Modernized from the Translation by Thomas Taylor (1792)

Eighty-seven hymns to the gods, composed by anonymous devotees of the Orphic mysteries between the second and third centuries CE. Each hymn prescribes a fumigation — a ritual incense offering — and invokes a deity by name and epithet, calling divine presence into the ceremonial space. The collection survives in a single manuscript tradition and represents the most complete liturgical document from Greco-Roman antiquity.

The hymns belong to a late Orphic community, probably in Asia Minor, that practiced theurgic rites — ceremonies in which the worshipper sought direct communion with the divine through invocation, incense, and sacred utterance. The attributed author is Orpheus, the mythical poet-prophet whose song could move stones and charm the dead, though the hymns were composed by many hands across generations of ritual practice.

This modernization is based primarily on the verse translation by Thomas Taylor (1792), with reference to Athanassakis (1977) and Morand (2001). Taylor's heroic couplets have been opened into lineated free verse, his Roman deity names restored to Greek, and his eighteenth-century idiom brought into modern English — though his voice and structure remain the foundation throughout. This is not a fresh translation from the Greek but a creative modernization of Taylor's work for contemporary readers.

Proem — To Musaeus

Hear me, Musaeus, child of the bright Moon,
and learn what rites and sacrifices are due.

I call on Zeus, on Gaia, on Helios the Sun,
on Selene's pure light, and the holy stars;
on Poseidon who holds the sea in his dark hair;
on Demeter the abundant, lovely of face,
and Persephone who sits in Hades' hall;
on Artemis the huntress, on far-shooting Apollo;
on Dionysos, honoured by the heavenly choir;
on Ares the raging, and Hephaistos lord of fire;
on foam-born Aphrodite, risen shining from the deep;
on Plouton, potent in the realms below.

I call on Hebe, and on Herakles the strong;
on Eileithyia who guards the hour of birth;
on Dike and Eusebeia, justice and devotion;
on the Nymphs, and on Pan the god of all;
on Hera, queen of heaven, and Mnemosyne the mother of memory;
on the nine Muses, and the three Graces;
on the Horai who keep the turning seasons;
on Leto, and on Dione, mother of desire.

I call on the Kouretes armed and dancing,
on the Korybantes, on the Kabeiroi;
on the great Soteres, saviours sprung from Zeus;
on the gods of Ida, and the angels of the sky;
on Themis the far-seeing, and on ancient Nyx;
on Hemera the dawn, and Pistis who is faith,
and Dike who deals justly among the living.

I call on Kronos and Rhea, and on Tethys
veiled in celestial blue;
on Okeanos the great, and the sea-nymphs in their beauty;
on Atlas who bears the pole, and on Aion everlasting;
on Khronos the endless, and on Styx the binding;
on the gentle gods, and on the many daimones
who watch over the lives of men.

I call on Pronoia the provident,
and on the spirits of the air, the water, the earth, the fire,
and those who dwell below the ground.
I call on Dionysos and on Semele,
on Leukothea of the white wave, and Palaimon,
and on Nike the sweet-tongued;
on Asklepios who heals, and on Athene fierce in battle;
on the Thunders and the Winds pent in their columns;
on Attis and Adonis, never truly dead —
end and beginning, he is all to all.

With gentle purpose I call them to these rites.

And last I invoke Hekate of the crossroads,
Hekate of earth and sea and sky,
saffron-veiled, delighting in dark shades,
keeper of the world's keys, huntress, Persian queen —
be present, nurse and leader, to our mysteries.

Grant our desires. Accept the incense. Bless.

I. To Prothyraia

The fumigation from storax.

Hear me, venerable goddess —
the pains of labour are your care.

In you the suffering mother sees relief
as in a mirror.
Guardian of the race, gentle-natured,
kind to helpless youth, bountiful nurse —
great Nature's key belongs to no one but you.

You dwell with all things unseen,
and solemn festivals delight you.
Yours is the task of loosening the virgin's zone.
In every work of birth you are present, you are known.

You share in the travails of women,
glad to see the many children of the fruitful.
When mothers are racked with Nature's pangs,
they call on you — the soul's sure rest.

For you alone bring relief to pain
that all the physician's art tries and fails to ease.

Hear me, blessed Artemis,
and make the newborn race your constant care.

II. To Night

The fumigation with torches.

Night, parent goddess,
from whom both gods and men first arose —
hear me, blessed Nyx, decked in starry light,
dwelling in deep silence, ebon-dark.

Dreams and soft rest attend your dusky train.
You delight in the lengthened dark.
Dissolving anxious care, friend of gladness,
on your dark horses you ride around the earth.

Goddess of phantoms and of shadowed play,
your drowsy power divides the natural day.
By Fate's decree you send the light
to deepest Tartaros, beyond the sight of mortals.

For dire Necessity, which nothing withstands,
holds the world in adamantine bonds.

Be present, goddess, to your suppliant's prayer.
Blessed, benevolent —
dispel the fears of twilight's shade.

III. To Heaven

The fumigation from frankincense.

Great Ouranos, whose mighty frame knows no rest,
father of all, from whom the world arose —
hear me, bounteous parent, source and end of all,
forever turning around this earthly sphere.

Abode of the gods, whose guardian power surrounds
the eternal world with ever-enduring bounds,
whose ample depths and circling folds
contain the dire necessity of Nature.

Aetherial, earthly, whose all-various frame,
azure and full of forms, no power can tame —
all-seeing Heaven, progenitor of Kronos,
forever blessed, sublime:

shine upon these mystic rites,
and crown this life with what is divine.

IV. To Aither

The fumigation from saffron.

O untamed Fire, who rules on high
in the dominions of Zeus, ruler of the sky —
the glorious Sun derives his brilliant light from you,
and Selene and the stars owe you their glow.

All-taming power, aetherial, shining fire,
whose vivid blasts inspire the heat of life —
the world's best element, bearer of light,
with starry radiance, splendid flower:

hear my prayer, and may your flame
be ever innocent, serene, and tame.

V. To Protogonus

The fumigation from myrrh.

O mighty First-Born, hear my prayer —
two-natured, egg-born, wandering through the air,
bull-roaring, glorying in your golden wings,
from whom the race of gods and mortals springs.

Erikapaios, celebrated power,
ineffable, hidden, all-shining flower —
from eyes obscure you wipe the gloom of night,
all-spreading splendour, pure and holy light.

Hence you are called Phanes, glory of the sky,
on waving pinions through the world you fly.
Priapus, dark-eyed splendour, you I sing —
genial, all-prudent, ever-blessed king.

With joyful aspect shine upon these rites,
and on our holy sacrifice look kindly.

VI. To the Stars

The fumigation from aromatics.

With holy voice I call the Stars on high,
pure sacred lights, spirits of the sky.

Celestial stars, children of Night,
in whirling circles beaming far your light —
refulgent rays around the heavens you cast,
eternal fires, the source of all below.

With flames that signify Fate you shine,
ruling for mortals a path divine.
In seven bright zones you run with wandering flames,
and heaven and earth compose your lucid frames.

With course unwearied, pure and fiery bright,
forever shining through the veil of Night —
hail, twinkling, joyful, ever-wakeful fires!

Shine kindly on all my just desires.
Regard these sacred rites with conscious rays,
and bless these works devoted to your praise.

VII. To Helios

The fumigation from frankincense and manna.

Hear me, golden Titan,
whose eternal eye illumines all the sky —
self-born, unwearied in pouring out your light,
to every eye the mirror of delight.

Lord of the seasons, with your fiery chariot
and leaping horses beaming light from far —
with your right hand you bring the morning,
with your left hand you father the night.

Agile and vigorous, venerable Sun,
fiery and bright around the heavens you run —
foe to the wicked, but to the good a guide,
over all their steps you kindly preside.

