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☩ TEMPLE OF ZEUS ☩
Thalysia
Θαλύσια
Roman Consualia English Lammas · Lughnasadh
The First Harvest of Demeter
Lughnasadh · Hlafmaesse · Thalysia · Panathenaia · Wepet Renpet · The Feast of the First Loaf, to Demeter, Lady of the Grain, on the 1st of August, when the Sun stands at 15° Leo
THE ZEVIST CALENDAR · MYSTERY HOLIDAY · SUN AT 15° LEO
author: High Priest Zevios Metathronos
1 August · Demeter, Giver of Grain, Thesmophoros, Nurse of Mankind · the first loaf, the first sheaf, the weighing of the half-year · Psalm VI
#The Festival at a Glance
| Festival | Lammas (Anglo-Saxon hlāfmæsse, the loaf-mass); Lughnasadh (Irish Lúnasa, the games of Lugh); the Feast of the First Loaf; the First Harvest of Demeter |
|---|---|
| Date | The day of 1 August and the evening before it. The loaf is baked on the day; the Rite is held at sunset on the 1st; the hill is climbed on the day. |
| Astronomical moment | The Sun at 15° Leo, the midpoint between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox; the cross-quarter day of the Lion, the fixed sign of fire. |
| Category | Mystery Holiday. The third of the 4 cross-quarter feasts; the first harvest; the thanksgiving; the weighing of the half-year begun at Imbolc. |
| Gods honoured | Demeter, Deo, Giver of Grain, Thesmophoros, Chloe, Karpophoros, Anesidora, Kourotrophos: Ceres, Isis of the ear, Nisaba, Renenutet, Sif, Tailtiu, the Corn Mother of every village. |
| Ancient parallels | The Thalysia of Demeter (the first fruits); the Athenian First Fruits Decree sending the tithe of all Greece to Eleusis; the Panathenaia (28 Hekatombaion); the Egyptian Wepet Renpet, the Opening of the Year at the rising of Sothis; the Roman Consualia (21 August) and Ops Consiva (25 August); the Irish Óenach Tailten and the hill assemblies of Lughnasadh; the Saxon loaf-mass. |
| Inner meaning | The first harvest. Gratitude for abundance and the law of reciprocity: what is sown is reaped, what is given returns. The loaf as the body of the Goddess. The fire that makes immortal. The reading and weighing of the resolution sealed at Imbolc. |
| Festival Psalm | Psalm VI: The Psalm of Thalysia · Consualia · Lammas · Lughnasadh (72 passages to Demeter) |
| Rituals of the Gods | The Rite of Demeter, given on this page; with Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter of Eleusis |
#The Nature of the Festival
Lammas is the first harvest. The grain that was sown at the Spring Equinox and stood through the fire of the summer is cut, and the first loaf is baked from it and brought to the altar before any of the new bread is eaten. The Anglo-Saxons called the day hlāfmæsse, the loaf-mass, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle dates events by it (s.a. 921); the Irish called it Lúnasa, the assembly of Lugh, and climbed their hills for it; the Greeks offered the first fruits to Demeter at the Thalysia; the Egyptians opened their year.
The Sun stands at the 15th degree of Leo, the fixed sign of fire, the sign of the heart and of the king, at the exact midpoint between the solstice and the equinox. It's the hottest point of the year, and the ear is dried in the field by the fire of heaven before the sickle touches it.
The festival belongs to Demeter, the Goddess of the grain, of agriculture and of the sustaining power of the earth, who feeds all living things, the Mother of abundance and the keeper of the law of reciprocity: what is sown is reaped, what is given returns. The Temple keeps Lammas as the feast of gratitude.
It's the day on which the Zevist stops and counts what came in since the spring, and gives thanks for it, and gives a tenth of it away, and reads again the resolution he sealed with wax at the Feast of Fire on the 2nd of February, 6 months ago to the day, and weighs himself against it. Imbolc and Lammas are the 2 pans of 1 balance. The Feast of Fire lit the forge; the first harvest tests the metal.
The festival has a second face, which the ancients knew and the Temple restores: the harvest is a cutting, and the Goddess who feeds is the Goddess who reaps. The field is changed in a day by the sickle, and the stalk that falls stands again next spring. The lesson is for the body and for the soul, and the Psalm sings it. The Lammas loaf is the year made edible: the Sun's work, the rain's work, the earth's work and the hand's work in 1 round shape, scored with the 8 spokes of the year.
Imbolc and Lammas are the 2 pans of 1 balance. The Feast of Fire lit the forge; the first harvest tests the metal.
#The Goddess of the Festival: Demeter
Demeter (Δημήτηρ) is the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, sister of Zeus and mother by him of Persephone, the Maiden. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter opens the whole literature of the Goddess: Of Demeter the lovely-haired, the holy Goddess, I begin to sing, of her and of her slender-ankled daughter (1 to 2), and it calls her Deo, the Lady of the Seasons, Demeter of the golden sword (4, 54, 192).
Before her, Diodorus says, men ate acorns and the raw fruits of the wood; she gave the grain and the plough and the laws that go with them, which is why she is Thesmophoros, the Law-Bearer (5.68 to 69). Civilisation is a field with a fence, and she drew the fence. Her emblems on the coins of Athens were the ear of grain, the poppy and the torch: the ear for the harvest, the poppy for the sleep of the seed, the torch for the search in the dark.
Isocrates named her 2 gifts, the greatest ever given to mankind: the fruits of the earth, by which men don't live like beasts, and the rite, whose initiates have sweeter hopes about the end of life and all eternity (Panegyricus 28). Lammas is the feast of the first gift; the Autumn Equinox is the feast of the second; and they are 1 gift, because the bread of the body and the bread of the soul come from the same ear. She's also the Nurse of Mankind.
Disguised as an old woman she sat by the Maiden Well at Eleusis and was taken into the house of King Keleos to nurse the child Demophon, whom she anointed with ambrosia and laid at night in the heart of the fire to make him immortal, until his mother spied and shrieked and the Goddess set him down with the words: witless mortals, who can't tell good from evil when it comes (Homeric Hymn 2.90 to 304). The fire of the Goddess is the fire that makes immortal, and Lammas, the fire of the Lion, is her fire.
The Grain Mother is 1 under every sky.
She is Ceres in Rome, whose name is in every cereal; Isis in Egypt, who first found the ear of wheat in the field and taught the bread (Diodorus 1.14); Nisaba in Sumer, Lady of the grain and of the reed pen that counted it; Renenutet, the serpent Goddess of the Egyptian harvest; Sif in the North, whose golden hair is the grain of the field; Tailtiu in Ireland, the foster-mother of Lugh, who died clearing the great plain for the plough and asked to be remembered with games and not with tears; and the Corn Mother of every village in Europe, the last sheaf dressed as a woman and carried home with singing.
A Zevist of any nation may call her by the name his ancestors used; the ear is the same ear in Attica, in Egypt and in the Boyne valley.
The bread of the body and the bread of the soul come from the same ear. The one who has learned to eat has begun to learn to see.
#History and Ancient Parallels
Greece: The Thalysia, the First Fruits and the Panathenaia
The Thalysia were the feast of the first fruits of Demeter, and they're as old as Homer: Oineus of Calydon forgot to offer them, and the Goddess sent the boar (Iliad 9.533 to 542). Theocritus walked to the Thalysia on Cos and lay among the poplars and the elms while the cicadas sang, and saw the Goddess standing on the heap with sheaves and poppies in both hands (Idyll 7.1 to 9, 131 to 157).
Athens made the first fruits a law of the whole Greek world: the First Fruits Decree of about 435 BC commanded every Athenian deme and every allied city, and invited every other Greek city, to send a measure of barley and wheat from the harvest to the Two Goddesses at Eleusis, where it was stored in the granaries and offered on the threshing floor (IG I³ 78). The tithe of Greece went to Demeter.
In the same month, Hekatombaion, Athens kept the Panathenaia, the greatest festival of the city, with its procession of the whole people carrying the new robe to Athena on a ship on wheels; the frieze of the Parthenon is that procession, and it still walks (Parke, Festivals, 33 to 50). The harvest month was the month of the city's thanksgiving.
Egypt and Rome
Egypt opened its year at this season. The heliacal rising of Sothis, Sirius, in the heat of the Lion announced the flood of the Nile, and the day was Wepet Renpet, the Opening of the Year: the harvest of Egypt was already in, and the water that would make the next had begun to rise (Censorinus, De die natali 21.10; the Canopus Decree).
Rome kept the end of the harvest with the Consualia on the 21st of August, the feast of Consus, the God of the stored grain, whose altar lay buried under the Circus and was uncovered only for the day, with races and the garlanding of the working horses and mules, and with Ops Consiva, the Goddess of plenty, on the 25th (Varro, De lingua Latina 6.20; Plutarch, Romulus 15; Dionysius of Halicarnassus 2.31). The grain stored is the grain thanked for.
Ireland: Lughnasadh and the Fair of Tailtiu
The Irish quarter day of Lúnasa opened the harvest.
Its founding legend is in the Dindsenchas: Lugh of the long arm instituted the games at Tailtin for Tailtiu, his foster-mother, who had died clearing the plain of Brega for the plough, and the Óenach Tailten, the fair of Tailtiu, was held there every August for 1,500 years, with horse races on the strand, athletic contests, the judging of the first fruits, the contests of the bards, and marriages made for a year and a day through a hole in a wall (Gwynn, Metrical Dindshenchas 4; Keating, Foras Feasa; MacNeill, The Festival of Lughnasa, 1962).
The country kept the feast on the hilltops into the 20th century: on the last Sunday of July or the first of August the people climbed the heights, Croagh Patrick above all, with bilberries and music and the first new potatoes, and the saint's name set on the mountain couldn't hide whose feast it was.
A foster-mother who died making the field, remembered with games: that is Demeter under an Irish name, and Lugh, the skilled God who won the battle with a sling-stone and is the Sun in the sign of the Lion, is the son who keeps her feast as Triptolemos kept Demeter's.
The Saxon Loaf-Mass
The Anglo-Saxons baked the first loaf from the first grain and brought it to the altar on the 1st of August, and the day was hlāfmæsse, the loaf-mass, long before it was anything else; the Church kept the loaf and forgot the Goddess. The Lammas lands of England, common fields opened to grazing after the harvest on this day, kept the name until the enclosures. The Temple brings the loaf back to the Goddess it was baked for.
A foster-mother who died making the field, remembered with games and not with tears: that is Demeter under an Irish name.
#The Mystery of Lammas
The outer festival is the thanksgiving for the loaf. The inner festival is the fire that makes immortal.
The nursing of Demophon is the Mystery of this feast. The Goddess, unknown, in a king's kitchen, fed the child neither bread nor milk, but anointed him with ambrosia and breathed on him and laid him night after night in the heart of the fire, unseen, and he grew like a God while his parents wondered. The mother spied and shrieked, and pulled him out, and the Goddess said she would have made him deathless and now he must die like the rest.
Then she threw off the old woman and stood in the doorway as the Goddess, and the house filled with light, and she commanded the temple at Eleusis and taught the rites herself. The nurse was the Mystery, and the Mystery had been in the kitchen all along. The Zevist reads it inward: the Goddess lays the soul in the fire night after night, unseen, and it grows like a God; the only danger is the shriek, the hand that pulls it out too soon.
Lammas is the fire of the Lion, when the ear is dried in the field by the fire of heaven before it's cut, and the ear that stands in that fire is the ear that becomes bread.
The second teaching is reciprocity, which is the law of Ma'at in the field. What is given returns: the seed to the earth, the loaf to the altar, the share to the neighbour, the tenth to the Goddess. The one who withholds the first fruits loses the harvest, as Oineus did. The Goddess keeps the accounts, and they balance. The Zevist who gives the tenth away on this day has sown the next harvest with it.
The third teaching is the loaf. The loaf is the body of the Goddess, given to be eaten. The grinding is a rite, the stone turning as the year turns; the kneading is a rite, the hand working what the earth gave; the baking is a rite, the fire finishing what the Sun began. The Christians took the idea and put a man in the bread; the bread was always a woman, and her name is Demeter.
The one who has learned to eat rightly has begun to learn to see, and the kykeon that broke the Goddess's fast at Eleusis was barley and water and pennyroyal, the plainest food of the field, drunk in the house of a king. The plain cup is the Mystery.
The 4th teaching is the cutting. The harvest is the year's 1 irreversible act. The Goddess who sows is the Goddess who reaps, and the sickle is in the same hand as the seed. The Zevist asks to be gathered when his field is ripe, and not before, and learns from the stalk that falls and stands again what the soul does.
What Stays Within the Veil: The Inner Rite of the Nursing Fire
The Goddess nursed Demophon unseen, and the Hymn says so twice: she laid him in the fire “without the knowledge of his dear parents” (Homeric Hymn 2.240 to 241). The ear of grain that was the summit of the Eleusinian showing was reaped and displayed in silence (Hippolytus, Refutatio 5.8.39).
The Corn Mother of the villages was made from the last sheaf by hands that didn't say what they were making. The Thesmophoria of Demeter, 2 months after Lammas, were kept by women alone, and no man ever learned what was done at them (Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 1148 to 1159; Herodotus 2.171).
The Temple holds an inner rite of this feast, concerning the fire of the nursing and the one who isn't pulled out. The Zevists who hold it keep it. The Psalm's fourth movement names its stations in the order of the nights, for those who have lain in the fire.
The ancient rule holds in the Temple of Zeus. The outer festival of Lammas belongs to everyone: the fires, the procession, the Psalm, the feast, the games, the night. The inner rite is a Mystery, and a Mystery is classified by its nature, as it was at Eleusis, at Samothrace, on Parnassos and in the Idaean cave. It isn't published on this page or on any page.
Zevists who rise through the ranks of the Temple come to know it in due time, to experience it, and to understand it, under the same discipline the ancients kept. What the public saw in antiquity, the public sees now; what the mystai kept, the mystai keep. The restoration of the inner rites is a work in progress, and it's undertaken.
