Zeus

[hearthstone]

Finishing this one went more quickly than I anticipated. The usual caveats apply :).


Father Zeus, holder of lightning, master of storms,
ruler of fair Olympos and all who there dwell.
All is within your power, all bow to your will,
great Zeus who hears all oaths, who sees justice done,
who watches over all with benevolent gaze,
whose blessings are great; awesome Zeus, I honor you.
Guardian of our homes, protector of our children,
kind Zeus, I pray to you. Guide me to be just,
to act with honor, to keep my promises,
to welcome guests freely, to do what is right.
Watch over our home and bring to it abundance,
O Zeus; watch over our children, shield them from harm.


Now, the next one, to Hera, I expect to be more difficult, because it usually is. I have a harder time getting a sense of her, it takes longer. That's actually true of some of the other older gods, but I don't think that's the cause because there are younger gods who are equally opaque to me. I suppose it might have something to do with my devotion to Aphrodite as well :), that when it comes to the whole "love and marriage" thing my emphasis is different. (Although I'm married, happily so, monogamous, the whole thing.) Not that there is a real opposition but there is a difference.

But then, that's one of the reasons I write--to get a better sense of the gods. Just sometimes it's easier and sometimes it isn't :).

Comments

[kai-ta-loipa.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with Ursus' comment earlier, I very much like your style. Simple yet graceful. :)

As for Queen Hera, she is kinda hard to 'warm up to' isn't she? I think, though, that she will be appreciative of respect, even with the ideological differences you speak of.

[ursus77.livejournal.com]

Another delightful hymn. Were I Hellene I might actually use some of these. :-)

I only have one small criticism if I may presume ...

... all bow to your will

I understand what you're trying to say, but it can give the impression to outsiders that we kneel and abase ourselves before Zeus as Monotheists do to their god. It's a little strong for a people who stand upright before their gods, no matter how much we are in awe of them. *shrugs* Just a minor comment.

[hearthstone.livejournal.com]

You know, that hadn't even occurred to me! :) It's so foreign to me now, that idea--amazing how quickly that happens.

I'll keep it in mind in future writing, though, because I do aim for clarity (although I also think a little hyperbole is not altogether a bad thing in prayers of praise :)).

[hearthstone.livejournal.com]

I hope so. I do have the sense that the Hellenic gods are a tighter unit than some other pantheons may be, and my feeling is that once you have a bond to one of their number, the rest of the "family" is in some way part of the deal. :)

Thank you...

[bluedolfyn.livejournal.com]

For sharing these with us. :) I look forward to reading the others as you post them.