With golden lyre, filling the world
with harmony divine —
father of ages, guide of prosperous deeds,
the world's commander, borne by shining steeds.

Immortal Zeus-born, all-searching, bearing light,
source of existence, pure and fiery bright,
bearer of fruit, almighty lord of years —
whom every power reveres.

Great eye of Nature and the starry skies,
doomed with immortal flame to set and rise —
dispensing justice, lover of the stream,
the world's great ruler, over all supreme.

Faithful defender, and the eye of right,
of horses the master, and of life the light —
with sounding whip you guide four fiery steeds
when in the chariot of the day you ride in glory.

Shine kindly on these mysteries,
and bless your servants with a life divine.

VIII. To Selene

The fumigation from aromatics.

Hear me, goddess queen, diffusing silver light,
bull-horned, wandering through the gloom of Night —
surrounded by the stars, with circuit wide,
Night's torch extending through the heavens you ride.

Female and male, with borrowed rays you shine,
now full-orbed, now tending to decline.
Mother of ages, fruit-producing Moon,
whose amber orb makes Night's reflected noon.

Lover of horses, splendid queen of Night,
all-seeing power bedecked with starry light —
lover of vigilance, the foe of strife,
rejoicing in peace and in a prudent life.

Fair lamp of Night, its ornament and friend,
who gives to Nature's works their destined end —
queen of the stars, all-wise Selene, hail!

Come, blessed goddess, prudent, starry, bright,
come, lamp of the moon, with chaste and splendid light.

Shine on these sacred rites with kindly rays,
and accept your suppliant's praise.

IX. To Phusis

The fumigation from aromatics.

Nature, all-parent, ancient and divine —
O much-creating mother, the art is yours.

Heavenly, abundant, venerable queen,
in every part of your dominion seen —
untamed, all-taming, ever-splendid light,
all-ruling, honoured, and supremely bright.

Immortal, first-born, ever still the same,
nocturnal, starry, shining, glorious —
your feet trace a circling course,
turned by you with unremitting force.

Pure ornament of all the powers divine,
finite and infinite alike you shine —
known to all things and present in all things,
yet incommunicable and alone.

Without a father, from your wondrous frame
you yourself are the father from which your essence came.
All-flourishing, connecting, mingling soul,
leader and ruler of this mighty whole.

Life-bearer, all-sustaining, many-named,
for commanding grace and beauty famed —
Justice supreme in might, whose general sway
the waters of the restless deep obey.

Aetherial, earthly, for the pious glad,
sweet to the good, but bitter to the bad —
all-wise, all-bounteous, provident, divine,
a rich increase of nourishment is yours.

Father of all, great nurse and mother kind,
abundant, blessed, all-generative mind —
mature, impetuous, from whose fertile seeds
this ever-changing scene of being proceeds.

All-parent power, to mortal eyes unseen,
eternal, moving, all-sagacious queen —
by you the world, whose parts in rapid flow
like swift-descending streams no respite know,
on an eternal hinge with steady course
is whirled with matchless, unremitting force.

Throned on a circling chariot, your mighty hand
holds and directs the reins of wide command.

Immortal Providence, the world is yours,
and you are all things, architect divine.

O blessed goddess, hear your suppliant's prayer:
give plenteous seasons and sufficient wealth,
and crown these days with lasting peace and health.

X. To Pan

The fumigation from various odours.

I call on mighty Pan, the substance of the whole —
aetherial, marine, earthly, universal soul,
immortal fire, for all the world is yours
and all things are parts of you, O power divine.

Come, blessed Pan, whom rural haunts delight,
come leaping, agile, wandering, starry light —
the Horai wait on your command,
and round your throne in graceful order stand.

Goat-footed, horned, Bacchanalian Pan,
ecstatic power from whom the world began,
whose various parts, inspired by you, combine
in endless dance and melody divine.

In you we find a refuge from our fears,
those fears peculiar to the human kind.
You love the shepherds, the streams of water, the goats,
the chase, and Echo's secret voice.

The sportive nymphs attend your every step,
and all your works reach their destined end.

O all-producing power, much-famed, divine,
the world's great ruler, rich increase is yours —
all-fertile Paian, heavenly splendour, pure,
rejoicing in fruits and dwelling in caves.

True serpent-horned Zeus, whose terrible rage
when roused is hard for mortals to appease —
by you the broad-bosomed earth, deep and long,
stands on a basis permanent and strong.

The unwearied waters of the rolling sea,
spreading deep, yield to your decree.
Old Okeanos reveres your high command,
whose liquid arms encircle the solid land.

The spacious air, whose nourishing fire
and vivid blasts the heat of life inspire,
the lighter frame of fire, whose sparkling eye
shines on the summit of the azure sky —
all submit to you, whose general sway
all parts of matter, variously formed, obey.

All Nature's changes are your care,
and all mankind your generous bounties share.

Come, Bacchanalian, blessed power, draw near,
ecstatic Pan, hear your humble suppliant —
attend these holy rites with kindly aspect,
and grant this life a prosperous end.

Drive panic terror, wherever it is found,
from humankind to earth's remotest bound.

XI. To Herakles

The fumigation from frankincense.

Hear me, powerful Herakles, untamed and strong,
to whom vast hands and mighty works belong —
almighty Titan, prudent and benign,
of many forms, eternal and divine.

Father of Time, the theme of universal praise,
ineffable, adored in countless ways —
great-souled, in divination skilled,
and in the labours of the field.

It is yours to devour all things, supreme,
all-helping, all-producing power —
to you mankind as their deliverer pray,
whose arm can chase the savage tribes away.

Unwearied, earth's best blossom, offspring fair,
to whom calm peace and peaceful works are dear —
self-born, with primal fire you shine,
and mighty head support the morning light
and bear, untamed, the silent gloomy night.

From east to west, endowed with strength divine,
twelve glorious labours were yours to fulfil —
supremely skilled, you reign in heaven's abodes,
yourself a god amid the immortal gods.

With arms unshaken, infinite, divine —
come, blessed power, and to these rites incline.
Bring relief from sickness,
and drive disastrous fate away.

Come, shake the branch with your almighty arm,
dismiss your darts, and noxious doom disarm.

XII. To Kronos

The fumigation from storax.

Aetherial father, mighty Titan, hear —
great ancestor of gods and men, whom all revere.
Endowed with many counsels, pure and strong,
to you both increase and decay belong.

Consumed by you, all forms that hourly die;
by you restored, their former places fill.
The immense world in everlasting chains —
strong and ineffable, your power contains.

Father of vast eternity, divine,
O mighty Kronos, many-voiced —
blossom of earth and of the starry skies,
husband of Rhea, Prometheus's lord.

Generative Nature, venerable root,
from which the many forms of being shoot —
no single part can your power enclose,
for you are diffused through all, from which the world arose.

O best of beings, of a subtle mind,
hear these holy prayers, kindly inclined —
attend these sacred rites with grace,
and grant a blameless life, a blessed end.

XIII. To Rhea

The fumigation from aromatics.

Daughter of great Protogonus, divine,
illustrious Rhea, to my prayer incline —
who drives your holy chariot along,
drawn by fierce lions, terrible and strong.

Mother of Zeus, whose mighty arm can wield
the avenging bolt and shake the dreadful shield —
drum-beating, ecstatic, of a splendid bearing,
bronze-sounding, honoured, Kronos's blessed queen.

You delight in mountains and tumultuous cries,
and humankind's wild howling pleases you.
War's parent, mighty, majestic of frame,
shape-shifting saviour, liberating goddess.

Mother of gods and mortals, from whom
the earth and lofty heavens derive their glorious birth —
the aetherial winds, the wide-spreading sea,
goddess of air, all proceed from you.

