Translated by Catherine Proppe March 7, 2016
4. Οὐρανοῦ, θυμίαμα λίβανον.
To Ouranos, God of the Heavens
Divine connection: libanon (frankincense)
Οὐρανὲ παγγενέτωρ, κόσμου μέρος αἰὲν ἀτειρές,
Ouranos[1], Father of all[2], allotted the eternally indestructible cosmos,
πρεσβυγένεθλ', ἀρχὴ πάντων πάντων τε τελευτή,
Of the eldest-generation[3], beginning all and all-completing[4],
κόσμε πατήρ, σφαιρηδὸν ἑλισσόμενος περὶ γαῖαν,
Father of the cosmos, spherical whirling force surrounding Gaia,
οἶκε θεῶν μακάρων, ῥόμβου δίνῃσιν ὁδεύων,
Housed in a divinely blessed whirling dynamic voyage,
οὐράνιος χθόνιός τε φύλαξ πάντων περιβληθείς,
Heaven and Earth’s guardian, in an all-encompassing trajectory,
ἐν στέρνοισιν ἔχων φύσεως ἄτλητον ἀνάγκην,
In your firm mind holding Phusis’[5] with steadfast Necessity[6].
κυανόχρως, ἀδάμαστε, παναίολε, αἰολόμορφε,
Cyan[7]-fortress, unconquerable, always eternally varying, of eternally various form[8],
πανδερκές, Κρονότεκνε, μάκαρ, πανυπέρτατε δαῖμον,
All-seeing creator of Kronos’[9], blessed deity underlying all
κλῦθ' ἐπάγων ζωὴν ὁσίαν μύστηι νεοφάντηι.
I call, bring on eternal life’s divine mysterious new light.
[1] Ouranos is the immortal God of the heavens. Ouranos was born of Gaia, the immortal Goddess of generative earth, without a father.
[2] Ouranos is the father, through Gaia, of the 12 immortal Titans, who he imprisoned beneath the earth in Tartaros. His castration by his son, Kronos, freed the Titans and resulted in the birth of other dieities such as the Erinyes, the Gigantes, the Telkhines, and Aphrodite. (Hesiod, Theogony 154-193)
[3] Ouranos is a primeval God who came into being at the beginning of creation.
[4] Ouranos (Ούρᾰνός) and Ourania (Όύρᾰνία) are the only major Greek God and Goddess whose names begin with the letter Ο. The ancient Greek letter O literally means “intact entity, entity.” The heavens form a complete, unbroken circle around the earth.
[5] Phusis is the immortal Goddess of physics, of nature.
[6] Ananke is the immortal Goddess of necessity, of what must be, the unavoidable.
[7] Cyan is lapis lazuli, a dark-blue gemstone studded with glittering crystal.
[8] “Form” may be a reference to the constellations.
[9] Kronos is the immortal God of time. Time was (and still is) reckoned by the position of the stars, the shape of the moon, and the movement of the sun.
4. Οὐρανοῦ, θυμίαμα λίβανον.
To Ouranos, God of the Heavens
Divine connection: libanon (frankincense)
Οὐρανὲ παγγενέτωρ, κόσμου μέρος αἰὲν ἀτειρές,
Ouranos[1], Father of all[2], allotted the eternally indestructible cosmos,
πρεσβυγένεθλ', ἀρχὴ πάντων πάντων τε τελευτή,
Of the eldest-generation[3], beginning all and all-completing[4],
κόσμε πατήρ, σφαιρηδὸν ἑλισσόμενος περὶ γαῖαν,
Father of the cosmos, spherical whirling force surrounding Gaia,
οἶκε θεῶν μακάρων, ῥόμβου δίνῃσιν ὁδεύων,
Housed in a divinely blessed whirling dynamic voyage,
οὐράνιος χθόνιός τε φύλαξ πάντων περιβληθείς,
Heaven and Earth’s guardian, in an all-encompassing trajectory,
ἐν στέρνοισιν ἔχων φύσεως ἄτλητον ἀνάγκην,
In your firm mind holding Phusis’[5] with steadfast Necessity[6].
κυανόχρως, ἀδάμαστε, παναίολε, αἰολόμορφε,
Cyan[7]-fortress, unconquerable, always eternally varying, of eternally various form[8],
πανδερκές, Κρονότεκνε, μάκαρ, πανυπέρτατε δαῖμον,
All-seeing creator of Kronos’[9], blessed deity underlying all
κλῦθ' ἐπάγων ζωὴν ὁσίαν μύστηι νεοφάντηι.
I call, bring on eternal life’s divine mysterious new light.
[1] Ouranos is the immortal God of the heavens. Ouranos was born of Gaia, the immortal Goddess of generative earth, without a father.
[2] Ouranos is the father, through Gaia, of the 12 immortal Titans, who he imprisoned beneath the earth in Tartaros. His castration by his son, Kronos, freed the Titans and resulted in the birth of other dieities such as the Erinyes, the Gigantes, the Telkhines, and Aphrodite. (Hesiod, Theogony 154-193)
[3] Ouranos is a primeval God who came into being at the beginning of creation.
[4] Ouranos (Ούρᾰνός) and Ourania (Όύρᾰνία) are the only major Greek God and Goddess whose names begin with the letter Ο. The ancient Greek letter O literally means “intact entity, entity.” The heavens form a complete, unbroken circle around the earth.
[5] Phusis is the immortal Goddess of physics, of nature.
[6] Ananke is the immortal Goddess of necessity, of what must be, the unavoidable.
[7] Cyan is lapis lazuli, a dark-blue gemstone studded with glittering crystal.
[8] “Form” may be a reference to the constellations.
[9] Kronos is the immortal God of time. Time was (and still is) reckoned by the position of the stars, the shape of the moon, and the movement of the sun.
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