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//- meta
	slug: "hymns/astron"
	lang: en
	title: "Orphic Hymn to the Stars"
	pageCreated: "2026-04-17"

extends ../../../views/hymns/hymnsheet.pug

block navbar
	ul
		li.nav-arrow.nav-arrow-left: a(href="/hymns/protogonos") #[span.dingbat ☙] #[b(lang="grc") Πρωτογονου] #[i To Protogonos]
		li.nav-current Ζʹ · VII
		li.nav-arrow.nav-arrow-right: a(href="/hymns/helios") #[i To Helios] #[b(lang="grc") Ηλιου] #[span.dingbat ❧]

block ancient-pic
	img(src="/hymns/thumbnails/astron-ancient.jpg" alt="Old engraving of the stars")

block modern-pic
	img(src="/hymns/thumbnails/astron-modern.jpg" alt="Modern photo of the stars")

block greek
	h1 Ἄστρων
	div.offering Θυμίαμα ἀρώματα
	p.hymn-greek
		:format-hymn
			Ἄστρων οὐρανίων ἱερὸν σέλας ἐκπροκαλοῦμαι,
			εὐιέροις φωνῇσι κικλήσκων Δαίμονας ἁγνούς.
			Ἀστέρες οὐράνιοι, Νυκτὸς φίλα τέκνα μελαίνης,
			ἐγκυκλίοις δίνῃσι περιθρόνιοι κυκλέοντες,
			ἀνταυγεῖς, πυρόεντες ἀεί, γενετῆρες ἁπάντων,
			μοιρίδιοι, πάσης μοίρης σημάντορες ὄντες,
			θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων θείην διέποντες ἀταρπόν,
			ἑπταφαεῖς ζώνας ἐφορώμενοι, ἠερόπλαγκτοι,
			οὐράνιοι χθόνιοί τε, πυρίδρομοι, αἰὲν ἀτειρεῖς,
			αὐγάζοντες ἀεὶ νυκτὸς ζοφοειδέα πέπλον,
			μαρμαρυγαῖς στίλβοντες, ἐύφρονες ἐννύχιοί τε·
			ἔλθετ’ ἐπ’ εὐιέρου τελετῆς πολυΐστορας ἄθλους
			ἐσθλὸν ἐπ’ εὐδόξοις ἔργοις δρόμον ἐκτελέοντες.

block english
	h1 To the Stars
	div.offering The fumigation from aromatics.
	p.hymn-english With holy voice I call the stars on high,#[br]pure sacred lights and genii of the sky.#[br]Celestial stars, the progeny of Night,#[br]in whirling circles beaming far Your light,#[br]refulgent rays around the heav’ns Ye throw,#[br]eternal fires, the source of all below.#[br]With flames significant of Fate Ye shine,#[br]and aptly rule for men a path divine.#[br]In seven bright zones Ye run with wand’ring flames,#[br]and heaven and earth compose Your lucid frames:#[+sn(1)]#[br]with course unwearied, pure and fiery bright#[br]forever shining thro’ the veil of Night.#[br]Hail twinkling, joyful, ever wakeful fires!#[br]Propitious shine on all my just desires;#[br]these sacred rites regard with conscious rays,#[br]and end our works devoted to Your praise.
	+sn(1)
		p It is an Orphic and Pythagoric opinion that the stars are inhabited; on which account they are called in this hymn, earthly. But the greatest geniuses of antiquity were of the same opinion; such as Anaxagoras, Aris­tar­chus, Heraclitus, Plato, #[i &c.] and among the Platonists not a few, as Alcinous, Plotinus, and Plutarch. Tha­les too is said to have called the stars earthly, by which it is probable he was of the same opinion.