#The Names of the Goddess Across the Nations
| Civilisation | Name | Aspect |
|---|---|---|
| Hellenic | Demeter (ΔΗΜΗΤΗΡ), Deo (ΔΗΩ), Sito, Chloe, Karpophoros, Anesidora, Thesmophoros, Horephoros, Polyphorbe, Kourotrophos, Eleusinia | The Giver of Grain; the Law-Bearer; the Nurse; the Lady of the Mysteries |
| Roman | Ceres; Ops Consiva; Consus (the stored grain) | The grain; plenty; the granary |
| Egyptian | Isis of the ear of wheat; Renenutet, the serpent of the harvest; Nepri, the grain | The finder of the ear; the harvest; the bread |
| Sumerian and Akkadian | Nisaba, Lady of the grain and of the reed pen; Ashnan | The grain counted and written |
| Norse | Sif of the golden hair; Fulla of the full measure | The field's gold; abundance |
| Celtic | Tailtiu, foster-mother of Lugh; the harvest fair; Lugh himself as the Sun of the Lion | The foster-mother who made the field; the games |
| Anglo-Saxon | The loaf of the hlāfmæsse; the Corn Mother of the last sheaf | The first loaf; the harvest home |
| Slavic | Mokosh, the moist mother earth; the Dozhinki of the last sheaf | The earth that bears |
| Vedic and Hindu | Annapurna, full of food; Prithvi, the earth | The nourisher |
| Phrygian and Anatolian | Kybele, the Mountain Mother, whom Euripides identified with Demeter | The Mother of the earth |
The names in this table are the same essence under the tongues of different peoples. A Zevist of any nation may address Demeter under the name that the ancestors of that nation used, provided the essence of the God is understood as one. The Temple sets the Greek name first because the Greek sources preserve the fullest theology; it doesn't set it as the only name.
The ancients themselves did the same: Herodotus wrote Greek names for Egyptian Gods without hesitation, and the Romans wrote Jupiter over every altar of Zeus they found (Herodotus 2.42 to 2.50; Caesar, Gallic War 6.17; Tacitus, Germania 9, 43).
#The Rite of Lammas
The Rite stands on the frame of the Standard Ritual and the Advanced Zevist Ritual of the Temple. Whoever knows those knows the skeleton: the bell, the Four Powers, the Invocation to Zeus, the prayer, the burning, the meditation, the closing. The festival adds its own flesh to that skeleton at fixed points. The order below gives every step, so that a Zevist alone and an assembly of 300 perform the same Rite on the same night.
Demeter's Power Ritual isn't yet issued on the ritual site of the Temple. Until it is, the Rite of Demeter below, composed for this feast in the form of the Temple's rituals, is the Rite of the Goddess, and Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter of Eleusis is read within it. When the Power Ritual is issued it takes the Rite's place at the same step.
Timing
The loaf is baked on the day of the 1st of August, from the first grain of the year where that can be had, from new flour otherwise. The hill is climbed in the afternoon. The Rite is held at sunset on the 1st, and its height is the breaking of the loaf. The evening after is the feast and the games.
Preparation
- Bake the loaf on the day, by hand, round, scored on top with 8 spokes from the centre for the 8 feasts of the year, or in the shape of a sheaf, or of the Goddess with her arms full. The baking is part of the Rite and isn't delegated.
- The first sheaf: a few stalks of grain, cut on the day or bought, bound with a ribbon, set on the altar, not to be threshed; it stays on the altar until the Spring Equinox.
- Bathe before the Rite.
- Incense: myrrh, frankincense, cedar; a few grains of wheat or barley on the coals.
- Candles: gold and green; a gold candle for the Sun of the Lion, a green for the Goddess, and a brown or earthen candle for the field.
- The cup: ale or beer, which is bread that learned to flow; or mead; or the kykeon, barley meal stirred into water with a sprig of mint, for those who keep the plain cup.
- The sealed paper of Imbolc, from the altar or the Black Book, unopened.
- A plate for the tithe: coins, or food, or the written pledge of a tenth of the half-year's increase, to be given away on the day after.
- A sickle, or a knife, laid on the altar; poppies and a torch or a candle beside the sheaf, the 3 emblems.
- The Sigil of the Goddess, where the Temple has issued it; otherwise the ear of grain drawn on paper as the point of focus.
- Clean clothing; gold, green or the colour of the harvest.
The Order of the Rite
- The Opening. The bell. The gold candle, then the green, then the earthen.
- The Invocation of the Four Powers, as in the Standard Ritual, below. The North, the quarter of Zev, Leader of Creation, whose rain filled the ear, is held a breath longer.
- The Invocation to Zeus. ΕΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΙ ΤΟΥ ΖΕΒ ΥΨΙΣΤΟΥ, as below. Drink from the cup.
- The Festival Invocation, below, with the loaf raised in both hands.
- The Rite of Demeter, below: the vibration of the letters of the Name, the invocatory line, the affirmations in Greek and English, and Orphic Hymn 40.
- The Psalm, Movements I to III. The Giver of Grain, the Harvest, the Bread.
- The Opening of the Imbolc Paper. The wax is broken; the resolution of 6 months is read aloud; the celebrant weighs what was done against what was written, aloud and plainly, with the Weighing Formula below. What stands is thanked for; what fell is named without excuse. The paper is then burned in the gold candle: the half-year is closed.
- The Breaking of the Loaf. The loaf is broken by hand, not cut: the first piece is laid on the altar for the Goddess, the second set aside for the stranger or the neighbour, the third eaten by the celebrant, with the Bread Formula below. In a gathering the loaf passes around the circle.
- The Psalm, Movements IV to VI. The Nurse of Mankind, Lughnasadh, the Thanksgiving.
- The Tithe. The tenth is set on the plate with the Tithe Formula below, to be given away on the day after to someone who needs it, or to the Temple's work. Nothing is kept of it.
- The Thanksgiving. The celebrant names aloud, 1 by 1, what came in since the spring: the grain, the work finished, the friend kept, the child grown, the lesson learned; after each, Demeter, thanks. Then the Prayer in one's own words.
- The Meditation. On the ear of grain; on the fire of the nursing, warm and unseen, in which the soul is laid night after night; on not being pulled out.
- The Closing, below, and the bell, clockwise. The first sheaf stays on the altar.
- The Feast and the Games. Bread, ale, the fruits of the season, the first new potatoes, cheese, honey; and games: races, throwing, wrestling, riddles, a contest of song. The feast of Tailtiu was never grand and never needed to be.
The Invocation of the Four Powers
Face each direction in turn, beginning in the East and turning counterclockwise. At each turn a stream of electric blue light enters and fills the whole being; with each invocation the light grows stronger.
| Direction | Name of Power | Invocation |
|---|---|---|
| East | SAT-YA, ETERNAL TRUTH | I invoke the power of Truth, the foundation of all that exists. |
| North | ZEV, LEADER OF CREATION | I invoke the King of the Gods, the Father of all that lives. |
| West | APHRODITE, QUEEN OF QUEENS | I invoke the Goddess of Love, the force that binds all things together. |
| South | APOLLO, POWER OF THE LIGHT | I invoke the God of Light, of Clarity, and of Truth made visible. |
Then affirm: Eternal Gods, You who have gone by many names in the cultures of humanity, I invoke You within myself. May all Your Names be blessed. May Your Names bestow me with power.
The Invocation to Zeus
ΕΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΙ ΤΟΥ ΖΕΒ ΥΨΙΣΤΟΥ, ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΘΕΩΝ ΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΩΝ
En Onomati tou Zev Hypsistou, Patros Theon te kai Anthropon
In the Name of Zev the Most High, Father of Gods and of Humanity
ॐ ज़ेव् देवदेवाय सत्याय नमः
Om Zev Devadevaaya Satyaaya Namah
Om! To Zev, God of Gods, the Eternal Truth, salutation!
The Rite of Demeter
The Rite is built as the Temple's rituals are built: a vibration, an invocatory line, an affirmation, the focus on the Sigil or the ear. Raising the energies before it's advised. Those who can't carry the full counts halve them.
- Vibrate the Greek Sacred Letters of the Name, each by its full name, 3 times each: DELTA, ETA, MU, ETA, TAU, ETA, RHO (Δ Η Μ Η Τ Η Ρ). Then vibrate DEMETER × 10 and DEO × 10.
- Vibrate the invocatory line once, with power: IA IA DEMETER SITODOTEIRA THESMOPHORE KARPOPHORE.
- Affirm the First Affirmation below, focusing on the Sigil or the ear, willing it so.
- Vibrate ETA, LAMBDA, EPSILON, UPSILON, SIGMA, IOTA, SIGMA (Ἐλευσίς, the letters of the holy place) 3 times each; then ELEUSINIA × 10.
- Affirm the Second Affirmation below.
- Vibrate IA IA DEMETER KOUROTROPHE ANESIDORA POLYPHORBE once; then CERES × 3, ISIS × 3, NISABA × 3, TAILTIU × 3.
- Affirm the Third Affirmation below.
- Read Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter of Eleusis in full, Greek or English.
- Close with the Ending below, 3 times, AUM before and after.
The First Affirmation
| English | O Demeter, Giver of Grain, Law-Bearer, Fruit-Bearer, you gave the grain and the law that goes with it; before you men ate acorns, after you bread. The Temple of Zeus calls you on the first day of the harvest; come to our threshing floor, and stand on the heap, with sheaves and poppies in both hands. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Oh Deemeeter, Sitodoteira, Thesmofore, Karpofore, see ton siton edokas kai ton nomon ton seen afto· pro soo valanoos eesthion oi anthropoi, meta se arton. O Naos too Dios se kalei en tee protee eemera too therismoo· elthe epi teen alo eemon, kai steethi epi too soroo, dragmata kai meekonas en amfoterais tais khersin ekhoosa. |
| Ancient Greek | Ὦ Δήμητερ, Σιτοδότειρα, Θεσμοφόρε, Καρποφόρε, σὺ τὸν σῖτον ἔδωκας καὶ τὸν νόμον τὸν σὺν αὐτῷ· πρὸ σοῦ βαλάνους ἤσθιον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, μετὰ σὲ ἄρτον. Ὁ Ναὸς τοῦ Διὸς σὲ καλεῖ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ θερισμοῦ· ἐλθὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἅλω ἡμῶν, καὶ στῆθι ἐπὶ τοῦ σωροῦ, δράγματα καὶ μήκωνας ἐν ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχουσα. |
The Second Affirmation
| English | O Demeter of Eleusis, who sat by the Maiden Well, who laid Demophon in the fire by night, unseen, that he might become immortal; lay us too in your fire, and let no one pull us out before the hour. 2 gifts you gave, the fruit and the rite; the first we receive today, the second we ask for at the equinox. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Oh Deemeeter Elefsinia, ee para to Parthenion frear kathisasa, ee ton Deemofonta en to peeri neektor theisa, lathra, ina athanatos geneetai· thes kai eemas en to peeri soo, kai meedeis eemas pro oras exelketo. Deeo dora edokas, ton karpon kai teen teleteen· to proton seemeron lamvanomen, to defteron en tee iseemeria aitoomen. |
| Ancient Greek | Ὦ Δήμητερ Ἐλευσινία, ἡ παρὰ τὸ Παρθένιον φρέαρ καθίσασα, ἡ τὸν Δημοφῶντα ἐν τῷ πυρὶ νύκτωρ θεῖσα, λάθρᾳ, ἵνα ἀθάνατος γένηται· θὲς καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ πυρί σου, καὶ μηδεὶς ἡμᾶς πρὸ ὥρας ἐξελκέτω. Δύο δῶρα ἔδωκας, τὸν καρπὸν καὶ τὴν τελετήν· τὸ πρῶτον σήμερον λαμβάνομεν, τὸ δεύτερον ἐν τῇ ἰσημερίᾳ αἰτοῦμεν. |