Come, pleased with wanderings, blessed and divine,
with peace attend these labours, and shine upon them.
Bring rich abundance, and wherever found,
drive sickness to earth's remotest bound.

XIV. To Zeus

The fumigation from storax.

O Zeus, much-honoured, Zeus supremely great,
to you we consecrate these holy rites —
our prayers and offerings, king divine,
for all things around your exalted head shine.

The earth is yours, and the mountains swelling high,
the deep-sounding sea, and all within the sky.
Kronian king, descending from above,
great-souled, commanding, sceptered Zeus —

all-parent, source and end of all,
whose almighty power shakes this earthly sphere.
Even Nature trembles at your nod,
loud-sounding, armed with lightning, thundering god.

Source of abundance, purifying king —
O many-formed, from whom all natures spring.

Hear my prayer with favour:
give blameless health,
with divine peace, and needful wealth.

XV. To Hera

The fumigation from aromatics.

O royal Hera of majestic bearing,
aerial-formed, divine, Zeus's blessed queen,
throned in the blue depths of the air —
the race of mortals is your constant care.

The cooling winds your power alone inspires,
which nourish life, which every life desires.
Mother of clouds and rains, from you alone
all mortal life is born and known.

All natures share your divine temperament,
and universal rule is yours alone.
With sounding blasts of wind, the swelling sea
and rolling rivers roar, when shaken by you.

Come, blessed goddess, famed almighty queen,
with kind aspect, rejoicing and serene.

XVI. To Poseidon

The fumigation from myrrh.

Hear me, Poseidon, ruler of the sea profound,
whose liquid grasp encircles the solid ground —
who at the bottom of the stormy depths,
dark and deep-bosomed, holds your watery reign.

Your awesome hand bears the brazen trident,
and Ocean's utmost bound reveres your will.
You I invoke, whose steeds divide the foam,
from whose dark locks the briny waters stream,
whose voice, sounding loud through the roaring deep,
drives all its waves into a raging heap.

When fiercely riding through the boiling sea,
your hoarse command the trembling billows obey.
Earth-shaking, dark-haired god —
the liquid plains, the third division,
Fate assigned to you.

It is yours, blue spirit, to survey with pleasure
the monsters of the ocean at their play.

Secure the earth's foundations, and with kind winds
guide ships along and fill the spacious sails.
Grant gentle peace, and fair-haired Health beside,
and pour abundance in a blameless tide.

XVII. To Plouton

The fumigation from storax.

Plouton, great-souled, whose realms profound
are fixed beneath the firm and solid ground,
in the Tartarean plains remote from light,
wrapped forever in the depths of Night —

chthonic Zeus, incline your sacred ear,
and accept this mystic hymn.

Earth's keys, illustrious king, belong to you —
its secret gates you unlock, deep and strong.
It is yours to give abundant yearly fruits,
for needy mortals are your constant care.

To you, great king, Avernus is assigned,
the seat of gods and foundation of humankind.
Your throne is set in Hades' dismal plains,
distant, unknown to rest, where darkness reigns —
where, deprived of breath, pale shades dwell
in the endless, inexorable deep.

And dread Acheron, whose dark currents
hold the stable roots of earth secure.

O mighty spirit, whose dread decision
determines the future fate of the dead —
with captive Persephone, through grassy plains,
drawn in a four-yoked chariot with loosened reins,
carried over the deep, driven by love,
until Eleusis's city rose to view.

There, in a wondrous cave obscure and deep,
the sacred maiden you keep secure from search —
the cave of Attica, whose wide gates display
an entrance to the kingdoms void of day.

Ruler of hidden works, you alone
are both seen and unseen, the manifest unknown.

O power all-ruling, holy, honoured light —
sacred poets and their hymns delight you.

Come kindly to these mystic labours,
rejoicing, for these holy rites are yours.

XVIII. To Zeus Keraunos

The fumigation from storax.

O Father Zeus, who shakes with fiery light
the deep-resounding world from your great height —
from you the aetherial lightning's blaze proceeds,
flashing around in intolerable rays.

Your sacred thunders shake the blessed abodes,
the shining regions of the immortal gods.
Your divine power shrouds the flaming lightning
with dark investiture in flowing clouds.

It is yours to brandish thunderbolts strong and dire,
to scatter storms and dreadful darts of fire,
with roaring flames involving all around,
and bolts of thunder of tremendous sound.

Your rapid dart can raise the hair upright
and shake the heart of mortals with wild fright —
sudden, unconquered, holy, thundering god,
with boundless noise flying all abroad.

With all-devouring force, entire and strong,
terrible, untamed, you roll the flames along —
rapid aetherial bolt, descending fire,
the all-parent earth trembles at your ire.

The shining sea, and every beast that hears
the terrific sound, shrinks back in dread.
When Nature's face is bright with flashing fire,
and in the heavens your thunders resound —

your white thunderbolts tear the azure garments of the air,
and burst the veil of all-surrounding sky.

O Zeus all-blessed, may your wrath severe
be hurled in the deep, or on the mountain peaks revealed —
for your strong arm is not hidden from us.

Kindly attend these sacred rites,
and crown this life with what is divine:
give royal health, and gentle peace beside,
with equal reason for a constant guide.

XIX. To Zeus Astrapaios

The fumigation from frankincense and manna.

I call on the mighty, holy, splendid light,
aerial, dreadful-sounding, fiery-bright —
flaming, aerial light with angry voice,
lightning through lucid clouds with terrible noise.

Untamed, to whom fierce resentments belong,
pure, holy power, all-parent, great and strong —

come, benevolent, attend these rites,
and grant these days a peaceful, blessed end.

XX. To the Clouds

The fumigation from myrrh.

Aerial Clouds, through heaven's shining plains
who wander — parents of prolific rains,
who nourish fruits, whose watery forms are hurled
by winds impetuous around the mighty world.

All-thundering, lion-roaring, flashing fire,
in the wide breast of Air bearing thunders dire —
driven by every stormy, sounding gale,
with rapid course along the skies you sail.

With blowing winds your watery forms I call,
on mother Earth with fruitful showers to fall.

XXI. To Thalassa

The fumigation from frankincense and manna.

Tethys I call, with eyes of ocean blue,
hidden in a veil obscure from human sight —
great Ocean's empress, wandering through the deep,
pleased with gentle winds, sweeping the earth.

Whose blessed waves in swift succession go,
lashing the rocky shore with endless flow —
delighting in the calm and shining sea,
rejoicing in ships and the watery way.

Mother of Aphrodite and of clouds,
great nurse of beasts and source of fountains pure —

O venerable goddess, hear my prayer:
make kind my life, and take it in your care.
Send to ships a favourable wind,
and bring them safely through the stormy seas.

XXII. To Nereus

The fumigation from myrrh.

O you who keep the deep roots of the sea
in cerulean dwellings, spirit of the deep —
with fifty nymphs attending in your train,
fair virgin artists, glorious through the waves.

The dark foundation of the rolling sea
and Earth's wide bounds belong, much-famed, to you.
Great spirit, source of all, whose power can make
the earth's vast, holy base shake.

When blustering winds in secret caverns pent,
by you excited, struggle hard for vent —

come, blessed Nereus, hear my prayer:
cease to shake the earth with terrible wrath.
Send upon these sacred rites abundant health,
with peace divine and needful wealth.

XXIII. To the Nereids

The fumigation from aromatics.

Daughters of Nereus, dwelling in deep caves
submerged in Ocean, sporting through the waves —
ecstatic fifty nymphs, who through the sea
delight to follow in the Triton's train.

Rejoicing close behind their chariots to swim,
whose forms, half-wild, are nurtured by the deep —
with other nymphs of different kind,
leaping and wandering through the liquid sea.

