Temple of Athena the Savior

Just in case you couldn’t read the hymns in the picture in the last post, this is hymn to Herakles I wrote:

To Herakles

by Amanda Artemisia Forrestter

Sing, O lovely Muses of Helikon,

Of Herakles, the lion-hearted.

Son of Zeus, called Hercules by the Romans

Child of the mighty King of the Gods

By Alkmene, mortal Queen.

Seemingly hated, so the poets say,

By Hera, Queen of Olympos.

Herakles endured slavery,

Not only survived,

But thrived.

Twelve Labors, twelve impossible tasks

Contrived by the cow-eyed Lady of Argos.

Greater then any mortal was He

A service to many nations

Ridding the world of primal monsters.

On His fiery death-bed Herakles ascended

Shedding His mortality

And becoming One with the Immortal Gods.

Hera, Who had tested Him,

Who had driven Him,

Who had made Him great,

Welcomed Him as a Son

And gave Him Her daughter Hebe for a wife.

Herakles, Hercules, lion-hearted Son of Zeus,

I sing Your praises

You Who gives strength and perseverance

Tested by Hera, and rewarded with immortality.

Herakles, great hero, shows us the way to ascension

The road to Olympos is a rocky one

Paved with many trials

Herakles, God of courage,

Blesses us with strength and perseverance

And gives us hope.

Hail, Herakles, son of Zeus,

Who wears the lion-pelt.

I will remember you in another song.