The Third Affirmation
| English | O Demeter, Nurse of the Young, Sender-up of Gifts, All-Nourishing, Ceres in Rome, Isis in Egypt, Nisaba in Sumer, Tailtiu in Ireland; all the nations knew you in the ear of grain, and we know you. Bless the fields of the Zevists and their tables; what was sown, let it be reaped; what was given, let it return; what was broken, let it be shared. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Oh Deemeeter, Koorotrofe, Aneesidora, Poleeforvee, Kerees en Romee, Isis en Aigeepto, Nisava en Soomeria, Taltioo en Ivernia· panta ta ethnee se egno en to stakheei, kai eemeis se ginoskomen. Evlogei toos agroos ton Zeviston kai tas trapezas afton· o esparee, theristheeto· o edothee, epaneltheto· o eklasthee, meristheeto. |
| Ancient Greek | Ὦ Δήμητερ, Κουροτρόφε, Ἀνησιδώρα, Πολυφόρβη, Κέρης ἐν Ῥώμῃ, Ἶσις ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, Νισάβα ἐν Σουμερίᾳ, Ταλτίου ἐν Ἰβερνίᾳ· πάντα τὰ ἔθνη σὲ ἔγνω ἐν τῷ στάχυϊ, καὶ ἡμεῖς σὲ γινώσκομεν. Εὐλόγει τοὺς ἀγροὺς τῶν Ζευϊστῶν καὶ τὰς τραπέζας αὐτῶν· ὃ ἐσπάρη, θερισθήτω· ὃ ἐδόθη, ἐπανελθέτω· ὃ ἐκλάσθη, μερισθήτω. |
The Ending (3 times, AUM before and after)
| English | Blessed are you, Demeter, Mother of the Grain, Nurse of Mankind, Law-Bearer. We, the initiates of the Temple of Zeus, receive your blessings and honour all your names. Blessed are all your names, now and unto the age. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Evlogeemenee ei, Deemeeter, Meeter too Sitoo, Trofe ton Anthropon, Thesmofore. Eemeis, oi meestai too Naoo too Dios, tas evlogias soo dekhometha kai panta ta onomata soo timomen. Evlogeemena ta onomata soo panta, neen kai eis ton aiona. |
| Ancient Greek | Εὐλογημένη εἶ, Δήμητερ, Μῆτερ τοῦ Σίτου, Τροφὲ τῶν Ἀνθρώπων, Θεσμοφόρε. Ἡμεῖς, οἱ μύσται τοῦ Ναοῦ τοῦ Διός, τὰς εὐλογίας σου δεχόμεθα καὶ πάντα τὰ ὀνόματά σου τιμῶμεν. Εὐλογημένα τὰ ὀνόματά σου πάντα, νῦν καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. |
The Words Proper to the Day
The Festival Invocation (after the Invocation to Zeus, with the loaf raised in both hands)
| English | Demeter, Giver of Grain, the Sun is in the middle of the Lion, and the ear is dry, and the sickle is ready; behold the first loaf of the year, from the first grain, baked by our hands; receive it before we eat, as the fathers brought you the first fruits. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Deemeeter, Sitodoteira, o Eelios en meso too Leontos, kai o stakhees xeeros, kai to drepanon etoimon· idoo o protos artos too etoos, ek too protoo sitoo, tais khersin eemon peftheis· dexai afton prin eemas esthiein, os oi pateres soi tas aparkhas eferon. |
| Ancient Greek | Δήμητερ, Σιτοδότειρα, ὁ Ἥλιος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Λέοντος, καὶ ὁ στάχυς ξηρός, καὶ τὸ δρέπανον ἕτοιμον· ἰδοὺ ὁ πρῶτος ἄρτος τοῦ ἔτους, ἐκ τοῦ πρώτου σίτου, ταῖς χερσὶν ἡμῶν πεφθείς· δέξαι αὐτὸν πρὶν ἡμᾶς ἐσθίειν, ὡς οἱ πατέρες σοὶ τὰς ἀπαρχὰς ἔφερον. |
The Weighing Formula (as the Imbolc paper is opened)
| English | 6 months from the fire of February: I open what I sealed, and I read; what stands, I give thanks for; what fell, I name without excuse; the field doesn't lie, and I don't lie on the threshing floor. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Ex meenes apo too peeros too Fevrooarioo· anoigo o esfragisa, kai anagignosko· o istatai, efkharisto· o epesen, onomazo anef profaseos· o agros oo psevdetai, kai ego oo psevdomai epi tees alo. |
| Ancient Greek | Ἓξ μῆνες ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου· ἀνοίγω ὃ ἐσφράγισα, καὶ ἀναγιγνώσκω· ὃ ἵσταται, εὐχαριστῶ· ὃ ἔπεσεν, ὀνομάζω ἄνευ προφάσεως· ὁ ἀγρὸς οὐ ψεύδεται, καὶ ἐγὼ οὐ ψεύδομαι ἐπὶ τῆς ἅλω. |
The Bread Formula (at the breaking of the loaf)
| English | I break the loaf: the first piece to the Goddess, the second to the stranger, the third to me; a loaf eaten alone is flour; a loaf shared is bread. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Klo ton arton· to proton tee thea, to defteron to xeno, to triton emoi· artos monos esthiomenos alevron· artos merizomenos artos. |
| Ancient Greek | Κλῶ τὸν ἄρτον· τὸ πρῶτον τῇ θεᾷ, τὸ δεύτερον τῷ ξένῳ, τὸ τρίτον ἐμοί· ἄρτος μόνος ἐσθιόμενος ἄλευρον· ἄρτος μεριζόμενος ἄρτος. |
The Tithe Formula (as the tenth is set on the plate)
| English | The tenth of what came in goes out; it is the seed of the next harvest; the Goddess keeps the accounts, and they balance. |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | To dekaton too eiselthontos exerkhetai· to sperma too epiontos therismoo estin· ee thea toos logoos feelassei, kai isorropoosi. |
| Ancient Greek | Τὸ δέκατον τοῦ εἰσελθόντος ἐξέρχεται· τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ ἐπιόντος θερισμοῦ ἐστιν· ἡ θεὰ τοὺς λόγους φυλάσσει, καὶ ἰσορροποῦσι. |
The Closing
Praised be Zeus, the God of Gods, the Unconquered and Greatest, Father of Gods and Men, King of the Immortals! Ring the bell, turning clockwise. The Rite is concluded.
A loaf eaten alone is flour; a loaf shared is bread.
#Celebrating Alone
Lammas alone is kept in the kitchen first. Bake the loaf on the day with the hands: flour, water, salt, leaven, and time. The baking is the Rite's first half, and the one who buys the loaf has kept half the feast. Score the top with the 8 spokes. While it bakes, bind the sheaf, if there's grain to be had, or set a few stalks or even a single ear on the altar with a ribbon, and lay the sickle or the knife, the poppies and the candle beside it.
In the afternoon, where there's a hill within reach, climb it, as the Irish climbed, and look at the fields and the town from above: the pattern of the half-year is seen from the summit and not from the furrow.
At sunset hold the Rite. The Rite of Demeter takes about 20 minutes with the hymn; the whole Rite with the Psalm, the opening of the Imbolc paper, the breaking of the loaf and the thanksgiving fills about 2 hours. The opening of the paper is the private heart of the night. Read what was resolved in February aloud, and weigh it aloud, plainly, item by item: what stands, what fell, and why, with no excuse offered to anyone, since no one is listening but the Goddess, who already knows.
Then burn it. The half-year is closed and can't be reopened; that is why it's burned at Lammas and sealed at Imbolc.
Break the loaf by hand. The first piece goes on the altar and stays there until morning, when it's given to the birds or the earth; the second is wrapped and given on the day after to a neighbour, a friend, a stranger, with no explanation needed; the third is eaten slowly with the ale. Then name the harvest of the half-year aloud, item by item, with the thanks after each, and set the tithe on the plate.
The next day give the tithe away, all of it, and the second piece of bread with it. The sheaf stays on the altar until the Spring Equinox, when its grain is sown with the seeds of that day. The chain of bread isn't broken.
#Celebrating as a Gathering
The gathering for Lammas is a fair, as the Óenach Tailten was a fair: a day on a hill or in a field, with the Rite at its centre and games, contests and a market of the first fruits around it. The ancient models are the fair of Tailtiu, with its races, its judging of the first fruits and its bards; the Thalysia on the heap of grain; and the Panathenaic procession of the whole people carrying its offering.
The Offices of the Day
| Office | Ancient model | Duty in the Rite |
|---|---|---|
| The Presiding Priestess or Priest | The priestess of Demeter at the Thalysia; the Hierophantis | Leads the Rite; performs the Invocations; leads the Rite of Demeter; breaks the common loaf; receives the tithes. |
| The Bakers | The women of the loaf-mass | Bake the common loaf of the gathering on the day, by hand, from the first grain; and a small loaf for every household present to take home. |
| The Reapers | The reaper of the first sheaf | Cut the first sheaf of the gathering, where there's grain, with the words; bind it; carry it at the head of the procession; set it on the altar. |
| The Herald | The Hierokeryx | Gives the public call; announces the steps; opens the games; proclaims the judging of the first fruits. |
| The Chorus | The singers of the Homeric Hymn | Sings the Psalm; the assembly answers each last line. |
| The Judges of the First Fruits | The judges of the Óenach Tailten | Judge the first fruits brought by the households: the loaf, the fruit, the honey, the ale; crown the best with a wreath of grain. |
| The Steward of the Tithe | The Eleusinian treasurers of the aparchai | Receives the tithes of the gathering and sees, within the week, that they're given where the gathering has decided. |
| The Masters of the Games | The games of Tailtiu | Run the races, the throwing, the wrestling, the children's games, the contest of song. |
The Order of the Gathering
- The Baking. On the morning of the 1st the Bakers bake the common loaf and the household loaves at the place of the gathering, or bring them warm. The Reapers cut the sheaf.
- The Procession. The assembly walks to the hill or the field behind the sheaf and the loaf, the Chorus singing Movement I; every household carries its first fruits.
- The Public Call, by the Herald: the first harvest of Demeter is open to every person of good will who comes to give thanks.
- The Market and the Judging. The first fruits are set out; the Judges go round; the best is crowned with grain. The afternoon is the fair: the games, the races, the contest of song, the children's games, the bilberries, the first new potatoes boiling.
- The Rite, at sunset, in the order above, led by the Presiding Priestess. The Imbolc papers are opened by each celebrant in silence, the Weighing Formula spoken once by the Priestess for all, and burned 1 by 1 in the gold candle. The common loaf is broken by the Priestess and passed around the whole circle; every celebrant takes the third piece; the first lies on the altar and the second is gathered for the Steward to give away.
- The Tithes. Each household sets its tithe before the Steward with the Tithe Formula.
- The Thanksgiving. The assembly names its harvest aloud, household by household, briefly, with Demeter, thanks after each.
- The Closing, and the bell.
- The Feast. Bread, ale, mead, cheese, honey, the fruit of the season, roast lamb or fowl for those who eat meat, and the household loaves taken home at the end. Marriages and handfastings for a year and a day, in the old manner of Teltown, are blessed by the Priestess at the feast where the gathering keeps that custom.
The inner rite of the nursing fire, where it is held, is held apart from the fair by those who hold it, and the assembly isn't told its hour.
A fair on a hill with a loaf at the centre of it: that is Lammas kept in common, as Tailtiu asked.
#The Psalm of Lammas
The Psalm is sung in 2 halves at the 2 points marked in the Rite: Movements I to III after the Rite of Demeter, Movements IV to VI after the breaking of the loaf. Each passage stands in 3 columns, Ancient Greek, transliteration and English. 72 passages to Demeter.
The full Psalm stands on its own page: Psalm VI: The Psalm of Thalysia · Consualia · Lammas · Lughnasadh. The first 24 of its 72 passages are shown here; the drawdown below unfolds the remaining 48.