Bright, watery dolphins, sonorous and joyful,
pleased to sport in Bacchanalian play —
beautiful-eyed nymphs, whom sacrifice delights:

send rich abundance on these mystic rites.

For you first revealed the ceremonies divine
of holy Dionysos and of Persephone,
of fair Kalliope from whom I spring,
and of Apollo bright, the Muses' king.

XXIV. To Proteus

The fumigation from storax.

Proteus I call, whom Fate decrees
to keep the keys that lock the chambers of the deep —
first-born, by whose illustrious power alone
all Nature's principles are clearly shown.

It is yours to change matter into many forms,
matter unformed, capacious, and divine.
All-honoured, prudent, whose sagacious mind
knows all that was and is, of every kind,
with all that shall be in the time to come —
so vast your wisdom, wondrous and sublime.

For all things Nature first consigned to you,
and in your essence all forms are contained.

Come, blessed father, to these rites attend,
and grant this life a prosperous end.

XXV. To Gaia

The fumigation from every kind of seed, except beans and aromatics.

O Goddess Earth, of gods and mortals the source,
endowed with fertile, all-destroying force —
all-parent, bounding, whose prolific powers
produce a wealth of beautiful fruits and flowers.

All-various maiden, the eternal world's strong base,
immortal, blessed, crowned with every grace —
from whose wide womb, as from an endless root,
fruits many-formed, mature and grateful, shoot.

Deep-bosomed, blessed, pleased with grassy plains,
sweet to the smell, and nourished with rich rains —
all-flowering spirit, centre of the world,
around your sphere the beautiful stars are hurled.

With rapid whirl, eternal and divine,
whose frames with matchless skill and wisdom shine —
come, blessed goddess, hear my prayer:
make increase of fruits your constant care.

With the fertile Horai in your train, draw near,
and with kind mind your suppliant hear.

XXVI. To the Mother of the Gods

The fumigation from a variety of odorous substances.

Mother of the Gods, great nurse of all, draw near —
divinely honoured, and regard my prayer.

Throned on a chariot drawn by lions,
by bull-destroying lions, swift and strong —
you hold the sceptre of the divine pole,
and the world's middle seat, much-famed, is yours.

From you the earth is given, and needy mortals share
their constant food from your protecting care.
From you at first both gods and men arose;
from you the sea and every river flows.

Hestia, and source of good, your name we find,
to mortal kind rejoicing to be kind —
for every good to give, your soul delights.
Come, mighty power, attend these rites —

all-taming, blessed, Phrygian saviour,
Kronos's great queen, rejoicing in the drum.
Celestial, ancient, life-supporting maiden,
ecstatic goddess, give your servant aid.

With joyful aspect on our incense shine,
and accept this sacrifice divine.

XXVII. To Hermes

The fumigation from frankincense.

Hermes, draw near, and to my prayer incline —
angel of Zeus, and Maia's child divine,
master of contests, ruler of humankind,
with a great heart and a prudent mind.

Celestial messenger, of many skills,
whose powerful arts could watchful Argos kill —
with winged feet, through the air you course,
O friend of mortals, prophet of speech.

Great supporter of life, it is yours to rejoice
in gymnastic arts and in cunning craft —
with power endowed to explain all language,
loosener of care, and source of gain.

Whose hand holds the rod of blameless peace,
Korykian, blessed, profitable god —
of varied speech, whose aid in all works we find,
and in necessities to mortals kind.

Dread weapon of the tongue, which men revere —
be present, Hermes, and your suppliant hear.
Assist my works, conclude my life with peace,
give graceful speech, and grant me memory's increase.

XXVIII. To Persephone

Daughter of Zeus, almighty and divine,
come, blessed queen, and to these rites incline —
only-begotten, Plouton's honoured wife,
O venerable goddess, source of life.

It is yours to dwell in earth's deep places,
close by the wide and dismal gates of death.
Zeus's holy offspring, of a lovely face,
just Praxidike, with beautiful hair, infernal queen.

Source of the Eumenides, whose blessed form
proceeds from Zeus's ineffable and secret seeds —
Mother of Eubouleos, many-formed,
the parent of the vine.

The dancing Horai attend you, essence bright,
all-ruling maiden, bearing heavenly light —
illustrious, horned, of a bounteous mind,
alone desired by those of mortal kind.

O vernal queen, whom grassy plains delight,
sweet to the smell and pleasing to the sight —
whose holy form in budding fruits we see,
earth's vigorous offspring of a varied hue.

Espoused in autumn: life and death alone
from your power to wretched mortals are made known —
for yours is the task, according to your will,
to bring forth life, and all that lives to still.

Hear me, blessed goddess:
send a rich increase of many fruits from earth, with lovely Peace.
Send Health with gentle hand, and crown this life
with blessed abundance, free from noisy strife.

And last, in the great age, when Death's prey comes,
dismiss me willingly to the realms beneath —
to your fair palace and the blissful plains
where happy spirits dwell, and Plouton reigns.

XXIX. To Dionysos

The fumigation from storax.

Dionysos I call, loud-sounding and divine —
ecstatic god, a twofold shape is yours.
Your many names and qualities I sing,
O first-born, thrice-begotten, Bacchic king.

Rural, ineffable, two-formed, obscure,
two-horned, with ivy crowned, full of joy, pure —
bull-faced and martial, bearer of the vine,
endowed with counsel prudent and divine.

Triennial god, whom the leaves of vines adorn,
of Zeus and Persephone, in secret born —
immortal spirit, hear my suppliant voice:
give me in blameless plenty to rejoice.

And listen gracious to my mystic prayer,
surrounded by your chorus of fair nurses.

XXX. To the Kouretes

Leaping Kouretes, who with dancing feet
and circling measures beat your armed steps —
whose breasts are fired with ecstatic transport,
who move in rhythm to the sounding lyre.

Whose steps tread deaf when lightly leaping,
arm-bearers, strong defenders, dreadful rulers —
propitious signs, guards of Persephone,
preserving rites mysterious and divine.

Come, benevolent, attend my words,
and rejoicing in your herds, defend this life.

XXXI. To Athene

Only-begotten, noble child of Zeus,
blessed and fierce, who delights in caves —
O warlike Pallas, whose illustrious nature
is both ineffable and manifest.

Great-souled and famed, the rocky heights
and groves and shady mountains please you.
In arms rejoicing, who with dread Furies
inspires the souls of mortals.

Athletic maiden with a terrible mind,
dread Gorgon's bane, unmarried, blessed, kind —
mother of arts, imperious, understood:
a fury to the wicked, wisdom to the good.

Female and male, the arts of war are yours,
ecstatic, many-formed, serpent-goddess divine —
over the Phlegraean giants roused to rage,
your chariots driving with destroying fire.

Sprung from the head of Zeus, Tritogeneia,
of splendid bearing, purger of evils, all-victorious queen —

hear me, O goddess, when to you I pray
with suppliant voice both night and day.
In my last hour grant peace and health,
kind seasons and sufficient wealth —
and ever present, be your servants' aid,
O much-invoked, blue-eyed maid.

XXXII. To Nike

The fumigation from manna.

O mighty Nike, of a strong and powerful mind,
unwearied, blessed, by mortals desired —
the umpire of great contests, with sweet shout,
who gives the joy of glory to the just.

For every deed of excellence is yours,
and none but you can give the sweet-tongued fame
that rises from the victories of mortals.

Come, blessed Nike, with kind aspect now,
and give the crowning glory to these rites.

XXXIII. To Apollo

The fumigation from manna.

Come, blessed Paian, slayer of Tityos,
Phoibos, Lykorean, splendid and renowned —
O Memnosyne's delight, whose birth was famed,
gilder of life, Titan, all-illustrious lord.

