18. To Plouton

Mighty spirit, you have your home under
the earth, a grassy mead in Tartaros,
deep shadowed and sunless, Chthonian Zeus
holding a scepter, kindness in your heart.
Accept these holy offerings, Plouton,
you who hold fast the bars that bind the whole
earth, and give yearly fruit to mortal kind.

You who won the third share: earth, queen of all,
foundation of the deathless gods, and strong
support to mortal kind. You established
your throne beneath a shadowy, distant
realm; never-tiring and never breathing,
indiscriminate Hades, and blue-black
Acheron, who holds the roots of the Earth.

You who governs the grace of mortal death,
O host of many, Euboulos, who once
tore the daughter of holy Demeter
from her meadow as a bride; with your four
yoked steeds, you dragged her through the ocean, down
to an Attic cavern in the region
of Eleusis, that very place where lie
the gates to Hades. You alone came forth
to be the judge of deeds, obscure and known.

The inspired ruler of all, most holy,
most highly honored, rejoicing in rites,
majestic, revered, and pious, I call
you, come with kind joy to the worshippers.

Note: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades divided up the cosmos after overthrowing
the Titans. Hades received the share of the earth. The myth mentioned here
is the kidnapping of Persephone, daughter of Demeter. This legend is central
to the mystery religion of Eleusis. Here Hades is called Plouton, a common
euphemism, meaning “wealthy.”