I · The Giver of Grain · Ἡ Σιτοδότειρα (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Δήμητρ' ἠΰκομον, σεμνὴν θεόν, ἄρχομ' ἀείδειν, αὐτὴν ἠδὲ θύγατρα τανύσφυρον· οὕτως ὁ παλαιὸς ὕμνος ἀνοίγεται, καὶ οὕτως ὁ Ναὸς τὴν ἑορτὴν τοῦ πρώτου ἄρτου ἀνοίγει. | Deemeetr' eeeekomon, semneen theon, arkhom' aeidein, afteen eede theegatra taneesfeeron· ootos o palaios eemnos anoigetai, kai ootos o Naos teen eorteen too protoo artoo anoigei. | Of Demeter the lovely-haired, the holy Goddess, I begin to sing, of her and of her slender-ankled daughter: so the old hymn opens, and so the Temple opens the feast of the first loaf. |
| 2 | Κλῦθι, Δήμητερ, Δηοῖ, Μῆτερ, Σιτοδότειρα, χρυσάορε, Ὡρηφόρε, Καρποφόρε, ἡ πάντα τὰ ζῶντα τρέφουσα· ὁ Ἥλιος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Λέοντος ἵσταται, καὶ τὸ πρῶτον δράγμα τέμνεται, καὶ σόν ἐστιν. | Kleethi, Deemeeter, Deeoi, Meeter, Sitodoteira, khreesaore, Oreefore, Karpofore, ee panta ta zonta trefoosa· o Eelios en meso too Leontos istatai, kai to proton dragma temnetai, kai son estin. | Hear, Demeter, Deo, Mother, Giver of Grain, of the golden sword, Lady of the seasons, bringer of the fruits, who feed all that lives; the Sun stands in the middle of the Lion, and the first sheaf is cut, and it is yours. |
| 3 | Πρὸ σοῦ οἱ ἄνθρωποι βαλάνους ἤσθιον καὶ τοὺς ὠμοὺς καρποὺς τῆς ὕλης· σὺ τὸν σῖτον ἔδωκας καὶ τὸ ἄροτρον καὶ τὸν νόμον τὸν σὺν αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὸν βοῦν τὸν ἕλκοντα, καὶ τὸν μύλον τὸν στρεφόμενον, καὶ τὸν ἄρτον τὸν μεριζόμενον. | Pro soo oi anthropoi valanoos eesthion kai toos omoos karpoos tees eelees· see ton siton edokas kai to arotron kai ton nomon ton seen aftois, kai ton voon ton elkonta, kai ton meelon ton strefomenon, kai ton arton ton merizomenon. | Before you men ate acorns and the raw fruits of the wood; you gave the grain and the plough and the law that goes with them, and the ox that pulls, and the mill that turns, and the loaf that is shared. |
| 4 | Θεσμοφόρε, Νομοφόρε· οἱ νόμοι τοῦ ἀγροῦ οἱ πρῶτοι νόμοι, ὁ ὅρος, ἡ ὥρα, τὸ μέρος τοῦ ἐργάτου, ἡ δεκάτη τῆς θεᾶς· ὁ πολιτισμὸς ἀγρὸς σὺν φραγμῷ, καὶ σὺ τὸν φραγμὸν ἔγραψας. | Thesmofore, Nomofore· oi nomoi too agroo oi protoi nomoi, o oros, ee ora, to meros too ergatoo, ee dekatee tees theas· o politismos agros seen fragmo, kai see ton fragmon egrapsas. | Thesmophoros, Law-Bearer: the laws of the field are the first laws, the boundary, the season, the share of the labourer, the tithe of the Goddess; civilisation is a field with a fence, and you drew the fence. |
| 5 | Κέρης ἐν Ῥώμῃ, ἧς τὸ ὄνομα ἐν παντὶ σίτῳ· Νισάβα τῆς Σουμερίας, Δέσποινα τοῦ σίτου καὶ τοῦ καλάμου· Ῥενενουτὲτ τῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἡ ἀσπὶς τοῦ θερισμοῦ· Σὶφ τοῦ Βορρᾶ, ἧς ἡ κόμη ὁ χρυσὸς τοῦ ἀγροῦ· Ταλτίου τῆς Ἰβερνίας, ἡ ἀποθανοῦσα τὸ πεδίον τῷ ἀρότρῳ καθαίρουσα· ἡ Μήτηρ τοῦ Σίτου μία ὑπὸ πάντα οὐρανόν. | Kerees en Romee, ees to onoma en panti sito· Nisava tees Soomerias, Despoina too sitoo kai too kalamoo· Renenootet tees Aigeeptoo, ee aspis too therismoo· Sif too Vorra, ees ee komee o khreesos too agroo· Taltioo tees Ivernias, ee apothanoosa to pedion to arotro kathairoosa· ee Meeteer too Sitoo mia eepo panta ooranon. | Ceres in Rome, whose name is in every cereal; Nisaba of Sumer, Lady of the grain and of the reed pen; Renenutet of Egypt, the serpent of the harvest; Sif of the North, whose hair is the gold of the field; Tailtiu of Ireland, who died clearing the plain for the plough: the Grain Mother is 1 under every sky. |
| 6 | Καὶ ἡ Ἶσις σή, ἡ πρώτη τὸν στάχυν τοῦ πυροῦ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ εὑροῦσα, Διόδωρος λέγει, καὶ τὸν ἄρτον διδάξασα· καὶ ἡ Μήτηρ τοῦ Σίτου πάσης κώμης τῆς Εὐρώπης, τὸ ὕστατον δράγμα ὡς γυνὴ ἐνδεδυμένον καὶ οἴκαδε σὺν ᾠδῇ φερόμενον. | Kai ee Isis see, ee protee ton stakheen too peeroo en to agro evroosa, Diodoros legei, kai ton arton didaxasa· kai ee Meeteer too Sitoo pasees komees tees Evropees, to eestaton dragma os geenee endedeemenon kai oikade seen odee feromenon. | Isis too is yours, who first found the ear of wheat in the field, Diodorus says, and taught the bread; and the Corn Mother of every village in Europe, the last sheaf dressed as a woman and carried home with singing. |
| 7 | Ἄλλαξον τὸ ὄνομα κατὰ τὴν γλῶσσαν, Ζευϊστά, καὶ μηδὲν τῆς Μητρὸς ἄλλαξον· ὁ στάχυς ὁ αὐτὸς στάχυς ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τοῦ Βοΐνε· ἡ χεὶρ ἡ τέμνουσα αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτῆς τέμνει. | Allaxon to onoma kata teen glossan, Zevista, kai meeden tees Meetros allaxon· o stakhees o aftos stakhees en tee Attikee kai en Aigeepto kai en tee koiladi too Voine· ee kheir ee temnoosa afton en to onomati aftees temnei. | Change the name by the tongue, Zevist, and change nothing of the Mother; the ear of grain is the same ear in Attica and in Egypt and in the Boyne valley; the hand that cuts it cuts it in her name. |
| 8 | Μῆτερ τῆς Κόρης, ἣ εἰς τὰ πεδία τῆς Νύσης δι' ἄνθη ἦλθε καὶ οἴκαδε οὐκ ἐπανῆλθεν, ὁ ψαλμὸς τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου περὶ τούτου ᾄσεται· σήμερον ἡ Κόρη ἔτι ἄνω, καὶ ἡ Μήτηρ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ γελᾷ τὰς ἀγκάλας πλήρεις ἔχουσα. | Meeter tees Korees, ee eis ta pedia tees Neesees di' anthee eelthe kai oikade ook epaneelthen, o psalmos too Septemvrioo peri tootoo asetai· seemeron ee Koree eti ano, kai ee Meeteer en to agro gela tas ankalas pleereis ekhoosa. | Mother of the Maiden, who went to the fields of Nysa for flowers and didn't come home, the Psalm of September will sing of that; today the Maiden is still above, and the Mother is laughing in the field with her arms full. |
| 9 | Χλόη, ἡ Χλωρά, ἐν τῷ ἔαρι· Καρποφόρος, ἡ Καρπὸν φέρουσα, νῦν· Ἀνησιδώρα, ἡ Δῶρα ἀνιεῖσα, ἡ τὴν γῆν πλέον ἀποδιδόναι ἢ ἔλαβε ποιοῦσα· οἱ τριάκοντα κόκκοι ἐν τῷ στάχυϊ ἡ ἀριθμητική σου. | Khloee, ee Khlora, en to eari· Karpoforos, ee Karpon feroosa, neen· Aneesidora, ee Dora anieisa, ee teen geen pleon apodidonai ee elave poioosa· oi triakonta kokkoi en to stakheei ee arithmeetikee soo. | Chloe, the Green, in the spring; Karpophoros, Fruit-Bearer, now; Anesidora, Sender-up of gifts, who make the earth give back more than it took; the 30 grains in the ear are your arithmetic. |
| 10 | Πολυφόρβη, ἡ Πάντα τρέφουσα, ἧς οἱ μαστοὶ οἱ δύο θερισμοὶ τοῦ ἔτους· ὁ πρῶτος ὁ σῖτος, καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ὁ καρπός, καὶ ὁ Ζευϊστὴς σοὶ δι' ἀμφοτέρους εὐχαριστεῖ, καὶ τὸν τρίτον αἰτεῖ, ὅς ἐστιν ὁ θερισμὸς τῆς ψυχῆς. | Poleeforvee, ee Panta trefoosa, ees oi mastoi oi deeo therismoi too etoos· o protos o sitos, kai o defteros o karpos, kai o Zevistees soi di' amfoteroos efkharistei, kai ton triton aitei, os estin o therismos tees pseekhees. | Polyphorbe, All-Nourishing, whose breasts are the 2 harvests of the year; the first is the grain, and the second is the fruit, and the Zevist thanks you for both, and asks for the third, which is the harvest of the soul. |
| 11 | Ἐν Ἀθήναις ὁ στάχυς τὸ σύμβολόν σου ἐπὶ τῶν νομισμάτων, ἡ μήκων καὶ ἡ δᾲς παρ' αὐτόν· ἡ μήκων διὰ τὸν ὕπνον τοῦ σπέρματος, ἡ δᾲς διὰ τὴν ζήτησιν ἐν τῷ σκότει· τρία σημεῖα, καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἔτος τοῦ ἀγροῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς. | En Atheenais o stakhees to seemvolon soo epi ton nomismaton, ee meekon kai ee das par' afton· ee meekon dia ton eepnon too spermatos, ee das dia teen zeeteesin en to skotei· tria seemeia, kai to olon etos too agroo en aftois. | In Athens the ear of grain was your emblem on the coins, the poppy and the torch beside it; the poppy for the sleep of the seed, the torch for the search in the dark; 3 signs, and the whole year of the field is in them. |
| 12 | Χαῖρε, Δήμητερ, Σιτοδότειρα, ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ὥρᾳ τοῦ θερισμοῦ· ἑβδομήκοντα δύο στροφὰς σοὶ φέρομεν, ὅσοι οἱ κόκκοι ἐν ἀγαθῷ στάχυϊ καὶ ἡμίσει· δέξαι τὴν πρώτην, ὡς δέχῃ τὸ πρῶτον δράγμα. | Khaire, Deemeeter, Sitodoteira, en tee protee ora too therismoo· evdomeekonta deeo strofas soi feromen, osoi oi kokkoi en agatho stakheei kai eemisei· dexai teen proteen, os dekhee to proton dragma. | Hail, Demeter, Giver of Grain, in the first hour of the harvest; 72 passages we bring you, as many as the grains in a good ear and a half; receive the first, as you receive the first sheaf. |
II · The Harvest · Ὁ Θερισμός (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Τὸ δρέπανον τὸ ἀρχαιότατον ὄργανον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ τὸ σχῆμα αὐτοῦ ἡ Σελήνη· ὁ θεριστὴς κύπτει, καὶ ὁ καυλὸς πίπτει, καὶ ὁ ἀγρὸς ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ ἀλλάσσεται· ὁ θερισμὸς ἡ μία ἀμετάστρεπτος πρᾶξις τοῦ ἔτους, καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου πράσσεται. | To drepanon to arkhaiotaton organon too anthropoo meta teen kheira, kai to skheema aftoo ee Seleenee· o theristees keeptei, kai o kavlos piptei, kai o agros en mia eemera allassetai· o therismos ee mia ametastreptos praxis too etoos, kai en to onomati soo prassetai. | The sickle is the oldest tool of man after the hand, and its shape is the Moon; the reaper bends, and the stalk falls, and the field is changed in a day; the harvest is the year's one irreversible act, and it's done in your name. |
| 14 | Τέμε τὸ πρῶτον δράγμα σὺν τοῖς ῥήμασι, καὶ ἀπόθου αὐτό, καὶ μὴ ἀλόα· τὸ πρῶτον δράγμα τῆς θεᾶς ἐστι, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν ἔρχεται, καὶ μένει ἕως τοῦ ἔαρος· ὁ σπόρος τοῦ ἐπιόντος ἔτους ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἡ θεὰ αὐτὸν φυλάσσει. | Teme to proton dragma seen tois reemasi, kai apothoo afto, kai mee aloa· to proton dragma tees theas esti, kai epi ton vomon erkhetai, kai menei eos too earos· o sporos too epiontos etoos en afto, kai ee thea afton feelassei. | Cut the first sheaf with the words, and set it aside, and don't thresh it; the first sheaf belongs to the Goddess, and goes on the altar, and stays till the spring; the seed-corn of the next year is in it, and the Goddess keeps it. |
| 15 | Θεόκριτος εἰς τὰ Θαλύσια ἐν Κῷ ἐβάδισε, τὴν ἑορτὴν τῶν ἀπαρχῶν τῆς Δήμητρος, καὶ ἐν ταῖς αἰγείροις καὶ ταῖς πτελέαις ἔκειτο τῶν τεττίγων ᾀδόντων, καὶ ἡ θεὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ σωροῦ ἔστη δράγματα καὶ μήκωνας ἐν ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχουσα. | Theokritos eis ta Thaleesia en Ko evadise, teen eorteen ton aparkhon tees Deemeetros, kai en tais aigeirois kai tais pteleais ekeito ton tettigon adonton, kai ee thea epi too soroo estee dragmata kai meekonas en amfoterais tais khersin ekhoosa. | Theocritus walked to the Thalysia on Cos, the feast of the first fruits of Demeter, and lay among the poplars and the elms while the cicadas sang, and the Goddess stood on the heap with sheaves and poppies in both hands. |
| 16 | Ὅμηρος τὰ Θαλύσια ἤδη ᾔδει· Οἰνεὺς αὐτῶν ἐπελάθετο, καὶ ἡ θεὰ τὸν κάπρον ἔπεμψεν· αἱ ἀπαρχαὶ κατεχόμεναι ὁ θερισμὸς ἀπολλύμενος· ὁ μὴ διδοὺς τὴν πρώτην μοῖραν τὰ λοιπὰ οὐ φυλάσσει. | Omeeros ta Thaleesia eedee eedei· Oinevs afton epelatheto, kai ee thea ton kapron epempsen· ai aparkhai katekhomenai o therismos apolleemenos· o mee didoos teen proteen moiran ta loipa oo feelassei. | Homer knew the Thalysia already: Oineus forgot them, and the Goddess sent the boar; the first fruits withheld are the harvest lost; the one who doesn't give the first portion doesn't keep the rest. |
