hestia
incense—aromatic herbs
daughter of mighty Kronos,
mistress of ever-burning fire,
you dwell in the center of the house.
May you raise the holy initiates
3
in these sacred rites,
may you grant them unwithering youth,
wealth as well, prudence and purity.
Home of the blessed gods,
men’s mighty buttress,
eternal, many-shaped,
6
beloved, grass-yellow,
smile, O blessed one,
kindly accept these offerings,
waft upon us prosperity,
breathe upon us gentle-handed health.
85. To Sleep
incense with opium poppy
Sleep, you are lord of all,
lord of blessed gods and of mortal men,
of every living thing
the broad earth nurtures,
for you alone are master of all,
3
you do visit all,
binding their bodies
with fetters unforged.
You free us of cares, you offer
sweet respite from toil,
you grant holy solace
6
to our every sorrow,
you save souls by easing them
into the thought of Death,
since to Death and Oblivion
you are a true brother.
But, O blessed one, I beseech you
9
to come sweet-tempered,
to be a kindly savior of the initiates,
that they may serve the gods.
86. To Dream
incense—aromatic herbs
I call upon you, blessed,
long-winged, baneful Dream,
messenger of things to come,
greatest prophet to mortals.
In the quiet of sweet sleep
3
you come silent,
you speak to the soul,
you rouse men’s minds,
in their sleep you whisper
the will of the gods;
silent you come to show
6
the future to silent souls
that walk the noble path
of devotion to the gods.
Good always wins the race
in people’s minds,
good leads their lives
9
to pleasures anticipated,
to a respite from suffering,
that god himself may reveal
the firmament of the divine lords
… through vows and sacrifices.
The end to which the pious come
12
is always so sweeter,
but to the impious never
does a dreamy phantom,
a prophet of evil deeds,
reveal future need
so that they may find the cure
15