Sowing, fruitful, Pythian, haunter of caves,
light-bearer, lover of song, harp-playing god —
far-shooter, far-wanderer, Bakchic lord of Delphi,
of bright and piercing eye.

The Muses nine their dances lead for you,
Phoibos Apollo, in your shining lyre's delight.
Prophet of oracles, bearer of the morning light,
pastoral guardian, archer, swift and bright.

You rule the seasons and the turning year,
drawing earth's melody from your golden lyre.
Twice-six the labours of the circling hours
you lead, tempering the pole's harmonious powers.

Paian of the silver bow, who tends the crops,
Lykian, Didymaean, far-famed lord of Delos —
all-seeing, bearer of the golden sword,
gentle and kind, who nurtures mortal souls.

To these rites incline your ear, and bless —
save your mystic servants with propitious grace,
and from your all-seeing eye shed down
your gentle light on all our lives.

XXXIV. To Leto

The fumigation from myrrh.

Leto, dark-robed, of a gentle mind,
great Koios's child and Phoibos's mother divine —
you who delights in being called the blessed one,
joyful mother of twins, great-souled and famed,
Artemis-mother, whose divinity shines.

Female and male, you gave birth in Delos
to the golden children, Apollo and Artemis,
the archer god and the huntress bright.

Come, blessed goddess, hear your suppliant's prayer —
attend these sacred rites with gentle care,
and bring a peaceful end adorned with grace.

XXXV. To Artemis

The fumigation from manna.

Hear me, O Zeus's daughter, famed and great,
Titanis, Bacchic, bearer of the bow —
illustrious, all-shining, torch-bearing goddess,
Diktynna, helper at the birth.

You loosen the zones of women in their pains,
yet you yourself are unacquainted with the bed.
Lover of the hunt, loosener of care,
swift of foot, delighting in the chase —

nocturnal, famous, giver of good counsel,
Lykaina, many-formed and beautiful,
guardian of Orthosia, fleet as a deer,
queen of all, nurse of youth.

Immortal, earthly, slayer of monsters,
who haunts the mountains where the wild deer run —
venerable, sovereign of all, fair-blossomed huntress,
wanderer in the mountains, archer, holy one.

Come, blessed goddess, kind to your initiates,
and send from earth fair fruits and health and peace.
Send, too, disease and grief to the mountain peaks,
and come with kind heart to these holy rites.

XXXVI. To the Titans

The fumigation from frankincense.

O Titans, glorious children of Ouranos and Gaia,
ancestors of our fathers, who dwell beneath
in Tartarean depths, in Earth's hidden seat —
from whom all mortal beings and all creatures spring.

Source of the sea, source of the suffering earth,
source of the rivers and the whole ocean deep —
source of the shining sun, source of the moon,
source of the stars — of all celestial things.

I call on you, immortal ones,
to come with favour to these holy rites.

XXXVII. To the Kouretes

The fumigation from frankincense.

Brass-clashing, dancing guardians of the world,
who saved the infant Zeus in Krete when Kronos raged —
celestial, earthly, and of the sea,
life-giving breezes and the breath of spring.

You who rejoice in seasons and in flowers,
companions of the Mountain Mother on high —
wandering, mysterious, armed with gleaming spears,
you stamp your circling dance to frighten fear.

Air-walking, conspicuous, holy and divine,
nursing attendants of Persephone —
come to these rites, delighting in the dance,
propitious, breathing joy, your blessings grant.

XXXVIII. To Korybas

The fumigation from frankincense.

Korybas the blessed, evergreen spirit divine,
night-wandering king, who dwells in the Samothracian rite —
renowned attendant of the Mountain Mother,
whose bronze-shod feet tread the forest wild.

Joy-bringing, sceptered, of the earth and sky,
who shines upon the world with splendid eye —
leader of the Kouretes' armed dance,
companion of the Kabeiroi in their trance.

Come, ever-flowing, blessed, and divine —
attend these holy rites, and on them shine.

XXXIX. To Demeter Eleusinia

The fumigation from storax.

O Deo, universal mother, goddess famed,
august Demeter, nurturer of youth —
wealth-giver, queen, who nourishes the grain
and rejoices in peace and the fruitful toil of the plough.

Seed-grower, sheaf-loving, harvest queen,
who delights in threshing-floors and in the verdant green —
dwelling in Eleusis, lovely vale,
nurse of all, dispensing without fail.

You yoked the dragon chariot first,
and round the wide earth in your fury coursed
when searching for your daughter, stolen to the dark —
lovely Persephone, your heart's own mark.

Bright goddess of the torch, enthroned below
during the winter months in Hades' shadowed hall,
you rise again in spring to bless the land
and fill the earth with beauty at your hand.

Come, blessed goddess, with the fruits of summer —
bring peace and plenty, bring increase and law.
Attend these rites with favour, and bestow
on mortal life the wealth that you alone can sow.

XL. To Demeter

The fumigation from myrrh and storax.

Hear me, O Demeter, holy and august,
bearer of fruit and of the golden sheaf —
who gave the gift of grain to humankind,
who takes delight in oxen and the plough.

Bright goddess, you who bring the harvest home,
green-giving Khloe, threshing-floor's delight —
dwelling in the holy vale of Eleusis,
lovely, kind, and good to every creature.

First to yoke the ox, first to send the plough
across the furrowed earth, first to raise the crop —
growth-giving, fruitful, venerable queen,
who illuminates with torches the dark between.

Pure maiden, child-delighting, queen of all,
come to these rites with flowers and with grain.
Draw near, and bless with peace the works of men,
and fill the earth with plenty once again.

XLI. To Mise

The fumigation from storax.

I call Mise, the Dionysian goddess, sacred queen,
of two-fold form, Iakchos's nurse unseen —
holy, ineffable, of secret rites the crown,
who dwells in Eleusis, Demeter's sacred town.

Companion of the Bacchic mysteries and grace,
who delights in torches and the sacred space —
nocturnal, honourable, who inspires the dance,
and brings the Eleusinian rites their trance.

Come, blessed goddess, to these rites attend,
and with your joyful presence bless their end.

XLII. To the Horai

The fumigation from aromatics.

Daughters of Themis and of mighty Zeus,
O Horai — Eunomia, Dike, and blooming Eirene —
vernal and grassy, of a flowery hue,
sweet-smelling, robed in dew.

You circle in the dance of the revolving year,
companions of Persephone when she appears
from darkness into light and spring returns
to gladden mortal hearts that winter burned.

Come, blessed, holy, ever-blooming powers —
bring seasons kind, propitious, fruitful hours.

XLIII. To Semele

The fumigation from storax.

I call Kadmos's child, Semele renowned,
lovely-haired, deep-bosomed, of the Bacchic round —
mother of the loud-crying god, Dionysos of the vine,
she who conceived in joy a child divine.

By Zeus's lightning, blazing all around,
she died — and from her body Dionysos was unbound,
to be completed in the thigh of Zeus.
Holy Semele, now among the gods,

revered forever in the triennial feast,
honoured by mortals and the gods alike —
come, blessed goddess, from the halls above,
and on these rites bestow your grace and love.

XLIV. To Dionysos Bassareus

The fumigation from storax.

Come, blessed Dionysos, of varied names,
bull-faced god, born in the Bacchic flames —
Nyseian, Lenaian, ivy-wreathed and strong,
born in Nysian fields, nursed with sacred song.

Bassareus, of the triple rites,
rejoicing in the sword and in the night —
Eubouleos, of many forms, divine,
redeemer god, all-blessed, nurtured by the vine.

Come to these rites with joyful heart,
breathing sweetness, holy one, and never depart.

XLV. To Dionysos Perikionian

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call Dionysos, loud with cries of joy,
first-born, thrice-begotten, Bacchic lord —
savage, ineffable, obscure, two-horned,
ivy-crowned, bull-faced, martial, sounding.