| 17 | Αἱ Ἀθῆναι τὰς ἀπαρχὰς πάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος εἰς Ἐλευσῖνα ἔπεμπον, κατὰ ψήφισμα, μέτρον ἐκ πάσης πόλεως, καὶ αἱ θεαὶ τὴν δεκάτην τοῦ ὅλου Ἑλληνικοῦ κόσμου ἐπὶ τῆς ἅλω αὐτῶν ἐδέχοντο· ὁ Ναὸς τὰς ἀπαρχὰς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν βωμὸν πέμπει, καὶ ὁ βωμὸς ἡ ἅλως. | Ai Atheenai tas aparkhas pasees tees Ellados eis Elefsina epempon, kata pseefisma, metron ek pasees poleos, kai ai theai teen dekateen too oloo Elleenikoo kosmoo epi tees alo afton edekhonto· o Naos tas aparkhas aftoo eis ton vomon pempei, kai o vomos ee alos. | Athens sent the first fruits of all Greece to Eleusis, by decree, a measure from every city, and the Goddesses received the tithe of the whole Greek world on their threshing floor; the Temple sends its first fruits to the altar, and the altar is the floor. |
| 18 | Ἡ Αἴγυπτος τὸ ἔτος ἤνοιγεν ὅτε ὁ Σῶθις ἀνέτελλε καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς σὺν αὐτῷ ἀνέβαινεν, Οὐεπὲτ Ῥενπέτ, τὸ Ἄνοιγμα τοῦ Ἔτους, ἐν τῷ καύματι τοῦ Λέοντος· ὁ θερισμὸς τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἤδη ἔσω, καὶ ἡ πλημμύρα ἡ τὸν ἐπιόντα ποιήσουσα ἤρκτο. | Ee Aigeeptos to etos eenoigen ote o Sothis anetelle kai o potamos seen afto anevainen, Ooepet Renpet, to Anoigma too Etoos, en to kavmati too Leontos· o therismos tees Aigeeptoo eedee eso, kai ee pleemmeera ee ton epionta poieesoosa eerkto. | Egypt opened its year when Sothis rose and the river rose with it, Wepet Renpet, the Opening of the Year, in the heat of the Lion; the harvest of Egypt was already in, and the flood that would make the next had begun. |
| 19 | Αἱ Ἀθῆναι τὰ Παναθήναια ἐν τέλει τοῦ θεριστικοῦ μηνὸς ἦγον, τὴν μεγίστην ἑορτὴν τῆς πόλεως, τὸν νέον πέπλον τῇ θεᾷ ἐπὶ νεὼς ἐπὶ τροχῶν φερόμενον, τὸν ὅλον δῆμον ἐν τῇ πομπῇ· ἡ ζῳφόρος τοῦ Παρθενῶνος ἡ πομπὴ ἐκείνη, καὶ ἔτι βαδίζει. | Ai Atheenai ta Panatheenaia en telei too theristikoo meenos eegon, teen megisteen eorteen tees poleos, ton neon peplon tee thea epi neos epi trokhon feromenon, ton olon deemon en tee pompee· ee zoforos too Parthenonos ee pompee ekeinee, kai eti vadizei. | Athens kept the Panathenaia at the end of the harvest month, the city's greatest feast, the new robe carried to the Goddess on a ship on wheels, the whole people in the procession; the frieze of the Parthenon is that procession, and it still walks. |
| 20 | Θέριζε ὃ ἐσπάρη· ὁ νόμος ἀρχαιότερος παντὸς βιβλίου, καὶ σὺ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ ἔγραψας· ὃ ἐν Μαρτίῳ ἐφυτεύθη ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ ἐν Αὐγούστῳ ἵσταται, καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο· ὁ ἀγρὸς οὐ ψεύδεται, καὶ ὁ θερισμὸς ἡ ἀλήθεια περὶ τοῦ ἔαρος. | Therize o esparee· o nomos arkhaioteros pantos vivlioo, kai see afton en tee gee egrapsas· o en Martio efeetefthee en to agro en Avgoosto istatai, kai ooden allo· o agros oo psevdetai, kai o therismos ee aleetheia peri too earos. | Reap what was sown: the law is older than any book, and you wrote it in the dirt; what was planted in March stands in the field in August, and nothing else does; the field doesn't lie, and the harvest is the truth about the spring. |
| 21 | Ἄνοιξον τὸν ἐσφραγισμένον χάρτην τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου νῦν, τὴν βουλὴν τῶν ἓξ μηνῶν, καὶ ἀνάγνωθι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ τοῦ ἔτους, καὶ ζυγοστάτησον τὸ πραχθὲν πρὸς τὸ γραφέν· ἡ Ἑορτὴ τοῦ Πυρὸς τὴν κάμινον ἀνῆψεν· ὁ πρῶτος θερισμὸς τὸ μέταλλον δοκιμάζει. | Anoixon ton esfragismenon kharteen too Fevrooarioo neen, teen vooleen ton ex meenon, kai anagnothi afton en to agro too etoos, kai zeegostateeson to prakhthen pros to grafen· ee Eortee too Peeros teen kaminon aneepsen· o protos therismos to metallon dokimazei. | Open the sealed paper of February now, the resolution of the 6 months, and read it in the field of the year, and weigh what was done against what was written; the Feast of Fire lit the forge; the first harvest tests the metal. |
| 22 | Ὃ ἵσταται, εὐχαρίστει τῇ θεᾷ· ὃ ἔπεσε, μάνθανε ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἄνευ προφάσεως· ὁ γεωργὸς ὁ τὸν ἀγρὸν αἰτιώμενος τῷ ἐπιόντι ἔτει τὸ αὐτὸ ἁμάρτημα φυτεύει· ὁ ἀληθὴς θεριστὴς ὁ θερισμὸν λαμβάνων. | O istatai, efkharistei tee thea· o epese, manthane ex aftoo, anef profaseos· o georgos o ton agron aitiomenos to epionti etei to afto amarteema feetevei· o aleethees theristees o therismon lamvanon. | What stands, thank the Goddess for; what fell, learn from, without excuse; the farmer who blames the field next year plants the same mistake; the honest reaper is the one who gets a harvest. |
| 23 | Ἀποτίθει τὸν σῖτον, καὶ μὴ θησαύριζε αὐτόν· ἡ σιταποθήκη διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα καὶ διὰ τὸν γείτονα, καὶ ἡ θεὰ ἡ πληρώσασα αὐτὴν βλέπει τί ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐξέρχεται· ὁ θερισμὸς ὁ μεριζόμενος ὁ θερισμὸς ὁ πάλιν ἐρχόμενος. | Apotithei ton siton, kai mee theesavrize afton· ee sitapotheekee dia ton kheimona kai dia ton geitona, kai ee thea ee pleerosasa afteen vlepei ti ex aftees exerkhetai· o therismos o merizomenos o therismos o palin erkhomenos. | Store the grain, and don't hoard it: the granary is for the winter and for the neighbour, and the Goddess who filled it watches what comes out of it; the harvest shared is the harvest that comes again. |
| 24 | Χαῖρε, Δήμητερ τοῦ δρεπάνου καὶ τοῦ δράγματος καὶ τῆς πλήρους ἅλω· ἡ πρώτη τομὴ πεποίηται, καὶ τὸ ἔτος πρὸς τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτοῦ ἐστράφη· σύναγε καὶ ἡμᾶς, ὅταν ὁ ἀγρὸς ἡμῶν ὥριμος ᾖ, καὶ μὴ πρότερον. | Khaire, Deemeeter too drepanoo kai too dragmatos kai tees pleeroos alo· ee protee tomee pepoieetai, kai to etos pros teen seenagogeen aftoo estrafee· seenage kai eemas, otan o agros eemon orimos ee, kai mee proteron. | Hail, Demeter of the sickle and the sheaf and the full threshing floor; the first cut is made, and the year has turned toward its gathering; gather us too, when our field is ripe, and not before. |
Unfold the remaining 48 passages of the Psalm (movements III to VI)
III · The Bread · Ὁ Ἄρτος (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Ἡ λειτουργία τοῦ ἄρτου, οἱ Ἄγγλοι τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκάλεσαν, ἡ λειτουργία τοῦ πρώτου ἄρτου, τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ πρώτου σίτου πεφθέντος καὶ εἰς τὸν βωμὸν πρὶν ἐσθίεσθαι ἐνεχθέντος· τὸν ἄρτον ἐφύλαξαν καὶ τῆς θεᾶς ἐπελάθοντο, καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν ἄρτον αὐτῇ πάλιν φέρομεν. | Ee leitoorgia too artoo, oi Angloi teen eemeran ekalesan, ee leitoorgia too protoo artoo, too ek too protoo sitoo pefthentos kai eis ton vomon prin esthiesthai enekhthentos· ton arton efeelaxan kai tees theas epelathonto, kai eemeis ton arton aftee palin feromen. | Loaf-mass, the English called the day, the mass of the first loaf, baked from the first grain and brought to the altar before any was eaten; they kept the loaf and forgot the Goddess, and we bring her the loaf again. |
| 26 | Ἄληθε τὸν σῖτον, καὶ ἡ ἄλεσις τελετή· ὁ λίθος στρέφεται ὡς τὸ ἔτος στρέφεται· μάσσε τὸ φύραμα, καὶ ἡ μάξις τελετή· ἡ χεὶρ ἐργάζεται ὃ ἡ γῆ ἔδωκε· πέσσε τὸν ἄρτον, καὶ ἡ πέψις τελετή· τὸ πῦρ τελειοῖ ὃ ὁ Ἥλιος ἤρξατο. | Aleethe ton siton, kai ee alesis teletee· o lithos strefetai os to etos strefetai· masse to feerama, kai ee maxis teletee· ee kheir ergazetai o ee gee edoke· pesse ton arton, kai ee pepsis teletee· to peer teleioi o o Eelios eerxato. | Grind the grain, and the grinding is a rite: the stone turns as the year turns; knead the dough, and the kneading is a rite: the hand works what the earth gave; bake the loaf, and the baking is a rite: the fire finishes what the Sun began. |
| 27 | Ὁ ἄρτος τὸ σῶμα τῆς θεᾶς, εἰς βρῶσιν δεδομένον· οἱ Χριστιανοὶ τὴν ἔννοιαν ἔλαβον καὶ ἄνδρα ἐν τῷ ἄρτῳ ἔθηκαν· ὁ ἄρτος ἀεὶ γυνὴ ἦν, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῆς Δημήτηρ. | O artos to soma tees theas, eis vrosin dedomenon· oi Khristianoi teen ennoian elavon kai andra en to arto etheekan· o artos aei geenee een, kai to onoma aftees Deemeeteer. | The loaf is the body of the Goddess, given to be eaten; the Christians took the idea and put a man in the bread; the bread was always a woman, and her name is Demeter. |
| 28 | Δημήτηρ δύο δῶρα ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἔδωκεν, Ἰσοκράτης εἶπε, τὰ μέγιστα πάντων· τοὺς καρποὺς τῆς γῆς, δι' οὓς οὐ θηριωδῶς ζῶμεν, καὶ τὴν τελετήν, ἧς οἱ μετασχόντες περὶ τῆς τοῦ βίου τελευτῆς καὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος αἰῶνος ἡδίους τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχουσιν. | Deemeeteer deeo dora tais Atheenais edoken, Isokratees eipe, ta megista panton· toos karpoos tees gees, di' oos oo theeriodos zomen, kai teen teleteen, ees oi metaskhontes peri tees too vioo teleftees kai too seempantos aionos eedioos tas elpidas ekhoosin. | Demeter gave 2 gifts to Athens, Isocrates said, the greatest of all: the fruits of the earth, by which we don't live like beasts, and the rite, whose initiates have sweeter hopes about the end of life and all eternity. |
| 29 | Τὸ πρῶτον δῶρον τοῦ Αὐγούστου, τὸ δεύτερον τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου, καὶ ἓν δῶρόν ἐστι· ὁ ἄρτος τοῦ σώματος καὶ ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ στάχυος ἔρχονται· ὁ μαθὼν ἐσθίειν ἤρξατο μανθάνειν ὁρᾶν. | To proton doron too Avgoostoo, to defteron too Septemvrioo, kai en doron esti· o artos too somatos kai o artos tees pseekhees ek too aftoo stakheeos erkhontai· o mathon esthiein eerxato manthanein oran. | The first gift is August's, the second is September's, and they are 1 gift; the bread of the body and the bread of the soul come from the same ear; the one who has learned to eat has begun to learn to see. |
| 30 | Τριπτόλεμος τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐν τῷ πτερωτῷ ἅρματι ὑπὲρ τὴν ὅλην γῆν ἔφερε, καὶ τὸν σπόρον παντὶ ἔθνει ἐδίδαξε, καὶ τὸ ἄροτρον ἦλθεν ὅπου ἐκεῖνος ἦλθεν· ἡ Ἐλευσὶς ἄρτον ἐξέπεμψε πρὶν φῶς ἐκπέμψαι. | Triptolemos to sperma soo en to pteroto armati eeper teen oleen geen efere, kai ton sporon panti ethnei edidaxe, kai to arotron eelthen opoo ekeinos eelthen· ee Elefsis arton exepempse prin fos ekpempsai. | Triptolemos took your seed in the winged chariot over the whole earth, and taught the sowing to every people, and the plough went where he went; Eleusis sent out bread before it sent out light. |
| 31 | Κλάσον τὸν ἄρτον καὶ δὸς τὸ πρῶτον κλάσμα τῇ θεᾷ καὶ τὸ δεύτερον τῷ ξένῳ· τὸ τρίτον σόν, καὶ γεύεται τῶν ἄλλων δύο· ἄρτος μόνος ἐσθιόμενος ἄλευρον· ἄρτος μεριζόμενος ἄρτος. | Klason ton arton kai dos to proton klasma tee thea kai to defteron to xeno· to triton son, kai gevetai ton allon deeo· artos monos esthiomenos alevron· artos merizomenos artos. | Break the loaf and give the first piece to the Goddess and the second to the stranger; the third is yours, and it tastes of the other 2; a loaf eaten alone is flour; a loaf shared is bread. |
