#theoi

THE FUMIGATION FROM MYRRH

O Thou who dost the roots of Ocean keep In seats cerulean, dæmon of the deep, With fifty nymphs (attending in thy train, Fair virhin artists) glorying thro' the main: The dark foundation of the rolling sea, And Earth's wide bounds belong, much-fam'd, to thee. Great dæmon, source of all, whose pow'r can make The sacred basis of blest Ceres shake, When blust'ring winds in secret caverns pent, By thee excited, struggle hard for vent. Come, blessed Nereus, listen to my pray'r, And cease to shake the earth with wrath severe; Send to thy mystics necessary wealth, With gentle peace, and ever tranquil health.

Besides these two other Gods are also honoured, most notably the various household Gods: the Theoi Ephestioi (Θεοί Ἐφεστίοι, “Gods around the Hearth”, the Gods inside the house), the Theoi Herkeioi (Θεοί Ἑρκείοι, “Gods of the Courtyard”, which includes only Zeus Herkeios (Ζεύς Ἑρκεῖος), or may include the Penates in terms of Roman polytheism or a Greco-Roman syncretic practice), and the Theoi Strophaioi (Θεοί Στροφαῖοι, “Gods at the Door”, which Gods as Apollon Agyieus (Ἀπόλλων Ἀγυιεύς) and Hermes Enodios (Ἑρμῆς Ἐνόδιος), who guard the borders of the household and protect household members when they venture outside of the household).

THE FUMIGATION FROM FRANKINCENSE AND MANNA

Tethys I call, with eyes cerulean bright, His in a veil obscure from human sight: Great Ocean's empress, wand'ring thro' the deep, And pleas'd, with gentle gales, the earth to sweep; Whose ample waves in swift succession go, And lash the rocky shorenwith endless flow: Delighting in the sea serene to play, In ships exulting, and the wat'ry way. Mother of Venus, and of clouds obscure, Great nurse of beasts, and source of fountains pure. O venerable Goddess, hear my pray'r, And make benevolent my life thy care; Send, blessed queen, to ships a prosp'rous breeze, And waft them safely o'er the stormy seas.

So there's a very heavy thunderstorm over my town and even though I love thunderstorms, I noticed that I was a little scared. And that's okay. Of course you shouldn't live in fear of the gods, but we need to recognise their mightiness. Apollon isn't only the god of healing, he can also bring disease. And in this case, a thunderstorm by King Zeus brings water, coolness and life in times of intense heat but can also be scary. But that doesn't mean a thunderstorm is bad. It's neutral. But some of us find it scary, because our society sees it as scary.