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Into a Human

Before being a God, what have you done to be a man? This I ask myself. What do I know of my humanity, and what do I understand of it?

Have I smelled the perfumes and the flowers? Or have I not existed? I think I know the greater mountain, but I have not yet conquered my own mountain!

Of what point is it for me to admire the next mountain, if I have not climbed this one first?

I must transform into a man! Man is human, all too human. The question before moving on is this: Have we become fully the definition of what we can call "Human"?

Before this, where are we going?

As the Temple of Zeus is a path to make a human out of nothing but flesh, so must out of this idle flesh be created a full human with spirit.

I accept where I am now; I am a child, I am an adult, I am elderly. I am human, but have I made this manifest?

Like a caterpillar that will become a butterfly, we must first become a caterpillar, for now our humanity is nothing but an idea, yet we call ourselves "human".

Πρὶν Θεὸς γενέσθαι, τί ἔπραξας ἵνα ἄνθρωπος γένῃ; Ταῦτα ἐμαυτὸν ἐρωτῶ· τί οἶδα περὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, καὶ τί αὐτῆς συνίημι;

Ἆρα τῶν μύρων καὶ τῶν ἀνθέων ὠσφράνθην; Ἢ οὐδ᾽ ἔζησα; Τὸ μεῖζον ὄρος γιγνώσκειν δοκῶ, τὸ δ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ ὄρος οὔπω κατεστρεψάμην.

Τί μοι ὄφελος τὸ ἑξῆς ὄρος θαυμάζειν, εἰ τοῦτο πρῶτον οὐκ ἀνέβην;

Ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἐμαυτοῦ ποιητέον· ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀνθρώπινος, λίαν ἀνθρώπινος. Πρὶν προελθεῖν τοῦτο ἐρωτητέον· ἆρα τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ ὀνόματος «ἄνθρωπος» ἐγενόμεθα;

Πρὸ τούτου, ποῖ πορευόμεθα;

Ὥσπερ ὁ Ναὸς τοῦ Διὸς ὁδός ἐστιν ἐκ σαρκὸς μόνης ἄνθρωπον ποιῆσαι, οὕτως ἐκ τῆς ἀργῆς ταύτης σαρκὸς τέλειον ἄνθρωπον σὺν πνεύματι δημιουργητέον.

Δέχομαι ὅπου νῦν εἰμί· παῖς εἰμι, ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνή, ἢ γέρων. Ἄνθρωπός εἰμι· ἆρα δὲ τοῦτο ἐφανέρωσα;

Ὡς κάμπη μέλλουσα ψυχὴ πτερωτὴ γενέσθαι, πρῶτον κάμπην γενέσθαι δεῖ· νῦν γὰρ ἡ ἀνθρωπότης ἡμῶν ἰδέα μόνον ἐστίν, καίτοι ἑαυτοὺς «ἀνθρώπους» καλοῦμεν.

Anthrōpos Genesthai · Transliteration

Prin Theos genesthai, ti epraxas hina anthrōpos genēi; Tauta emauton erōtō; ti oida peri tēs emēs anthrōpotētos, kai ti autēs syniēmi;

Ara tōn myrōn kai tōn antheōn ōsphranthēn; Ē oud᾽ ezēsa; To meizon oros gignōskein dokō, to d᾽ emautou oros oupō katestrepsamēn.

Ti moi ophelos to hexēs oros thaumazein, ei touto prōton ouk anebēn;

Anthrōpon ex emautou poiēteon; ho anthrōpos anthrōpinos, lian anthrōpinos. Prin proelthein touto erōtēteon; ara to plērōma tou onomatos «anthrōpos» egenometha;

Pro toutou, poi poreuometha;

Hōsper ho Naos tou Dios hodos estin ek sarkos monēs anthrōpon poiēsai, houtōs ek tēs argēs tautēs sarkos teleion anthrōpon syn pneumati dēmiourgēteon.

Dekhomai hopou nyn eimi; pais eimi, anēr ē gynē, ē gerōn. Anthrōpos eimi; ara de touto ephanerōsa;

Hōs kampē mellousa psykhē pterōtē genesthai, prōton kampēn genesthai dei; nyn gar hē anthrōpotēs hēmōn idea monon estin, kaitoi heautous «anthrōpous» kaloumen.

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Prayer:

“O Master Zeus,

Show me the ways of humanity,

For being a human,

If done properly,

Is enough!”

Ancient Greek Code PrayerἌνθρωπος Γενέσθαι

Ὦ δέσποτα Ζεῦ,

δεῖξόν μοι τὰς ὁδοὺς τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος·

τὸ γὰρ ἄνθρωπον εἶναι,

ἐὰν ὀρθῶς τελεσθῇ,

ἱκανόν ἐστιν.

Ō despota Zeu,
deixon moi tas hodous tēs anthrōpotētos;
to gar anthrōpon einai,
ean orthōs telesthēi,
hikanon estin.

The prayer asks Zeus to teach the ways of humanity, affirming that being fully human is enough.

Grand Ritual of Zeus

Page & Holy Texts: High Priest Zevios Metathronos