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Hymn to Demeter
Deo, divine mother of all, goddess of many names,
august Demeter, nurturer of youths and giver of prosperity
and wealth. You nourish the ears of grain, O giver of all,
and you delight in peace and in toilsome labor.
Present at sowing, heaping, and threshing, O spirit of the unripe fruit,
you dwell in the sacred valley of Eleusis.
Charming and lovely, you give sustenance to all mortals,
and you were the first to yoke the plowing ox
and to send up from below a rich and lovely harvest for mortals.
Through you there is growth and blooming, O illustrious companion of Bromios
and, torch-bearing and pure one, you delight in the summer’s yield.
From beneath the earth you appear and to all you are gentle,
O holy and youth-nurturing lover of children and of fair offspring.
You yoke your chariot to bridled dragons,
and round your throne you whirl and howl in ecstasy.
Only daughter with many children and many powers over mortals,
you manifest your myriad faces to the variety of flowers and sacred blossoms;
come, blessed and pure one, and, laden with the fruits of summer,
bring peace together with the welcome rule of law,
riches too, and prosperity, and health that governs all.
Translated by David G. Rice and John E. Stambaugh. From The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook, edited by Marvin W. Meyer (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987). Used by arrangement with HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
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