To grey-eyed Athena and strong-armed Hephaistos
I pray! Gods of skill, gods of craft, great friends you are
to artisans, to those who work with mind and hand,
to those who with the artist’s eye create things
of use as well as beauty. In times of old
were you well honored for your gifts to mankind:
Athena the Worker, Hephaistos the Resourceful,
named so by men grateful for your many blessings.
I pray to you, great goddess and god: grant to me
the vision to create, grant me the ability
to bring those visions into being. Athena,
Hephaistos, grant to me the joy of the work.
Archives
Hephaistos
Hephaistos of the clever hands, the artist’s eye,
the craftsman’s care, ingenious Hephaistos who sees
what cannot be and brings it into the world,
inventive one whose works stir awe and wonder
in all who see, whose peerless jewels adorn the throats
of goddesses fair and mighty. Hephaistos,
friend of the blacksmith, the sculptor, the wright,
friend of all who seek to join the mind’s devises
to the work of the hands, granter of skill
and vision to those who honor your art, to those
who are called to your craft, to those who seek your favor.
Hephaistos
Strong-armed Hephaistos, maker of miracles,
creator of the inconceivable, deviser
of clever machines, from your skillful hands
come intricacies undreamt of, gold and jewels
to please a goddess. Artisans and blacksmiths,
craftsmen and wrights of every trade, all look to you
for insight and revelation, all feel your hand
upon their own when in need of inspiration.
Hephaistos, visionary, you see beyond
what is practical, beyond what is beautiful.
In your hands molten metal flows like water,
takes its form like clay, swift and precise, each work
becoming more than what it is, each piece instilled
with the spark of the divine. Deep-hearted god,
Hephaistos, I praise you for the gifts you grant us,
I praise you for the ideal of artistry.
Litany to Hephaistos
Deft-fingered Hephaistos, craftsman without peer,
worker of Gaia’s silvery gifts, maker of jewels
to adorn Olympos’ shining ones. Hephaistos,
friend of the sculptor, the mason, the smith; sooty one,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hephaistos, inventor of clever devices,
patron of the engineer and the architect,
maker of marvels, father of the world’s wonders,
clear-eyed visionary, creator of dreams.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hephaistos, friend of the copper, friend of the bronze,
in your hands does the stoniest ore yield its riches,
in your hands does metal grow supple, does it find
its fairest form; your art it is to lay its beauty bare.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hephaistos, god of the burning depths, the rivers
of molten stone, whose might we see in bright-lit
trails of fire, in the ashy echoes of Pompeii.
Hephaistos, who dwells within the living mountain,
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.
Glorious Hephaistos of ancient renown, of your might
and your art great tales are told. Exalted one,
friend of the king and the workman, master unmatched
of hammer and tong, your works we view with wonder.
I praise and honor you, I thank you for your blessings.
Hephaistos
Resourceful Hephaistos, wise in the ways of metal
and stone, deviser of gadgets and useful machines,
inventor of contraptions and contrivances,
your talent is unequaled among the great gods,
your dextrous hands capable of any work.
With ease you take each creation from thought into
substance; effortlessly your ideas become real.
Clever you are, Hephaistos, greatest of engineers,
and yet an artist’s eye is yours as well. Beauty
comes from your sturdy hands; the deathless gods themselves
exclaim at your mastery, the shining jewels
and delicate metalcraft, gold and silver
worked as fine as spiderwebs, gems cut to glitter
like the eyes of a cat. Hephaistos, craftsman
who excels at all manner of good work, patron
of smiths and wrights and artisans, I honor you.
To Hephaistos
I call to Hephaistos, ingenious son of Hera,
father of fair-tressed maids and bold-hearted heroes.
On the isle of Lemnos, where stood your fiery forge,
a land beloved by you above all others,
were you well honored; by those who work in bronze
and smith hot iron were you lauded throughout
the land. With grey-eyed Athena you stood
over high-pillared Athens, side by side,
guarding the splendid city of your common heir.
Mighty Hephaistos, master of all craft and art,
builder of palaces, maker of keen-edged swords
and impenetrable armor, creator of
all manner of finely-worked trinkets and baubles.
Beauty falls from your hands, Hephaistos, as artistry
falls to those you favor. God of skills, I call to you.
Hephaistos
Skillful Hephaistos, master of smith-craft,
son of majestic Hera, Olympos’ queen,
builder of clever machinery,
devices that please the eye and ease the body,
maker of exquisite ornaments,
designed of precious jewels and metals,
each treasure lovelier than the last.
Hephaistos, shaper of the ideal,
peerless inventor, flawless engineer,
exacting devisor of all works of skill,
with an artist’s eye and an artisan’s hand
you craft and create, forge and form.
Hephaistos, patron of those who seek
to follow your lead, joining beauty
with precision, form with perfect function,
god of those who refashion the world,
Hephaistos, brilliant one, I praise you.
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