| 32 | Ὁ κυκεὼν ὁ τὴν νηστείαν σου ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι λύσας κριθὴ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γλήχων ἦν· ἡ ἁπλουστάτη τροφὴ τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ἐν οἴκῳ βασιλέως πινομένη· ἡ θεὰ τὸ ἁπλοῦν ποτήριον λαμβάνει, καὶ τὸ ἁπλοῦν ποτήριον τὸ Μυστήριον. | O keekeon o teen neesteian soo en Elefsini leesas krithee kai eedor kai gleekhon een· ee aploostatee trofee too agroo, en oiko vasileos pinomenee· ee thea to aploon poteerion lamvanei, kai to aploon poteerion to Meesteerion. | The kykeon that broke your fast at Eleusis was barley and water and pennyroyal; the simplest food of the field, drunk in the house of a king; the Goddess takes the plain cup, and the plain cup is the Mystery. |
| 33 | Πέσσε τὸν ἄρτον ἐν σχήματι τοῦ Ἡλίου, στρογγύλον, ταῖς ὀκτὼ ἀκτῖσι τοῦ ἔτους κεχαραγμένον· ἢ ἐν σχήματι τοῦ δράγματος, ἢ ἐν σχήματι τῆς θεᾶς τὰς ἀγκάλας πλήρεις ἐχούσης· ὁ ἄρτος τοῦ Λάμμας τὸ ἔτος ἐδώδιμον γενόμενον. | Pesse ton arton en skheemati too Eelioo, strongeelon, tais okto aktisi too etoos kekharagmenon· ee en skheemati too dragmatos, ee en skheemati tees theas tas ankalas pleereis ekhoosees· o artos too Lammas to etos edodimon genomenon. | Bake the loaf in the shape of the Sun, round, scored with the 8 spokes of the year; or in the shape of the sheaf, or the shape of the Goddess with her arms full; the bread of Lammas is the year made edible. |
| 34 | Ὁ ζῦθος ἄρτος ῥεῖν μαθών, καὶ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τοῖς θεοῖς πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἐζύμουν· ὁ ζῦθος τοῦ Λάμμας καὶ τὸ μελίκρατον τοῦ θερισμοῦ αὐτῆς ὡς ὁ ἄρτος· ἡ θεὰ τοῦ σίτου θεὰ τούτου ὃ ὁ σῖτος γίγνεται. | O zeethos artos rein mathon, kai oi Aigeeptioi tois theois proton afton ezeemoon· o zeethos too Lammas kai to melikraton too therismoo aftees os o artos· ee thea too sitoo thea tootoo o o sitos gignetai. | Beer is bread that learned to flow, and the Egyptians brewed it for the Gods first; the ale of Lammas and the mead of the harvest are hers as the loaf is; the Goddess of the grain is the Goddess of what the grain becomes. |
| 35 | Δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον τὸν ἄρτον τῆς ἡμέρας· ἡ εὐχὴ ἀρχαιοτέρα τοῦ δανεισαμένου αὐτήν· πᾶν ἔθνος τὴν Μητέρα τοῦ Σίτου τὸν ἄρτον ᾔτει πρὶν προφήτην τινὰ γεννηθῆναι· ἡμεῖς αὐτὸν σὲ αἰτοῦμεν, Δήμητερ, τῷ ἰδίῳ σου ὀνόματι. | Dos eemin seemeron ton arton tees eemeras· ee efkhee arkhaiotera too daneisamenoo afteen· pan ethnos teen Meetera too Sitoo ton arton eetei prin profeeteen tina genneetheenai· eemeis afton se aitoomen, Deemeeter, to idio soo onomati. | Give us this day the bread of the day: the prayer is older than the one who borrowed it; every people asked the Grain Mother for the loaf before any prophet was born; we ask it of you, Demeter, by your own name. |
| 36 | Χαῖρε, Δήμητερ τοῦ ἄρτου, ἧς τὸ σῶμα ἐπὶ πάσης τραπέζης· ὁ πρῶτος ἄρτος τοῦ ἔτους πρὸ σοῦ κλᾶται, καὶ ὁ Ναὸς ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ σου ἐσθίει, καὶ τρέφεται. | Khaire, Deemeeter too artoo, ees to soma epi pasees trapezees· o protos artos too etoos pro soo klatai, kai o Naos en tee paroosia soo esthiei, kai trefetai. | Hail, Demeter of the loaf, whose body is on every table; the first bread of the year is broken before you, and the Temple eats in your presence, and is fed. |
IV · The Nurse of Mankind · Ἡ Τροφὸς τῶν Ἀνθρώπων (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Ὡς γραῦς μετημφιεσμένη εἰς Ἐλευσῖνα ἦλθες, πενθοῦσα, καὶ παρὰ τὸ Παρθένιον φρέαρ ἐκάθισας, καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες τοῦ Κελεοῦ σὲ οἴκαδε ἤγαγον τὸ παιδίον Δημοφῶντα τρέφειν· ἡ θεὰ τοῦ σίτου τροφὸς ἐν οἴκῳ βασιλέως ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐδὲν εἶπεν. | Os gravs meteemfiesmenee eis Elefsina eelthes, penthoosa, kai para to Parthenion frear ekathisas, kai ai theegateres too Keleoo se oikade eegagon to paidion Deemofonta trefein· ee thea too sitoo trofos en oiko vasileos egeneto, kai ooden eipen. | Disguised as an old woman you came to Eleusis, grieving, and sat by the Maiden Well, and the daughters of Keleos took you home to nurse the child Demophon; the Goddess of the grain became a nurse in a king's house, and said nothing. |
| 38 | Οὔτε ἄρτον οὔτε γάλα αὐτῷ ἔδωκας, ἀλλ' ἀμβροσίᾳ ἔχρισας καὶ ἐνέπνευσας, καὶ νύκτωρ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τοῦ πυρὸς αὐτὸν ἔθηκας ὡς δαλόν, λάθρᾳ, καὶ ηὔξετο ὡς θεός, καὶ οἱ γονεῖς ἐθαύμαζον. | Oote arton oote gala afto edokas, all' amvrosia ekhrisas kai enepnefsas, kai neektor en tee kardia too peeros afton etheekas os dalon, lathra, kai eefxeto os theos, kai oi goneis ethavmazon. | You fed him no bread and no milk, but anointed him with ambrosia and breathed on him, and at night you laid him in the heart of the fire like a brand, unseen, and he grew like a God, and the parents wondered. |
| 39 | Μετάνειρα κατεσκόπησε καὶ ἀνέκραγε· τὸ τέκνον μου ἐν τῷ πυρί· καὶ σὺ αὐτὸν κατέθηκας καὶ εἶπας· νήϊδες ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἀφράδμονες, οὔτ' ἀγαθοῖο αἶσαν ἐπερχομένου προγνώμεναι οὔτε κακοῖο· ἀθάνατον ἄν σοι τὸν παῖδα ἐποίησα, νῦν δὲ θνῄσκειν δεῖ ὡς τοὺς λοιπούς. | Metaneira kateskopeese kai anekrage· to teknon moo en to peeri· kai see afton katetheekas kai eipas· neeides anthropoi kai afradmones, oot' agathoio aisan eperkhomenoo prognomenai oote kakoio· athanaton an soi ton paida epoieesa, neen de thneeskein dei os toos loipoos. | Metaneira spied and shrieked: my child in the fire! and you set him down and said: witless mortals, who can't tell good from evil when it comes; I would have made him deathless, and now he must die like the rest. |
| 40 | Τὸ πῦρ τῆς θεᾶς τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἀθάνατον ποιοῦν, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἡ τὸ τέκνον ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἕλκουσα, ἐξ ἔρωτος, τῷ ἔρωτι αὐτὸ κτείνει· ὁ Ζευϊστὴς παρὰ τῆς Μετανείρας μανθάνει τί μὴ ποιεῖν ὅταν τὸ πῦρ ἔλθῃ. | To peer tees theas to peer to athanaton poioon, kai ee meeteer ee to teknon ex aftoo elkoosa, ex erotos, to eroti afto kteinei· o Zevistees para tees Metaneiras manthanei ti mee poiein otan to peer elthee. | The fire of the Goddess is the fire that makes immortal, and the mother who pulls the child out of it, out of love, kills him with her love; the Zevist learns from Metaneira what not to do when the fire comes. |
| 41 | Τὸ Λάμμας τὸ πῦρ τοῦ Λέοντος· ὁ Ἥλιος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Λέοντος, ὁ θερμότατος μήν, ὅτε ὁ σῖτος ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ τῷ πυρὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ξηραίνεται πρὶν τμηθῆναι· ὁ στάχυς ὁ ἐν τῷ πυρὶ ἐκείνῳ στὰς ὁ στάχυς ὁ ἄρτος γιγνόμενος. | To Lammas to peer too Leontos· o Eelios en meso too Leontos, o thermotatos meen, ote o sitos en to agro to peeri too ooranoo xeerainetai prin tmeetheenai· o stakhees o en to peeri ekeino stas o stakhees o artos gignomenos. | Lammas is the fire of the Lion: the Sun in the middle of Leo, the hottest month, when the grain is dried in the field by the fire of heaven before it's cut; the ear that stands in that fire is the ear that becomes bread. |
| 42 | Οὕτως ἡ ψυχή· ἡ θεὰ αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ πυρὶ νύκτα μετὰ νύκτα τίθησιν, ἀόρατος, καὶ αὔξεται ὡς θεὸς τῶν γονέων θαυμαζόντων· ὁ μόνος κίνδυνος ἡ κραυγή, ἡ χεὶρ ἡ πρὸ ὥρας αὐτὴν ἐξέλκουσα. | Ootos ee pseekhee· ee thea afteen en to peeri neekta meta neekta titheesin, aoratos, kai afxetai os theos ton goneon thavmazonton· o monos kindeenos ee kravgee, ee kheir ee pro oras afteen exelkoosa. | So the soul: the Goddess lays it in the fire night after night, unseen, and it grows like a God while the parents wonder; the only danger is the shriek, the hand that pulls it out too soon. |
| 43 | Εἶτα τὴν γραῦν ἀπέβαλες καὶ ὡς ἡ θεὰ ἔστης, καὶ ὁ οἶκος φωτὸς ἐπλήσθη, καὶ ναὸν ἐν Ἐλευσῖνι ἐκέλευσας, καὶ τὰς τελετὰς αὐτὴ ἐδίδαξας· ἡ τροφὸς τὸ Μυστήριον ἦν, καὶ τὸ Μυστήριον ἐν τῷ μαγειρείῳ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς. | Eita teen gravn apevales kai os ee thea estees, kai o oikos fotos epleesthee, kai naon en Elefsini ekelefsas, kai tas teletas aftee edidaxas· ee trofos to Meesteerion een, kai to Meesteerion en to mageireio een ap' arkhees. | Then you threw off the old woman and stood as the Goddess, and the house filled with light, and you commanded a temple at Eleusis, and taught the rites yourself; the nurse was the Mystery, and the Mystery had been in the kitchen all along. |
| 44 | Κουροτρόφε, Τροφὲ τῶν Νέων, σὺν Ἀρτέμιδι καὶ σὺν Ἑστίᾳ· αἱ τρεῖς θεαὶ τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου, τοῦ Μαΐου καὶ τοῦ Αὐγούστου αἱ τρεῖς τροφοὶ τῶν τέκνων τοῦ Ναοῦ· ὁ διδάξας παῖδα ἄρτον ὀρθῶς ἐσθίειν τὴν πρώτην τελετὴν αὐτὸν ἐδίδαξεν. | Koorotrofe, Trofe ton Neon, seen Artemidi kai seen Estia· ai treis theai too Fevrooarioo, too Maioo kai too Avgoostoo ai treis trofoi ton teknon too Naoo· o didaxas paida arton orthos esthiein teen proteen teleteen afton edidaxen. | Kourotrophos, Nurse of the Young, with Artemis and with Estia: the 3 Goddesses of February, May and August are the 3 nurses of the Temple's children; the one who teaches a child to eat bread rightly has taught him the first rite. |
| 45 | Ἐρυσίχθων τὸ ἄλσος σου ἔκοψε καὶ σὺ αὐτῷ λιμὸν ἔπεμψας, καὶ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἔφαγε καὶ εἶτα ἑαυτόν· ἡ θεὰ ἡ τρέφουσα ἡ θεὰ ἡ λιμώττειν ποιοῦσα τὸν τὸν ἀγρὸν ὑβρίζοντα· Καλλίμαχος αὐτὸ ᾖσεν ἵνα μηδεὶς ἐπιλάθηται. | Ereesikhthon to alsos soo ekopse kai see afto limon epempsas, kai ton oikon aftoo efage kai eita eafton· ee thea ee trefoosa ee thea ee limottein poioosa ton ton agron eevrizonta· Kallimakhos afto eesen ina meedeis epilatheetai. | Erysichthon cut your grove and you sent him hunger, and he ate his house and then himself; the Goddess who feeds is the Goddess who starves the one who insults the field; Callimachus sang it so that no one would forget. |
| 46 | Τρέφε τοὺς Ζευϊστάς, Μῆτερ, ἐν τῷ σώματι, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ ἀγρός σου, καὶ ἐν τῷ νῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ ἅλως σου, καὶ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, ἥ ἐστι τὸ πῦρ σου· καὶ μηδεὶς αὐτῶν πρὸ ὥρας ἐξελκέσθω. | Trefe toos Zevistas, Meeter, en to somati, o estin o agros soo, kai en to no, os estin ee alos soo, kai en tee pseekhee, ee esti to peer soo· kai meedeis afton pro oras exelkestho. | Feed the Zevists, Mother, in the body, which is your field, and in the mind, which is your threshing floor, and in the soul, which is your fire; and let none of them be pulled out too soon. |
| 47 | Ἡ μήτηρ ἡ τρέφουσα οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ ἡ χαριζομένη· τὸν Δημοφῶντα ἀμβροσίᾳ καὶ πυρὶ ἔθρεψας, οὐ γλυκέσι· ὁ Ναὸς τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ τρέφει τούτοις ἃ θεοὺς αὐτὰ ποιεῖ. | Ee meeteer ee trefoosa ookh ee meeteer ee kharizomenee· ton Deemofonta amvrosia kai peeri ethrepsas, oo gleekesi· o Naos ta tekna aftoo trefei tootois a theoos afta poiei. | The mother who nurses isn't the mother who indulges; you fed Demophon on ambrosia and fire, not on sweets; the Temple nurses its children on what makes them Gods. |