Leneus, pure, who bears the torch of flame,
who feasts by night and rouses the ecstatic claim —
blessed redeemer, fruit-producing power,
whose birth from Zeus in two mothers was wrought.

Come, blessed god, received by all with joy —
draw near, and on these sacred rites attend.

XLVI. To Sabazios

The fumigation from aromatics.

Hear me, father Sabazios, son of Kronos,
illustrious god, who sewed the Bacchic lord
into your thigh, that he might come to full completion
and reach holy Tmolos and Hipta's care.

Come, blessed Phrygian, to these rites,
highest of all the gods, kind and benign —
attend with joyful heart, and bless these works.

XLVII. To Hipta

The fumigation from storax.

I call on Hipta, nurse of Dionysos, queen,
companion of the Bacchic rites divine —
nocturnal priestess, who in mysteries delights,
earth-born, rejoicing in the mountain heights.

Come, blessed nurse, with favour hear my prayer,
attend these rites, and bless them with your care.

XLVIII. To Artemis

The fumigation from manna.

Artemis I praise, queen of the night,
saffron-cloaked, loud-sounding, of mighty light —
bull-goddess, hunter, honoured and revered,
torch-bearing, arrow-speeding, never feared.

Loosener of girdles, healer of all pain,
far-shooting, swift of foot, you love the game —
nocturnal, friendly, benefactress true,
delivering women in their labour's due.

Come, blessed goddess, to your suppliants kind —
bring joy and health to all of humankind.

XLIX. To the Nymphs

The fumigation from aromatics.

Daughters of great Okeanos, dwelling in caves
beneath the earth, who sport along the waves —
wandering, joyful, nursing all that grows,
meadow-loving nymphs from whom the water flows.

Earth-dwelling, holy, of a myriad forms,
you haunt the flowers and the mountain storms —
Pan's companions, of the rocky way,
crystal-clear, who leap and dance and play.

Fountain-loving, wandering, robed in dew,
blooming with the spring, of varied hue —
nymphs of the mountains, of the glen, of the wood,
sweet daughters of the forest's solitude.

Come, blessed, hear your suppliant's holy prayer —
send seasons kind, and health beyond compare.

L. To Dionysos Lysios Lenaios

The fumigation from storax.

Hear me, O blessed son of Zeus and of two mothers born,
Dionysos of the mountain, crowned with ivy, loud at morn —
Lenaian, Bakchic, many-named, all-blessed, holy power,
secret-born, of the mysteries, who rejoices in the bower.

Eubouleos, of many forms, whose sacred rage delights
in the dances of the Naiads and in holy torchlit rites —
blooming, fruitful, joy-increasing, born of dreadful fire,
raging, horned, clad in fox-skin, filled with fierce desire.

Come, blessed Dionysos, loosener of care,
to all the initiated, come with kindly air —
rejoicing, full of grace, attend our call,
and breathe your holy sweetness over all.

LI. To the Nymphs of Dionysos

The fumigation from aromatics.

Nymphs who nursed Dionysos, daughters of divine delight,
who nourished the bright god on Nysa's sacred height —
joyful, nourishing, attending the Bacchic rites,
you dwell in blooming meadows through the starlit nights.

Come, blessed nurses, to these mysteries near,
and crown our rites with fruitful joy and cheer.

LII. To Dionysos Trieteric

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call upon Dionysos, every third year roused to song,
Bassareus in the forest, Euios raging strong —
of secret birth, two-horned, ivy-garlanded, divine,
bull-faced, martial, Lenaios of the vine.

Come, blessed god, approached by all with joy,
sweet-breathed and gentle, come without alloy.

LIII. To Dionysos Annual

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call you, blessed, many-named Dionysos,
bull-horned, Lenaios, Bakchic, born of fire —
Nysian, redeemer, secret, all in flower,
Eubouleos, goat-skinned, of the threshing floor.

You who sow and you who reap,
Erikepaios, lord of the vintage deep —
torch-bearing, night-roaming, fostered by the vine,
attending Persephone in rites divine.

Come, blessed god, and to your mystics smile,
bring fruit and joy, and bless with peace this while.

LIV. To Seilenos, Satyros, and the Bakchae

The fumigation from manna.

Hear me, blessed nursling of the vine,
old Seilenos, dearest to Dionysos divine —
with Naiads dancing and with Bakchae crowned,
in joyous revel through the forest bound.

Satyrs, leaping, swift of foot and strong,
who follow the Bacchic god with dance and song —
and you, ecstatic Bakchae, ivy-wreathed,
whose sacred cries through mountain woods are breathed.

Come, blessed all, attend these holy rites,
with joyful heart and merry, kindled lights.

LV. To Aphrodite

The fumigation from cinnamon.

Heavenly Aphrodite, of many hymns I sing —
sea-born, revered, who loves the nighttime wandering,
divine joiner, crafty, mother of Necessity,
to whom all things are subject — every deity.

You rule the triple fates of mortal kind,
and from you all things come — in heaven, on earth,
in the wide-spreading sea, and in the deep.
Sacred companion of Dionysos in his feasting,

marriage-delighting, mother of the Loves,
Persuasion is your pleasure, and the secret bed.
You give joy, you are seen and you are hidden,
beautiful-haired daughter, born of foam.

Bridal goddess, companion of the revels,
wolf-natured, honoured, lover of increase,
yoking mortals with inescapable desire,
yoking the races of beasts with maddening fire —

from you, divine Aphrodite, all these things arise.
Come, goddess born in Kypros, whether in Olympos
on your shining throne, or wandering the wide land
of incense-bearing Syria, or by your sacred strand

beside the rolling waters with your golden chariot drawn
by harnessed swans across the ocean foam —
rejoicing in the circling dance of spirits,
or on holy Aigyptos by the Nile —

come, O beautiful one, to these rites I pray,
with gracious smile bless this sacred day.

LVI. To Adonis

The fumigation from aromatics.

Hear me, Adonis, of the many names, blessed one —
of luxuriant hair, desire of all, both maid and man.
You flourish and you wither, lovely lamented boy,
many-formed, the pride and secret joy

of fair Aphrodite, born of Persephone's embrace,
sometimes in the light, sometimes in Hades' place —
now dwelling in Tartaros beneath the ground,
now rising back to Olympos, bright and crowned.

Come, blessed Adonis, bearing fruits of earth,
attend these rites, and bless with joy their worth.

LVII. To Hermes Khthonios

The fumigation from storax.

Hermes of the underworld, I call on you,
who dwells where three roads meet, of the sacred view —
gentle-hearted, who guides the souls of the dead
down to Persephone's house of dread.

You who escort the holy and the just
along the secret way through death and dust —
whose golden wand brings sleep upon the eyes,
and wakes whom it touches to the upper skies.

Yours is the honour of the gods below,
Persephone's companion in the shadow —
you guide the pious dead to their good reward,
and lead them to the place of rest restored.

Come, blessed Hermes, to these rites attend,
and grant my days a holy, gentle end.

LVIII. To Eros

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call great Eros, the first-born, ancient, divine —
two-natured, wandering, holder of the keys
that open Aither, Heaven, Sea, and Earth,
and all that Demeter, fruitful mother, bears,
and all that Tartaros and the loud-roaring sea contain.

For you alone steer all these things,
holy and blessed, to you I pray —
come, pure and lovely, to these sacred rites,
and drive away all shameful appetite.

LIX. To the Moirai

The fumigation from aromatics.

O Moirai, endless-born, children of dark Night,
hear my prayer, you dwellers in the heavenly light
by Okeanos's stream, in a deep cave
where the cold waters of the night-lake lave.

From you come all things mortal and divine,
all human hopes are subject to your sign —
Moirai, Klotho and Lachesis and Atropos,
aetherial, invisible, relentless, never at a loss.

