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The Orphic Hymns, Hymn 0: Learn this prayer, Musaeus

The manuscripts open with a title and a short good wish to the reader, and then Orpheus, the legendary singer, begins teaching his pupil Musaeus how to pray.

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Hymn 0, passage by passage

• 0.1 Learn this prayer, Musaeus. The Hymns of Orpheus. Use this book with good luck, friend. A prayer to…
• 0.3 Zeus, Earth, and the lights of heaven. King Zeus, and Earth, and the holy heavenly flames of the Sun, and the…
• 0.6 From pure Persephone to Dionysus the dancer. and pure Persephone, and Demeter, giver of fine crops, and Artemis, archer, maiden, and…
• 0.10 Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, the king below. and Ares, strong of spirit, and the holy might of Hephaestus, and the foam-born…
• 0.14 I call the Nymphs, Pan and Hera. and I call the great blessing of Justice and Piety, the famous Nymphs and…
• 0.17 Memory, the Muses, the Graces, the Seasons. and lovely Mnemosyne, and I call on the holy Muses, all nine, and the…
• 0.20 The armed Kouretes and the great Saviors. and the armed Kouretes, and the Korybantes and the Kabeiroi, and the great Saviors…
• 0.23 Night the eldest, and Day who brings the light. Hermes the herald, and Themis, the seer of men; and I call Night, the…
• 0.26 Rhea and Kronos, and the strength of Atlas. Rhea and Kronos, and dark-robed Tethys, and great Ocean, and with them the daughters…
• 0.29 Time, the Styx, the two Daimons. and ever-flowing Time, and the bright water of the Styx, and the gentle gods,…
• 0.32 Daimons of sky and fire; Semele and Ino. the Daimons of the sky and of the air and of the waters, of…
• 0.36 Sweet-voiced Victory and the four-pillared world. And I name sweet-voiced Victory and queen Adrasteia, and the great king Asclepius, giver…
• 0.40 Come kindly to this rite. and I call the Mother of the immortals, Attis and Men, and the Heavenly…

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