The Nine Muses

Erato Ritual

Ἐρατώ · The Beloved Song

Ritual written and designed by High Priest Zevios Metathronos

54 vibrations

Repetition level: Normal · ToZ Rituals

The intention of the rite
For love poetry, affectionate speech and the art of addressing another person with tenderness.
Erato is one of the nine Muses, honoured in the poetry of affection and desire. Apollonius invokes her at the opening of the third book of the Argonautica, linking her with the power of Cypris as his song turns towards Medea and Jason. Hesiod, Theogony 1–115; 135; 915–917 Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.1–5
In this rite the lyre stands between roses and answering doves. The paired forms give visible expression to an address that is offered and received. The hymn honours the beauty through which affection finds its voice and sacred longing recognises its divine kinship.
Download the full-resolution Shenu
Vibrate the full Greek name of each letter three times, from left to right. Sound the group wherever it appears before and after a prayer, allowing a brief silence between repetitions.
Reading the Greek aloud
The phonetic spelling follows the Temple’s Modern Greek liturgical reading. Hyphens separate syllables; capitals mark stress. The hymn’s ancient hexameter follows vowel quantity, which this reading does not reconstruct.
ah as in father · eh as in met · ee as in see · oh as in go without the final glide · oo as in moon. th as in thin; dh as in this. kh as in loch; gh is its voiced counterpart. hy is the breathy beginning of Hugh; y as in yes. Sound both consonants in ps and ks. Tap the r lightly.
Speak with an easy voice and let the punctuation guide the pauses. An apostrophe marks a vowel already omitted in the Greek. The sacred letters are sounded by their full Greek names, as named on the cards.

Vibrate Sacred Letters

Golden Book of Zeus Opening · Invocation to Erato

The Golden Book of Zeus · Invocation of the Muses

Ancient Greek

Ἐρατοῖ, τῆς ἐρωτικῆς μελῳδίας πηγή, τὸν ἱερὸν πόθον ἀνάφλεξον καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐν τῇ ἀναγνώσει μυσταγώγει, ἵνα ἐκ τοῦ ἐν τοῖς λόγοις κάλλους πρὸς τοὺς Θεοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐπιστρέφῃ, ἐρῶσα τοῦ Ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τὴν θείαν συγγένειαν ἐν αὐτῷ ἀναγνωρίζουσα.
eh-rah-TEE, TEES eh-roh-tee-KEES meh-loh-DHEE-ahs pee-YEE, TOHN ee-eh-ROHN POH-thohn ah-NAH-flehk-sohn KEH TEEN psee-HYEEN ehn TEE ah-nahgh-NOH-see mee-stah-GHOH-yee, EE-nah ehk TOO ehn TEES LOH-yees KAH-loos PROHS TOOS theh-OOS ahf-TOOS eh-pee-STREH-fee, eh-ROH-sah TOO ah-ghah-THOO KEH TEEN THEE-ahn seen-GEH-nee-ahn ehn ahf-TOH ah-nahgh-noh-REE-zoo-sah.

English translation

Erato, fountain of the melody of love, kindle sacred longing and initiate the soul through the reading, that from the beauty within the words she may turn unto the Gods themselves, loving the Good and recognising within it her Divine kinship.

Vibrate Sacred Letters

Sacred hymn · Hymn to Erato

Ten verses in dactylic hexameter · High Priest Zevios Metathronos

Ancient Greek

ὦ Ἐρατώ, σὺ δὲ θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἰαίνεις.
OH eh-rah-TOH, SEE DHEH thee-MOHN eh-NEE STEE-theh-seen ee-EH-nees.

English translation

O Erato, you warm the heart within the breast.

Κύπριδι σὺν χρυσῇ μέγα θάλλει δῶρον ἀοιδῆς.
KEE-pree-dhee SEEN khree-SEE MEH-ghah THAH-lee DHOH-rohn ah-ee-DHEES.

Beside golden Cypris the gift of song flourishes mightily.

πᾶσα ῥόδων χάρις ἦλθε σὺν ἄνθεσιν ἄμβροτος ὀδμή.
PAH-sah ROH-dhohn KHAH-rees EEL-theh SEEN AHN-theh-seen AHM-vroh-tohs ohdh-MEE.

All the grace of roses has come, a deathless fragrance with the blossoms.