| 48 | Χαῖρε, Δήμητερ, Τροφὲ τῶν Ἀνθρώπων, ἡ παρὰ τὸ φρέαρ καθίσασα καὶ οὐ γνωσθεῖσα· κάθισον ἐν τῷ μαγειρείῳ τοῦ Ναοῦ τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ, ὅπου ὁ ἄρτος πέσσεται, καὶ γνώσθητι ἐκεῖ, καὶ εὐχαριστήθητι. | Khaire, Deemeeter, Trofe ton Anthropon, ee para to frear kathisasa kai oo gnostheisa· kathison en to mageireio too Naoo tee neekti taftee, opoo o artos pessetai, kai gnostheeti ekei, kai efkharisteetheeti. | Hail, Demeter, Nurse of Mankind, who sat by the well and were not known; sit in the Temple's kitchen tonight, where the loaf is baked, and be known there, and be thanked. |
V · Lughnasadh, the Feast of Lugh · Λουγνασάδ (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | Λοὺγ ὁ μακρόχειρ τοὺς ἀγῶνας Ταλτίου τῇ τροφῷ αὐτοῦ ἱδρύσατο, ἣ ἀπέθανε τὸ μέγα πεδίον τῷ ἀρότρῳ καθαίρουσα, καὶ ᾔτησεν ἀγῶσι καὶ οὐ δάκρυσι μνημονεύεσθαι· οἱ Ἴβερνοι τὴν πανήγυριν τῆς Ταλτίου χίλια καὶ πεντακόσια ἔτη ἐφύλαξαν, καὶ ἡ πανήγυρις τοῦ θερισμοῦ αὐτῆς ἐστιν. | Loog o makrokheir toos agonas Taltioo tee trofo aftoo idreesato, ee apethane to mega pedion to arotro kathairoosa, kai eeteesen agosi kai oo dakreesi mneemonevesthai· oi Ivernoi teen paneegeerin tees Taltioo khilia kai pentakosia etee efeelaxan, kai ee paneegeeris too therismoo aftees estin. | Lugh of the long arm founded the games for Tailtiu his foster-mother, who died clearing the great plain for the plough, and asked that it be remembered with games and not with tears; the Irish kept the fair of Tailtiu for 1,500 years, and the harvest fair is hers. |
| 50 | Τροφὸς ἀποθανοῦσα τὸν ἀγρὸν ποιοῦσα· τοῦτο ἡ Δημήτηρ ὑπὸ Ἰβερνικὸν ὄνομα, καὶ ἡ ἑορτὴ ἡ ἀγῶσιν αὐτὴν τιμῶσα ἡ ἑορτὴ τῆς Μητρὸς τοῦ Σίτου· Λοὺγ ὁ υἱὸς ὁ αὐτὴν φυλάσσων, ὡς Τριπτόλεμος τὴν ἐκείνης ἐφύλασσε. | Trofos apothanoosa ton agron poioosa· tooto ee Deemeeteer eepo Ivernikon onoma, kai ee eortee ee agosin afteen timosa ee eortee tees Meetros too Sitoo· Loog o eeios o afteen feelasson, os Triptolemos teen ekeinees efeelasse. | A foster-mother who died making the field: that is Demeter under an Irish name, and the feast that honours her with games is the feast of the Grain Mother; Lugh is the son who keeps it, as Triptolemos kept hers. |
| 51 | Εἰς τοὺς λόφους ἀνέβαινον τῇ πρώτῃ Κυριακῇ τοῦ θερισμοῦ, εἰς τὰς κορυφάς, τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Πατρικίου καὶ τὴν Ῥῆκ, σὺν ἀγρίοις καρποῖς καὶ μουσικῇ καὶ τοῖς πρώτοις νέοις καρποῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἁγίου ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους οὐκ ἐδύνατο κρύψαι τίνος ἡ ἑορτὴ ἦν. | Eis toos lofoos anevainon tee protee Keeriakee too therismoo, eis tas koreefas, to oros too Patrikioo kai teen Reek, seen agriois karpois kai moosikee kai tois protois neois karpois tees gees, kai to onoma too agioo epi too oroos ook edeenato kreepsai tinos ee eortee een. | Up the hills they went on the first Sunday of the harvest, to the summits, Croagh Patrick and the Reek, with bilberries and music and the first new potatoes, and the saint's name on the mountain couldn't hide whose feast it was. |
| 52 | Λοὺγ ὁ Λέων τοῦ Ἡλίου ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ζῳδίου αὐτοῦ, ὁ πολύτεχνος θεός, πάσης τέχνης δεσπότης, ὁ τὴν μάχην λίθῳ σφενδόνης νικήσας· ὁ θερισμὸς ἡ νίκη τοῦ Ἡλίου, καὶ ἡ θεὰ τὰ λάφυρα συνάγει. | Loog o Leon too Eelioo en meso too zodioo aftoo, o poleetekhnos theos, pasees tekhnees despotees, o teen makheen litho sfendonees nikeesas· o therismos ee nikee too Eelioo, kai ee thea ta lafeera seenagei. | Lugh is the Lion of the Sun at the middle of his sign, the skilled God, master of every art, who won the battle with a sling-stone; the harvest is the Sun's victory, and the Goddess gathers the spoils. |
| 53 | Γάμοι ἐν τῇ πανηγύρει τῆς Ταλτίου ἐγίγνοντο, εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ἡμέραν, χεὶρ ἐν χειρὶ διὰ τρήματος τοίχου· ὁ θερισμὸς γάμος τοῦ Ἡλίου καὶ τοῦ ἀγροῦ, καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὑπ' αὐτὸν ἐγάμει· ὁ Ναὸς εὐλογεῖ ὃ ἐν τῷ Βελτάνε ἤρχθη καὶ ἐν τῷ Λάμμας ὥριμόν ἐστιν. | Gamoi en tee paneegeerei tees Taltioo egignonto, eis eniafton kai eemeran, kheir en kheiri dia treematos toikhoo· o therismos gamos too Eelioo kai too agroo, kai o laos eep' afton egamei· o Naos evlogei o en to Veltane eerkhthee kai en to Lammas orimon estin. | Marriages were made at the fair of Tailtiu, for a year and a day, hand in hand through a hole in a wall; the harvest is a wedding of the Sun and the field, and the people married under it; the Temple blesses what was begun at Beltane and is ripe at Lammas. |
| 54 | Ἱπποδρομίαι ἐπὶ τῆς ᾐόνος, πάλη ἐπὶ τοῦ λόφου, αἱ ἀπαρχαὶ κρινόμεναι, οἱ ἀοιδοὶ ἐν ἀγῶνι· οἱ ἀγῶνες τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἀγῶνες λαοῦ βεβρωκότος· λαὸς πεινῶν ἀγῶνας οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ἡ θεὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἔδωκε τὸν ἄρτον δοῦσα. | Ippodromiai epi tees eeonos, palee epi too lofoo, ai aparkhai krinomenai, oi aoidoi en agoni· oi agones too therismoo agones laoo vevrokotos· laos peinon agonas ook ekhei, kai ee thea toos agonas edoke ton arton doosa. | Horse races on the strand, wrestling on the hill, the first fruits judged, the bards in contest: the games of the harvest are the games of a people who have eaten; a hungry people has no games, and the Goddess gave the games by giving the bread. |
| 55 | Ὁ Ἥλιος ἐν τῇ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ μοίρᾳ τοῦ Λέοντος ἡ καρδία τοῦ θέρους, ὡς ὁ Λέων ἡ καρδία τοῦ ζῳδιακοῦ· τὸ στερεὸν πῦρ, τὸ ζῴδιον τοῦ βασιλέως, τὸ ζῴδιον τῆς καρδίας· αἱ Ἑορταὶ τῶν Μυστηρίων ἐν τοῖς τέσσαρσι στερεοῖς ζῳδίοις ἵστανται, καὶ αὕτη ἡ τοῦ πυρός. | O Eelios en tee pentekaidekatee moira too Leontos ee kardia too theroos, os o Leon ee kardia too zodiakoo· to stereon peer, to zodion too vasileos, to zodion tees kardias· ai Eortai ton Meesteerion en tois tessarsi stereois zodiois istantai, kai aftee ee too peeros. | The Sun at 15° Leo is the heart of the summer, as the Lion is the heart of the zodiac; the fixed fire, the king's sign, the sign of the heart; the Mystery Holidays stand at the 4 fixed signs, and this is the fire one. |
| 56 | Ἡ Ἑορτὴ τοῦ Πυρὸς τὸ πῦρ ἀναφθέν, τὸ Βελτάνε τὸ πῦρ ἐν τῷ ὕψει, τὸ Λάμμας τὸ πῦρ ἄρτος γενόμενον, καὶ τὸ Σάμχαϊν ἔσται τὸ πῦρ διὰ τὸν χειμῶνα σκεπασθέν· τέσσαρα πυρά, ἓν ἔτος, καὶ ἡ θεὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ τρίτου. | Ee Eortee too Peeros to peer anafthen, to Veltane to peer en to eepsei, to Lammas to peer artos genomenon, kai to Samkhain estai to peer dia ton kheimona skepasthen· tessara peera, en etos, kai ee thea epi too tritoo. | Imbolc was the fire kindled, Beltane the fire at its height, Lammas the fire become bread, and Samhain will be the fire banked for the winter; 4 fires, 1 year, and the Goddess at the third. |
| 57 | Ζυγοστάτει τὸ ἥμισυ ἔτος ἐνθάδε· ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑορτῆς τοῦ Πυρὸς εἰς τὴν Ἑορτὴν τοῦ Ἄρτου ἓξ μῆνες ἀκριβῶς· ὃ τῇ φλογὶ τοῦ Φεβρουαρίου ἐβουλεύθη τῇ τοῦ Αὐγούστου θερίζεται· αἱ δύο ἑορταὶ αἱ δύο πλάστιγγες ἑνὸς ζυγοῦ, καὶ ὁ Ζευϊστὴς ἐπὶ τοῦ ζυγοῦ ἵσταται. | Zeegostatei to eemisee etos enthade· apo tees Eortees too Peeros eis teen Eorteen too Artoo ex meenes akrivos· o tee flogi too Fevrooarioo evoolefthee tee too Avgoostoo therizetai· ai deeo eortai ai deeo plastinges enos zeegoo, kai o Zevistees epi too zeegoo istatai. | Weigh the half-year here: from the Feast of Fire to the Feast of Bread is 6 months to the day; what was resolved by the February flame is harvested by the August one; the 2 feasts are the 2 pans of 1 balance, and the Zevist stands on the beam. |
| 58 | Ἀνάβηθι λόφον σήμερον, ὡς οἱ Ἴβερνοι ἀνέβαινον, καὶ βλέψον τοὺς ἀγροὺς ἄνωθεν· τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ ἔτους ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ὁρᾶται καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς αὔλακος· ἡ θεὰ τὸν ὅλον ἀγρὸν ὁρᾷ, καὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ τὴν ὄψιν δανείζει. | Anaveethi lofon seemeron, os oi Ivernoi anevainon, kai vlepson toos agroos anothen· to skheema too etoos apo tees koreefees oratai kai ook apo tees avlakos· ee thea ton olon agron ora, kai tee eemera taftee teen opsin daneizei. | Climb a hill today, as the Irish climbed, and look at the fields from above; the pattern of the year is seen from the summit and not from the furrow; the Goddess sees the whole field, and on this day she lends the sight. |
| 59 | Ἄγριοι καρποὶ ἐν τῇ χειρί, ἄρτος ἐν τῇ πήρᾳ, ἡ λύρα ἐπὶ τοῦ λόφου, οἱ νέοι καρποὶ τῆς γῆς ἑψόμενοι· ἡ ἑορτὴ τοῦ Λοὺγ οὐδέποτε μεγαλοπρεπὴς ἦν οὐδὲ ἔδει εἶναι· ἡ θεὰ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τῇ ἰδίᾳ τροφῇ τοῦ ἀγροῦ ἀρκεῖται. | Agrioi karpoi en tee kheiri, artos en tee peera, ee leera epi too lofoo, oi neoi karpoi tees gees epsomenoi· ee eortee too Loog oodepote megaloprepees een oode edei einai· ee thea too agroo tee idia trofee too agroo arkeitai. | Bilberries in the hand, bread in the bag, the fiddle on the hill, the new potatoes boiling; the feast of Lugh was never grand and never needed to be; the Goddess of the field is content with the field's own food. |
| 60 | Χαῖρε, Δήμητερ, ὑπὸ τὸ ὄνομα Ταλτίου, ἐπὶ τοῦ λόφου τῶν ἀγώνων· τὸ πεδίον κεκάθαρται, τὸ ἄροτρον ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ ἦλθεν, ὁ σῖτος ἀνέβη καὶ ἐτμήθη· μνημόνευε αὐτῆς ἀγῶσι καὶ οὐ δάκρυσιν, ὡς ᾔτησεν. | Khaire, Deemeeter, eepo to onoma Taltioo, epi too lofoo ton agonon· to pedion kekathartai, to arotron eeper afto eelthen, o sitos anevee kai etmeethee· mneemoneve aftees agosi kai oo dakreesin, os eeteesen. | Hail, Demeter, under the name of Tailtiu, on the hill of the games; the plain is cleared, the plough has gone over it, the grain has come up and been cut; remember her with games and not with tears, as she asked. |
VI · The Thanksgiving · Ἡ Εὐχαριστία (Demeter)
| № | Ancient Greek | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | Ἡ εὐχαριστία τὸ πρῶτον ῥῆμα τοῦ θερισμοῦ καὶ τὸ ὕστατον· ὁ ἀγρὸς ἔδωκε, καὶ ὁ μὴ λέγων αὐτὸ ὡς θηρίον ἐσθίει· Δημήτηρ τὸν ἄρτον καὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν ὁμοῦ ἐδίδαξε, καὶ οὐ χωρίζονται. | Ee efkharistia to proton reema too therismoo kai to eestaton· o agros edoke, kai o mee legon afto os theerion esthiei· Deemeeteer ton arton kai teen efkharistian omoo edidaxe, kai oo khorizontai. | Thanks is the first word of the harvest and the last; the field gave, and the one who doesn't say so eats like a beast; Demeter taught the bread and the thanks together, and they aren't separated. |
| 62 | Ἡ ἀμοιβὴ ὁ νόμος τῆς Μάατ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ· ὃ δίδοται ἐπανέρχεται, τὸ σπέρμα τῇ γῇ καὶ ὁ ἄρτος τῷ βωμῷ καὶ τὸ μέρος τῷ γείτονι· ἡ θεὰ τοὺς λόγους φυλάσσει, καὶ ἰσορροποῦσι. | Ee amoivee o nomos tees Maat en to agro· o didotai epanerkhetai, to sperma tee gee kai o artos to vomo kai to meros to geitoni· ee thea toos logoos feelassei, kai isorropoosi. | Reciprocity is the law of Ma'at in the field: what is given returns, the seed to the earth and the loaf to the altar and the share to the neighbour; the Goddess keeps the accounts, and they balance. |
