The Nine Muses

Melpomene Ritual

Μελπομένη · The Sovereign Song of Tragedy

Ritual written and designed by High Priest Zevios Metathronos

54 vibrations

Repetition level: Normal · ToZ Rituals

The intention of the rite
For tragic poetry, dramatic performance and the courage to give sorrow a worthy voice.
Melpomene is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne whose name belongs to the sphere of song. Her later association with tragedy gives that song a grave and public form. The tragic mask and vine in her Shenu place the rite within the theatre’s solemn regard for human action and its consequences. Hesiod, Theogony 1–115; 135; 915–917 Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4.7.1–4 The Muses: traditional literary and artistic attributes
The poem honours greatness, the fall that can follow it, and the compassion awakened when another life is heard fully. It is suited to the writing or performance of serious drama and to the reverent contemplation of a difficult human story.
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.

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Golden Book of Zeus Opening · Invocation to Melpomene

The Golden Book of Zeus · Invocation of the Muses

Ancient Greek

Μελπομένη, τραγικῆς ἀληθείας φύλαξ, παράστηθι ἡμῖν ὅταν τὸ πάθος καὶ ἡ μοῖρα ἐν τῷ λόγῳ φανερῶνται.
mehl-poh-MEH-nee, trah-yee-KEES ah-lee-THEE-ahs FEE-lahks, pah-RAH-stee-thee ee-MEEN OH-tahn TOH PAH-thohs KEH ee MEE-rah ehn TOH LOH-ghoh fah-neh-ROHN-deh.

English translation

Melpomene, guardian of tragic truth, stand beside us when suffering and fate are revealed within the word.

Δίδαξον τὴν ψυχὴν ἐνώπιον τῶν δεινῶν ἀτρέπτως μένειν, τὴν τῶν πασχόντων φωνὴν ὁλόκληρον ἀκούουσαν· ἄγε δὲ αὐτὴν διὰ τοῦ ἐλέου πρὸς τὸ βάθος τῆς δικαιοσύνης.
DHEE-dhahk-sohn TEEN psee-HYEEN eh-NOH-pee-ohn TOHN dhee-NOHN ah-TREHP-tohs MEH-neen, TEEN TOHN pahs-KHOHN-dohn foh-NEEN oh-LOH-klee-rohn ah-KOO-oo-sahn· AH-yeh DHEH ahf-TEEN dhee-AH TOO eh-LEH-oo PROHS TOH VAH-thohs TEES dhee-keh-oh-SEE-nees.

Teach the soul to remain steadfast before grievous things, hearing the voice of those who suffer in its fullness; and lead her through compassion unto the depth of justice.

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Sacred hymn · Hymn to Melpomene

Ten verses in dactylic hexameter · High Priest Zevios Metathronos

Ancient Greek

Μελπομένη, σὺ δὲ πένθεα ἀνδρῶν ἔμπεδα οἶσθα.
mehl-poh-MEH-nee, SEE DHEH PEHN-theh-ah ahn-DHROHN EHM-beh-dhah EES-thah.

English translation

Melpomene, you know the sorrows of mortals in full.

ἄνδρα μέγαν καὶ πῆμα μέγ' ἐν μύθοισι φυλάσσεις.
AHN-dhrah MEH-ghahn KEH PEE-mah MEHGH' ehn MEE-thee-see fee-LAH-sees.

In your tales you preserve the great man and his grievous suffering.

σεμνὰ πρόσωπα φέρεις, κατὰ δάκρυα πάντοτε λείβεις.
sehm-NAH PROH-soh-pah FEH-rees, kah-TAH DHAH-kree-ah PAHN-doh-teh LEE-vees.

You bear solemn faces and ever pour down tears.

πένθεα ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα· σὺ δάκρυα θῆκας ἀοιδήν.
PEHN-theh-ah EH-neh-peh, MOO-sah· SEE DHAH-kree-ah THEE-kahs ah-ee-DHEEN.

Give voice to sorrow, Muse; you have made tears into song.

θνητὸς ἐὼν θνητῶν ἀρετὴν καὶ πένθεα μέλπω.
thnee-TOHS eh-OHN thnee-TOHN ah-reh-TEEN KEH PEHN-theh-ah MEHL-poh.

A mortal myself, I sing the excellence and sorrows of mortals.

δάκρυσι σοῖς ἀρετὴν μάθον ἀνθρώποισιν ἀρήγειν.
DHAH-kree-see SEES ah-reh-TEEN MAH-thohn ahn-THROH-pee-seen ah-REE-yeen.

Through your tears I learned nobility: to come to the aid of humankind.

κλῆμα δὲ βότρυν ἔχει, σὺ δὲ γῆρας ἐν ἤμασι λεύσσεις.
KLEE-mah DHEH VOH-treen EH-hyee, SEE DHEH YEE-rahs ehn EE-mah-see LEHF-sees.

The vine bears its cluster; within the passing days you behold age.

ἔμπεδα σοὶ μῦθον φέρομεν, καὶ δῶρα θεάων.
EHM-beh-dhah SEE MEE-thohn FEH-roh-mehn, KEH DHOH-rah theh-AH-ohn.

Steadfastly we bring you our tale and the Goddesses' gifts.

δείκνυε φέρτατα δῶρα θεῶν, ὅτε πένθεα μίμνει.
DHEEK-nee-eh FEHR-tah-tah DHOH-rah theh-OHN, OH-teh PEHN-theh-ah MEEM-nee.

Show the noblest gifts of the Gods when sorrow lingers.

χαῖρε, θεά, σὺ δὲ θάρσος ἐμοὶ καὶ κῦδος ὄπαζε.
HYEH-reh, theh-AH, SEE DHEH THAHR-sohs eh-MEE KEH KEE-dhohs OH-pah-zeh.

Hail, Goddess; bestow upon me courage and honour.

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Closing praise · Glory to Melpomene and Zeus

Hail, Melpomene, solemn voice before the mysteries of suffering and fate. Your song gives grief its full utterance and leads compassion towards the depth of justice. Glory to Zeus, who holds the measure of mortal fortune and the dignity of the immortal order. Receive our praise, venerable Muse. May your sacred voice endure beneath his sovereignty, bearing courage, understanding and the majesty of truth.

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FINAL STEP

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

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

RITUAL NOTES

Song before the tragic mask

Melpomene’s name is connected with singing. The later tragic office develops one part of that larger musical field. The new hymn therefore retains the language of song even when it speaks of tears, age and a great fall. Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4.7.1–4

Compassion and the depth of justice

The Golden Book addresses Melpomene as guardian of tragic truth. Her invocation asks the soul to stand steadfastly before suffering, to hear the afflicted voice in full, and to be led through compassion towards justice. This is the solemn dignity honoured in her mask and in the hymn. The Golden Book of Zeus, Invocation of the Muses · Melpomene

Reading the Shenu

The tragic mask is centred upon a descending stage sword, with a tear and stepped stage below. Vines surround the central figure. The inverted triangle gathers the signs towards the tear, where the magnitude of an event becomes an intimate human feeling. The sword belongs to the imagery of tragic drama.

The sacred letters

Μ · Τ · Π joins Μελπομένη, τραγῳδία and πάθος: Melpomene, tragedy and suffering. The sequence honours the solemn voice that gives grief its utterance and leads compassion towards justice. Temple of Zeus: sacred-letter recitation