δῶρα φέρεις τρήρωσι πελειάσιν ἴθμαθ' ὁμοίη.
DHOH-rah FEH-rees TREE-roh-see peh-lee-AH-seen EETH-mahth' oh-MEE-ee.

You bring your gifts, moving with the gait of shy doves.

μείλιχον εὔχομαι, ὄφρα φίλον φίλος ἄνδρα φυλάσσῃ.
MEE-lee-khohn EHF-khoh-meh, OH-frah FEE-lohn FEE-lohs AHN-dhrah fee-LAH-see.

I pray with gentleness, that friend may watch over friend.

ἄμβροτε, θάρσος ὄπαζε, καὶ ἵμερον ἥμερον αὔξε.
AHM-vroh-teh, THAHR-sohs OH-pah-zeh, KEH EE-meh-rohn EE-meh-rohn AHFK-seh.

Immortal One, grant courage and nurture gentle longing.

ἤπια νεῦρα λύρης δύο θυμοὺς εἰς ἓν ἄγει νῦν.
EE-pee-ah NEH-vrah LEE-rees DHEE-oh thee-MOOS ees EHN AH-yee NEEN.

The gentle strings of the lyre now lead two hearts towards one.

δεσμὰ δὲ χρύσεα μῦθος ἐνὶ στήθεσσι φυλάσσει.
dheh-ZMAH DHEH KHREE-seh-ah MEE-thohs eh-NEE STEE-theh-see fee-LAH-see.

Song preserves golden bonds within the breast.

σὸν κλέος ἄφθιτον αἰὲν ἐγὼ κατὰ κόσμον ἀείδω.
SOHN KLEH-ohs AHF-thee-tohn eh-EHN eh-GHOH kah-TAH KOH-zmohn ah-EE-dhoh.

Ever I sing your imperishable glory in its rightful order.

χαῖρε, θεά, σὺ δὲ πᾶσι φίλην φιλότητα διδοίης.
HYEH-reh, theh-AH, SEE DHEH PAH-see FEE-leen fee-LOH-tee-tah dhee-DHEE-ees.

Hail, Goddess; may you grant cherished affection to all.

Vibrate Sacred Letters

Closing praise · Glory to Erato and Zeus

Hail, Erato, fountain of the beloved song. Through your beauty sacred longing remembers its kinship with the Divine, and the soul turns towards the Good with an undivided heart. Glory to Zeus, source of that noble kinship and sovereign of the immortal company. Receive our praise, gracious Muse. May your lyre resound in his splendour, and may love ascend through beauty into communion with the Gods.

Vibrate Sacred Letters

FINAL STEP

After you are done with this, you can meditate on Erato's Sigil in the Temple of Zeus. Let yourself be immersed and to receive energy from Erato.

It's important to meditate on yourself after the Ritual calmly for a few minutes.

RITUAL NOTES

Erato and Cypris

Apollonius invokes Erato at the beginning of Argonautica book 3. Her relation to Cypris informs the hymn’s praise of the flourishing gift of song. In this rite the beloved voice is honoured as an expression of sacred longing and beauty. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.1–5

Sacred longing and divine kinship

The Golden Book calls Erato the fountain of the melody of love. Her invocation kindles sacred longing and leads the soul from beauty within the words towards the Gods themselves. The Good is loved as the soul recognises its divine kinship; her lyre and flowers honour that ascent. The Golden Book of Zeus, Invocation of the Muses · Erato

The doves of the new hymn

The fourth verse adapts the dove simile of Iliad 5.778, where the movement of Hera and Athena is compared to doves. Here the singular feminine address applies the motion to Erato. The image is an epic allusion within a new poem, rather than a quotation describing Erato in Homer. Homer, Iliad 5.778

Reading the Shenu

The lyre belongs to Erato’s later artistic tradition. Roses and a pair of doves frame it; the knot below expresses a bond maintained through mutual regard. Their balanced arrangement gives each answering form its own place. The complete seal was composed for this rite. The Muses: traditional literary and artistic attributes

The sacred letters

Ε · Λ · Φ joins Ἐρατώ, λύρα and φιλία: Erato, the lyre and affection. They honour the beloved voice, the answering song and the beauty through which the soul remembers its divine kinship. Temple of Zeus: sacred-letter recitation