| 63 | Βλέψον ὀπίσω ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἓξ μῆνας καὶ ἀρίθμησον τί εἰσῆλθεν· οὐ τὸν σῖτον μόνον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἔργον τελεσθέν, τὸν φίλον φυλαχθέντα, τὸ τέκνον αὐξηθέν, τὸ δίδαγμα μαθέν· πάντα ταῦτα θερισμός, καὶ διὰ πάντα ταῦτα εὐχαριστεῖται τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ. | Vlepson opiso eeper toos ex meenas kai arithmeeson ti eiseelthen· oo ton siton monon, alla to ergon telesthen, ton filon feelakhthenta, to teknon afxeethen, to didagma mathen· panta tafta therismos, kai dia panta tafta efkharisteitai tee neekti taftee. | Look back over the 6 months and count what came in: not only the grain, but the work finished, the friend kept, the child grown, the lesson learned; all of it is harvest, and all of it is thanked for tonight. |
| 64 | Εὐχαρίστει καὶ τῷ Πατρί, οὗ ὁ ὑετὸς τὸν στάχυν ἐπλήρωσε, καὶ τῷ Ἡλίῳ, οὗ τὸ πῦρ αὐτὸν ἐξήρανε, καὶ τῇ γῇ, ἣ τὴν ῥίζαν ἔσχε, καὶ τῇ χειρί, ἣ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐποίησε· τέσσαρες εὐχαριστίαι δι' ἕνα ἄρτον, καὶ ἡ θεὰ πάσας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων δέχεται. | Efkharistei kai to Patri, oo o eeetos ton stakheen epleerose, kai to Eelio, oo to peer afton exeerane, kai tee gee, ee teen rizan eskhe, kai tee kheiri, ee ta loipa epoieese· tessares efkharistiai di' ena arton, kai ee thea pasas eeper ton allon dekhetai. | Thank the Father too, whose rain filled the ear, and the Sun, whose fire dried it, and the earth, which held the root, and the hand, which did the rest; 4 thanks for 1 loaf, and the Goddess receives them all for the others. |
| 65 | Δὸς τὸ δέκατον τοῦ εἰσελθόντος· ἡ δεκάτη ἀρχαιοτέρα πάσης ἐκκλησίας, καὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες εἰς Ἐλευσῖνα αὐτὴν ἔπεμπον καὶ οἱ Ἴβερνοι ἐν τῇ πανηγύρει ἐδίδοσαν· τὸ δέκατον τὸ ἐξερχόμενον τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ ἐπιόντος θερισμοῦ. | Dos to dekaton too eiselthontos· ee dekatee arkhaiotera pasees ekkleesias, kai oi Elleenes eis Elefsina afteen epempon kai oi Ivernoi en tee paneegeerei edidosan· to dekaton to exerkhomenon to sperma too epiontos therismoo. | Give away a tenth of what came in: the tithe is older than any church, and the Greeks sent it to Eleusis and the Irish gave it at the fair; the tenth that goes out is the seed of the next harvest. |
| 66 | Ἡ θεὰ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἡ θεὰ τοῦ Μυστηρίου· τὰ δύο ὀνόματα ἓν ὄνομα· ὁ εὐχαριστήσας διὰ τὸν ἄρτον ἐν Αὐγούστῳ ἕτοιμος δειχθῆναι τὸν στάχυν ἐν Σεπτεμβρίῳ· τὸ Λάμμας τὸ πρόθυρον τῆς Ἐλευσῖνος. | Ee thea too therismoo ee thea too Meesteerioo· ta deeo onomata en onoma· o efkharisteesas dia ton arton en Avgoosto etoimos deikhtheenai ton stakheen en Septemvrio· to Lammas to protheeron tees Elefsinos. | The Goddess of the harvest is the Goddess of the Mystery; the 2 names are 1 name; the one who has thanked for the bread in August is ready to be shown the ear in September; Lammas is the vestibule of Eleusis. |
| 67 | Τέμε τὸν σῖτον καὶ ὁ καυλὸς πάλιν ἵσταται τῷ ἐπιόντι ἔτει· οὕτως τὸ σῶμα, οὕτως ἡ ψυχή· ἡ θεὰ ἡ τέμνουσα ἡ θεὰ ἡ σπείρουσα, καὶ τὸ δρέπανον ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ χειρὶ ἐν ᾗ τὸ σπέρμα. | Teme ton siton kai o kavlos palin istatai to epionti etei· ootos to soma, ootos ee pseekhee· ee thea ee temnoosa ee thea ee speiroosa, kai to drepanon en tee aftee kheiri en ee to sperma. | Cut the grain and the stalk stands again next year; so the body, so the soul; the Goddess who cuts is the Goddess who sows, and the sickle is in the same hand as the seed. |
| 68 | Εὐλογημένοι οἱ ἀγροὶ τῶν Ζευϊστῶν, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες αἱ ἐργασάμεναι αὐτούς, καὶ αἱ τράπεζαι ὅπου ὁ ἄρτος κλᾶται, καὶ οἱ βωμοὶ ὅπου τὸ δράγμα ἵσταται· εὐλογημένον τὸ ἔτος τὸ δόν, καὶ εὐλογημένη ἡ θεὰ ἡ δοῦσα αὐτό. | Evlogeemenoi oi agroi ton Zeviston, kai ai kheires ai ergasamenai aftoos, kai ai trapezai opoo o artos klatai, kai oi vomoi opoo to dragma istatai· evlogeemenon to etos to don, kai evlogeemenee ee thea ee doosa afto. | Blessed are the fields of the Zevists, and the hands that worked them, and the tables where the loaf is broken, and the altars where the sheaf stands; blessed the year that gave, and blessed the Goddess who gave it. |
| 69 | Φύλασσε τὸ πρῶτον δράγμα ἕως τοῦ ἔαρος, καὶ τὸν ὕστατον ἄρτον ἕως τοῦ ἐπιόντος πρώτου ἄρτου· τὸ ἔτος ἅλυσις ἄρτου, καὶ οὐδεὶς κρίκος ῥήγνυται ἕως ἡ θεὰ εὐχαριστεῖται· ὁ Ναὸς τὴν ἅλυσιν φυλάσσει. | Feelasse to proton dragma eos too earos, kai ton eestaton arton eos too epiontos protoo artoo· to etos aleesis artoo, kai oodeis krikos reegneetai eos ee thea efkharisteitai· o Naos teen aleesin feelassei. | Keep the first sheaf till the spring, and the last loaf till the next first loaf; the year is a chain of bread, and no link is broken while the Goddess is thanked; the Temple keeps the chain. |
| 70 | Δέξαι τὰ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο, Δήμητερ, ἓν ἑκάστῃ πεντάδι τοῦ κύκλου τοῦ ἔτους· ὁ τροχὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ σπόρου εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν ἐστράφη, καὶ ἡμεῖς αὐτὸν μετὰ σοῦ ἐστρέψαμεν· ὁ ἄρτος ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ, καὶ ὁ ψαλμὸς τετέλεσται, καὶ ἡ ἑορτὴ ἄρχεται. | Dexai ta evdomeekonta deeo, Deemeeter, en ekastee pentadi too keekloo too etoos· o trokhos apo too sporoo eis ton therismon estrafee, kai eemeis afton meta soo estrepsamen· o artos epi too vomoo, kai o psalmos tetelestai, kai ee eortee arkhetai. | Receive the 72, Demeter, 1 for each fifth of the circle of the year; the wheel has turned from the sowing to the reaping, and we have turned it with you; the loaf is on the altar, and the Psalm is finished, and the feast begins. |
| 71 | Εὐλογημένα τὰ ὀνόματά σου, Δήμητερ, Δηοῖ, Κέρης, Ἶσι τοῦ στάχυος, Νισάβα, Ῥενενουτέτ, Σίφ, Ταλτίου, Μῆτερ τοῦ Σίτου· εὐλογημένα τὸ δρέπανον, τὸ δράγμα, ὁ ἄρτος, ἡ ἅλως, ἡ μήκων, ἡ δᾴς· εὐλογημένος ὁ πρῶτος θερισμός, καὶ εὐλογημένοι οἱ δι' αὐτὸν εὐχαριστήσαντες. | Evlogeemena ta onomata soo, Deemeeter, Deeoi, Kerees, Isi too stakheeos, Nisava, Renenootet, Sif, Taltioo, Meeter too Sitoo· evlogeemena to drepanon, to dragma, o artos, ee alos, ee meekon, ee das· evlogeemenos o protos therismos, kai evlogeemenoi oi di' afton efkharisteesantes. | Blessed are your names, Demeter, Deo, Ceres, Isis of the ear, Nisaba, Renenutet, Sif, Tailtiu, the Corn Mother; blessed the sickle, the sheaf, the loaf, the threshing floor, the poppy, the torch; blessed the first harvest, and blessed those who thanked for it. |
| 72 | Πάτερ, οὗ ὁ ὑετὸς ἐν παντὶ ἄρτῳ· ἡ Μήτηρ τὸν ἄρτον ἐποίησε, καὶ ὁ ἄρτος πρὸ ἀμφοτέρων ὑμῶν κλᾶται· σὸς ὁ Λέων, σὸς ὁ ὑετός, σὸς ὁ ἀγρὸς καὶ ἡ εὐχαριστία δι' αὐτόν. ΙΑΩ. | Pater, oo o eeetos en panti arto· ee Meeteer ton arton epoieese, kai o artos pro amfoteron eemon klatai· sos o Leon, sos o eeetos, sos o agros kai ee efkharistia di' afton. Iao. | Father, whose rain is in every loaf; the Mother made the bread, and the bread is broken before you both; yours the Lion, yours the rain, yours the field and the thanks for it. IAO. |
#Correspondences of the Festival
| Sun | 15° Leo; festival fixed on 1 August |
|---|---|
| Hour of the height | Sunset of the 1st, the breaking of the loaf |
| Direction of the Rite | North, the quarter of Zev, whose rain filled the ear; the altar as the threshing floor |
| Colours | Gold, green, brown, the colours of the harvest |
| Incense | Myrrh, frankincense, cedar; grains of wheat on the coals |
| Plants | Wheat, barley, oats, the poppy, the sunflower, the apple, blackberries and bilberries, mint (for the kykeon) |
| Offerings on the altar | The first loaf, the first sheaf, poppies, honey, ale, the first fruits of the garden, the tithe |
| Foods of the feast | The new bread, ale and mead, cheese, honey, the first apples and berries, new potatoes, roast lamb or fowl, barley cakes |
| Symbols | The ear of grain, the sickle, the sheaf, the loaf scored with 8 spokes, the poppy and the torch, the threshing floor, the winged chariot of Triptolemos, the sling-stone of Lugh |
| Numbers | 72 (the Psalm), 8 (the spokes of the loaf), 10 (the tithe), 6 (the months from Imbolc), 30 (the grains of the ear), 2 (the gifts of Demeter) |
| Workings favoured | Thanksgiving; the weighing of the half-year; workings of prosperity, provision and the storing of what will be needed; the blessing of bread and food; workings of reciprocity and restitution; the harvest of a work begun in spring; the preparation of the soul for the Autumn Equinox |
| The Rite of the Goddess | The Rite of Demeter on this page, until her Power Ritual is issued; Orphic Hymn 40 within it |
| Ancient hymns to read | Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter of Eleusis; Orphic Hymn 41 to the Mother Antaia; Homeric Hymn 13 to Demeter; the Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter; Callimachus, Hymn 6 to Demeter |
#Sources
- Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter (ed. Richardson, 1974), 1 to 4, 54, 90 to 304, 470 to 482; Homeric Hymn 13; Orphic Hymns 40 and 41; Callimachus, Hymn 6; Theocritus, Idyll 7; Homer, Iliad 9.533 to 542.
- Isocrates, Panegyricus 28; Diodorus Siculus 1.14, 5.68 to 69; Pausanias 1.14.1 to 3, 1.22.3, 1.31.4; Apollodorus 1.5.1 to 2; Ovid, Fasti 4.393 to 620, Metamorphoses 8.738 to 878; Clement, Protrepticus 2.21; Hippolytus, Refutatio 5.8.39.
- The First Fruits Decree, IG I³ 78 (c. 435 BC); Harpocration s.v. Παναθήναια; H. W. Parke, Festivals of the Athenians (1977) 33 to 50; L. Deubner, Attische Feste (1932) 22 to 35; N. J. Richardson, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (1974).
- Censorinus, De die natali 21.10; the Canopus Decree (OGIS 56); R. A. Parker, The Calendars of Ancient Egypt (1950); Varro, De lingua Latina 6.20; Plutarch, Romulus 15; Dionysius of Halicarnassus 2.31 (the Consualia and Ops Consiva).
- The Metrical Dindshenchas, ed. E. Gwynn, vol. 4 (1924), Tailtiu; Cath Maige Tuired 53 to 74, 133 to 135; Tochmarc Emire; G. Keating, Foras Feasa ar Éirinn; M. MacNeill, The Festival of Lughnasa (1962); the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle s.a. 921; Bede, De temporum ratione 15.
- The Sumerian hymns to Nisaba (ETCSL 4.16); the Hymn to Ninkasi (ETCSL 4.23.1); Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál 35; W. Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte (1875 to 1877); J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough, 3rd ed., vol. 7 (1912) 131 to 170 (the Corn Mother); Euripides, Helen 1301 to 1368 (Demeter and the Mountain Mother).
- W. Burkert, Greek Religion (1985) 159 to 161, 242 to 246; Homo Necans (1983) 256 to 297; K. Clinton, Myth and Cult: The Iconography of the Eleusinian Mysteries (1992); the Temple's own pages on Imbolc (the 6-month resolution) and the Zevist Calendar.
Declared in the worship of Zeus and of the Ancient Gods,
in service of Ma'at, Satya, and the Sovereignty of Zeus,
for the restoration of the festivals of mankind.
Author: High Priest Zevios Metathronos
Issued for the Temple of Zeus Foundation.
Issued for Lammas of the 1st of August, for every year.
Read in conjunction with:
- The Zevist Calendar: The 8 Festivals of the Year
- Cheimerinai Tropai · Bruma · Saturnalia · Winter Solstice · Yule (22 to 23 December)
- Anthesteria · Lupercalia · Imbolc (2 February)
- Earine Isemeria · Hilaria · Spring Equinox (21 March)
- Thargelia · Floralia · Beltane (30 April to 1 May)
- Therinai Tropai · Solstitium · Fors Fortuna · Summer Solstice · Midsummer (23 to 24 June)
- Phthinoporine Isemeria · Sacra Cereris · Autumn Equinox (21 September)
- Genesia · Mundus Patet · Samhain (31 October)