Dispensers to each mortal of their lot,
who steer the thread of life, both cold and hot —
Atropos, Lachesis, and Klotho, hear:
come, blessed daughters, to your suppliants near,

and grant these days their destined, blameless share,
with Eunomia, Dike, and blooming Eirene fair.

LX. To the Graces

The fumigation from storax.

Hear me, illustrious Graces, mighty-named,
daughters of Zeus, Eunomia bright-souled, and famed
Thalia, and lovely-blooming Aglaia —
charming, eternal, of a joyful nature.

All-celebrated, ever-blooming, fair of face,
beloved by mortals and by gods in every place —
with dancing feet and many-coloured forms,
come, blessed, holy, flee all harmful storms.

Shine on these rites with favour and with cheer,
and be to your devoted servants near.

LXI. To Nemesis

The fumigation from aromatics.

O Nemesis, I call you, goddess queen,
all-seeing, who looks on every mortal scene —
eternal, venerable, who alone
rejoices in the just, of heart unknown.

Shifting, all-subduing, friend of right,
hated by the vain, revered by the upright —
for grievous is your wrath to mortal kind,
whose reckless deeds your balanced scales can find.

All things you see, and all things hear, and all
is judged before your vast, impartial hall.
Come, blessed, holy, to these rites attend,
and to your servants grant a just and gentle end.

LXII. To Dike

The fumigation from frankincense.

The eye of Dike, I sing, who sees all things
with radiant gaze — who sits by holy Zeus the king,
from heaven above surveying mortal life,
and punishing the unjust with righteous strife.

Truthful, by whom all that is false is known —
for you alone see what seeds are sown,
and trample down the wicked with just feet,
while to the good you bring your blessings sweet.

Come, blessed Dike, to these rites draw near,
and judge with kindly eye, and bless us here.

LXIII. To Dikaiosyne

The fumigation from frankincense.

Blessed Dikaiosyne, the joy of mortals just,
equitable, lovely, worthy of all trust —
ever delighting in what is fair,
who brings to all their own appointed share.

Come, blessed goddess, bright and full of grace,
and on these holy rites bestow your face.

LXIV. To Nomos

The fumigation from frankincense.

I invoke holy Nomos, the sacred governor
of mortals and the gods, the starry steerer —
of heaven and earth the sure and common bond,
of the restless sea the just and faithful wand.

Foundation of Nature, steadfast and immense,
preserving all things in harmonious sense —
through you the mighty firmament on high
with firm, eternal course divides the sky.

Come, blessed, to these mortals bear
your treasured gifts: fair peace and gentle care.

LXV. To Ares

The fumigation from frankincense.

Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider,
golden-helmed, stout-hearted, shield-bearer —
tireless, spear-strong, rampart of Olympos,
father of Nike who brings the war to close.

Helper of Themis, tyrant to the foe,
leader of the just in the righteous show —
sceptered king of manliness, who whirls
your fiery sphere among the wandering stars.

Third orbit yours, amid the planets' dance —
lover of war and of the battle's chance.
Hear me, blessed one: shed light upon my days,
and from your fire, diminish hostile ways.

Bend down the violence of my soul within,
and let the sweet impulse of peace begin —
blessed one, give daring when the time is right,
and blessed destiny free from hostile might.

LXVI. To Hephaistos

The fumigation from frankincense and manna.

Hephaistos, mighty-souled, untiring fire,
shining among the gods, strong light of desire —
strong-handed, deathless, craftsman, part of all,
worker, world-guardian, answering Nature's call.

Ether, sun, stars, moon — the light is yours,
all-taming, all-consuming, knowing no remorse —
dweller in every home, in every city, every race,
all-powerful lord of the blazing space.

O hear me, blessed one, and to these rites attend —
bring always peaceful works and gentle end.
Stay Nature's fiery rage, and from our frame
withdraw the wild and self-destroying flame.

LXVII. To Asklepios

The fumigation from manna.

Healer Asklepios, who soothes the pain
of mortal sickness, making whole again —
great Paian of the gentle touch,
whose blessings humankind desires so much.

Strong, mighty visitor, who wards off disease
with your calm presence and your healing ease —
you come, fair youth, bringing health and peace,
bidding mortal suffering to cease.

Blessed deliverer, illustrious and divine,
attend these rites, and on your suppliants shine.

LXVIII. To Hygieia

The fumigation from manna.

Lovely Hygieia, charming queen,
desired by all, delightful, ever serene —
mother of all, bringer of bliss,
without whose presence all of life's amiss.

For without you no mortal thing can thrive,
wealth is useless, age will not arrive —
you alone rule all things below,
and where you are not, suffering will grow.

Come, blessed goddess, to your mystics kind,
keep sickness far, and grant a healthy mind.

LXIX. To the Erinyes

The fumigation from aromatics and a libation of water.

Hear me, Tisiphone and Alekto dread,
and Megaira, robed in darkest red —
O spirits of the night, of Hades' gloomy hall,
beside Kokytos's stream you dwell, feared by all.

Daughters of dark necessity, serpent-haired,
whose glances none but the impious have dared —
winged pursuers of the unjust soul,
who drive the guilty to their fated goal.

Come, blessed guardians, daughters of the night,
and look with kindness on these sacred rites —
grant gentle justice and a soul at peace,
and from the fear of punishment release.

LXX. To the Eumenides

The fumigation from aromatics.

Hear me, illustrious Eumenides, holy ones,
whose forms admit of every mortal guise —
pure daughters of earth-born Plouton and of dread Persephone,
O Tisiphone, Alekto, Megaira, hear me now.

Nocturnal, of a dark complexion, wide of eye,
who haunt the hidden places where the rivers sigh —
of Fate's necessity the agents sure,
ministers of the dead, both dark and pure.

Come, blessed powers, to these rites attend,
and to your suppliants grant a gentle end.

LXXI. To Melinoe

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call Melinoe, saffron-cloaked and dark,
born by the banks of Kokytos — a mark
of dread Persephone's union at the mouth of the deep,
where the sacred river enters Hades' keep.

She who appears in varied forms to mortals' sight —
sometimes as a phantom gleaming in the night,
sometimes shining, sometimes clothed in shadow's dress,
driving humankind to madness or distress.

Come, blessed queen, to Earth's inhabitants be kind,
with gentle form appear, and soothe the frightened mind.

LXXII. To Tyche

The fumigation from frankincense.

I call on Tyche, gentle queen,
guide of the road, by crossroads often seen —
Artemis-born, of celebrated name,
renowned for power and for fickle fame.

Yours is the path that mortals travel on,
swift-moving goddess, fleet as a fawn —
sometimes you grant abundant, blessed stores,
and sometimes poverty knocks at the doors.

Be gracious, blessed goddess, and attend
these rites with kindness, grant a prosperous end.

LXXIII. To the Daimon

The fumigation from frankincense.

I call Zeus's great Daimon, the nourishing king,
Erikepaios, to whom all offerings I bring —
Zeus the First-Born, great Protogonus divine,
who wanders through the world with steps that shine.

Come, blessed power, with joyful mind draw near,
and to these holy rites your presence lend — be here.

LXXIV. To Leukothea

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call Leukothea, daughter of Kadmos, blessed queen,
who dwells in the great depths of the sea serene —
Ino, nurse of Dionysos, joy of all,
sea-walking goddess who hears the sailor's call.

Deliverer from storms, saviour from the deep,
who guides the ships through waves that never sleep —
come, blessed one, and save your suppliants true,
and send fair winds to carry us safely through.

LXXV. To Palaimon

The fumigation from aromatics.

I call Palaimon, dweller in the deep,
who rides the waves and haunts the ocean's steep —
companion of the Nereids in their play,
you sport with dolphins through the watery way.

