HellenicGods.org - Hymn to Ares

HYMN TO ARES

HYMN TO STRUGGLE

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This hymn, a march for the God Áris (Ares, Ἄρης) arose from ritual in the month of Scorpio, 2010. It is called Hymn to Struggle or Hymn to Áris and was composed by James Van Kollenburg, who is known as Kallímakhos. It seems to the author that the song came in answer to a prayer. The hymn is appropriate sung a cappella or with accompaniment (see below).

The words to the hymn speak of the role of Áris in bringing us the struggles we need in order to grow on our journey to great arætí (arete, ἀρετή), great virtue. The singer prays to Áris, asking him to fight beside him until, together, they reach victory. After victory is achieved, he prays that Aphrodítî (Aphrodite, Ἀφροδίτη) will come and harmonize his soul; she is called by her epithet Kythíria (Cytherea, Κυθήρια); this epithet refers to the island of Kýthîra (Cythera, Κύθηρα) where her worship is believed to be more ancient than any other place.

To download the mp3 audio-file, click on this link, the mp3 file will appear playing in a new window, right-click and a new window will appear, click Save As:: DOWNLOAD THE MP3 FOR THE HYMN TO STUGGLE

To download the sheet-music: PIANO/VOCAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE HYMN TO STRUGGLE

To embed the Video: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u2ttiPTZdRQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Links to more religious hymns: Contemporary Hymns for Hellenismos

The Scottish songs for freedom: The Songs to The Boy and the Well of Memory

HYMN TO ARES

I begin to sing of glorious Áris,

mighty warrior of the noble struggle.

I implore the king, tearfully amorous:

"Fight beside me, God, in my grievous trouble!

I desire to be

In your company

When the battle ends

In victory!"

And I begin to sing of lovely Kythíria,

that between us three will be found Harmony.

For the technically curious: The recording of the Hymn to Ares was made at Pekin Inn Recording, performance and recording by Kallimachus. The vocal microphone is a Microtech Gefel UM93.1S. The piano (Charles Walter upright) was recorded simultaneously with the vocal using a pair of Microtech Gefel M296 on a Jecklin disc. Three channels of an API 3124M+ served as the pre-amps for all the microphones. The mixer was a Neotek-1E. Reverb: TC Electronic REVERB 4000. Some compression was applied using a Pendulum Audio ES-8. The vocal went through a custom built compressor based on the schematic of an LA2A. The mix-down deck is a Marantz CDR640.

This logo is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia, Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kozmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara, κιθάρα), the lyre of Apóllôn (Apollo, Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus, Ὀρφεύς).

PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this website, you will find fascinating stories about our Gods. These narratives are known as mythology , the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally. A literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.

The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Theogony.

We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.

Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

SPELLING: HellenicGods.org uses the Reuchlinian method of pronouncing ancient Greek, the system preferred by scholars from Greece itself. An approach was developed to enable the student to easily approximate the Greek words. Consequently, the way we spell words is unique, as this method of transliteration is exclusive to this website. For more information, visit these three pages:

Pronunciation of Ancient Greek

Transliteration of Ancient Greek

Pronouncing the Names of the Gods in Hellenismos

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