Blessed guardian of ships upon the main,
from tempests save us, and from driving rain —
come, blessed boy, and to these rites attend,
and to your suppliants send a gentle end.

LXXVI. To the Muses

The fumigation from frankincense.

Daughters of Mnemosyne and of Zeus the king,
all-famed Pierian Muses, hear me sing —
of varied form, all-nourishing, divine,
who kindle in the soul the fire of thought's design.

You tend the soul's deep faculty aright,
leaders of the mind to intellectual light —
Kleio and Euterpe and Thalia bright,
Melpomene and Terpsichore of the dance's might,

Erato and Polymnia of the sacred hymn,
Ourania of the stars, Kalliope within
whose epic voice the highest beauty rings —
come, blessed Muses, with your joyful wings.

Lead your suppliants to the light of truth,
and with your varied, holy wisdom bless their youth.

LXXVII. To Mnemosyne

The fumigation from frankincense.

I call Mnemosyne, consort of Zeus,
who bore the holy, pure, clear-voiced Muses —
never forgetful, ever in the mind,
who holds together all that thought can find.

Blessed goddess, awaken for your mystics' sake
the memory of their holy rites, and make
forgetfulness depart and leave no trace —
keep consciousness awake in every place.

LXXVIII. To Eos

The fumigation from manna.

Hear me, O goddess who brings the light of day
to mortal kind, blushing Eos on her way —
herald of the great Titan Sun on high,
who sends the darkness fleeing from the sky.

Opening the gates of heaven each new morn,
the brilliant shafts of Helios are born
from you, O shining one, who illuminates all —
joyful, rosy-fingered, answering dawn's call.

Come, blessed Eos, to these rites attend,
and on your suppliants let your brightness descend.

LXXIX. To Themis

The fumigation from frankincense.

I call heavenly Themis, daughter of Ouranos bright,
first-born, of a beautiful face, a virgin sight —
who first taught mortals the prophetic art,
and gave the oracle its sacred part.

First to teach the gods to honour what is due,
at Pytho's holy seat the old and true —
from you, Earth, from you, Night, first of all things learned —
for holy rites and prophecy, to you the ages turned.

Come, blessed goddess, bright with joy divine,
attend these sacred rites, and on your suppliants shine.

LXXX. To Boreas

The fumigation from frankincense.

Boreas, approach from Thrace, your wintry home,
driving the clouds across the heavens' dome —
set the air in motion, dim with driving rain,
clear the sky, let the bright sun shine again.

Dark-aired, snow-scattering, freezing lord,
whose gusts congeal the waters at a word —
untamed, unsoftened, of a bitter chill,
master of the northern wind's imperious will.

Come, blessed one, and from your bitter breath
blow gently here — protect these rites from death.

LXXXI. To Zephyros

The fumigation from frankincense.

O Zephyros, who breathes the sweetest air,
harbinger of spring, soft-blowing, mild, and fair —
desired by all, whose gentle, dewy flight
gives nourishment to flowers and fields their light.

From you the meadows bloom and harbours open wide,
and ships set sail upon the grateful tide —
come, blessed one, with lightest, gentlest breath,
and fan these sacred rites, and soften death.

LXXXII. To Notos

The fumigation from frankincense.

Notos, rushing south, with heavy clouds and rain,
whose misty face pours water on the plain —
delighting in the tempest's gathering sound,
spreading dark showers upon the thirsty ground.

Come, blessed spirit of the southern air,
send fertile rains, and answer every prayer.

LXXXIII. To Okeanos

The fumigation from aromatics.

Okeanos I call, whose nature ever flows,
from whom both gods and mortals first arose —
sire incorruptible, whose waves surround
and earth's encircling mighty limit bound.

From you every river, from you the spreading sea,
and earth's pure bubbling fountains spring free.
Hear me, mighty one, for boundless bliss is yours,
whose waters purify the divine powers —

earth's friendly boundary, fountain of the pole,
whose waves, wide-spreading and circumfluent, roll.

Come, benevolent, with placid mind,
and be forever to your mystics kind.

LXXXIV. To Hestia

The fumigation from aromatics.

Daughter of Kronos, venerable one,
guardian of the unwearying flame —
in these sacred rites, your ministers are holy,
mystics much-blessed, divine.

In you the gods have fixed their dwelling place,
strong, stable basis of the mortal race —
eternal, many-formed, ever-blooming queen,
laughing, blessed, and of a lovely mien.

Accept these rites, and accord each just desire —
inspire gentle health, and all the good we require.

LXXXV. To Hypnos

The fumigation from a poppy.

Hypnos, king of gods and men of mortal birth,
sovereign of all sustained by mother Earth —
for your dominion is supreme alone,
over all extended, and by all things known.

It is yours to bind all bodies with benign intent
in bonds more gentle than bronze — the sweet descent.
Tamer of cares, to weary toil repose,
from whom sweet solace in affliction flows.

Your gentle chains preserve the soul,
and even the dreadful cares of death control —
for Thanatos and Lethe's forgetting stream
are justly held your brothers in the scheme.

Come with kind aspect to my prayer incline,
and save your mystics in their works divine.

LXXXVI. To the Divinity of Dreams

The fumigation from aromatics.

You I invoke, blessed power of Dreams,
divine messenger, swift-winged, of silent gleams —
great source of oracles to humankind,
who steals soft-whispering to the sleeping mind.

Through Sleep's sweet silence and the dark of night,
your power awakens the soul's inward sight —
to quiet souls you reveal heaven's will,
and silently disclose what Fate would fulfill.

For ever friendly to the upright mind,
sacred and pure, to holy rites inclined —
for these, with pleasing hope your dreams inspire,
blessing to come, which all souls desire.

Your visions of Fate's mystery disclose
what methods best may ease our mortal woes,
reveal what rites the immortal gods would please,
and what the means their anger to appease.

For ever tranquil is the good soul's end,
whose life your dreams admonish and defend.
But from the wicked, turned away to bless,
your unseen form becomes the angel of distress.

Come, blessed power, reveal the sacred signs
which heaven's decrees mysteriously enshrine —
signs only present to the worthy mind,
and not dark omens of a monstrous kind.

LXXXVII. To Thanatos

The fumigation from manna.

Hear me, O Thanatos, whose empire unconfined
extends to mortal tribes of every kind.
On you the portion of our time depends,
whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.

Your perpetual sleep bursts the vivid bonds
by which the soul within the body lives.
Common to all, of every age and kind,
for nothing escapes your all-subduing hand.

Not youth itself your clemency can gain,
vigorous and strong, by you untimely slain.
In you the end of Nature's works is known.
In you all judgment is resolved alone.

No suppliant arts your purpose can control,
no vows revoke the purpose of your will.

O blessed power, regard my earnest prayer,
and grant to human life abundant years to spare.

Colophon

This text is a modernization of Thomas Taylor's verse translation of the Orphic Hymns, first published in 1792 as The Mystical Hymns of Orpheus. Taylor's Roman deity names have been restored to their Greek originals, his heroic couplets opened into lineated free verse, and his eighteenth-century English updated for modern readers. The degree of rewriting varies across the collection — some hymns depart substantially from Taylor's phrasing, while others preserve his structure and diction with only light modernization. Taylor's voice remains the foundation throughout.

The eighty-seven hymns constitute the most complete liturgical document surviving from Greco-Roman antiquity. Each hymn prescribes a specific fumigation and invokes its deity by epithet and attribute, calling divine presence into the ritual space. The collection was likely compiled in Asia Minor between the second and third centuries CE for use in theurgic ceremonies.

Source text: Thomas Taylor, The Mystical Hymns of Orpheus (1792). Modernized and compiled for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Archival text (Taylor), modernized.

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