Here are various hymns/invocations from classical texts that can be used as alternatives to orphic and homeric hymns. Remember the basic structure of individual Hellenismos worship: purification by washing hands, reciting a hymn, prayer and offering.

Ares

“Come, warlike Ares; lay down thy shield and spear for a brief space,

and from thy helmet loose thy glistering locks. Haply thou mayest ask,

What has a poet to do with Mars? From thee the month which now I sing

doth take its name. Thyself dost see that fierce wars are waged by

Minerva’s hands. Is she for that the less at leisure for the liberal

arts? After the pattern of Pallas take a time to put aside the lance.

Thou shalt find something to do unarmed. Then, too, wast thou unarmed

when the Roman priestess captivated thee, that thou mightest bestow

upon this city a great seed.”

-Ovid, Fasti

“Oh help us Ares! Oh help us Ares! Oh help us Ares!

Do not let plague or ruin assail us

Do not let plague or ruin assail us

Do not let plague or ruin assail us

Be satisfied fierce Ares leap the threshold! Stop. Burn. Be satisfied

fierce Ares leap the threshold! Stop. Burn.Be satisfied fierce Ares

leap the threshold! Stop. Burn.

Oh help us Ares! Oh help us Ares! Oh help us Ares!

Triumph triumph triumph Triumph Triumph”

-Arval chant

To the gods

“My soul is wrought to sing of forms transformed to bodies new and

strange! Immortal Gods inspire my heart, for ye have changed

yourselves and all things you have changed! Oh lead my song in smooth

and measured strains, from olden days when earth began to this

completed time!”

-Ovid, Metamorphoses

Hera

“Close beside me now as I pray appearing,

Lady Hera, gracious in all your majesty,

you whom the Atreídai invoked to help them,

glorious princes,

while they were completing their many labors,

first at Ilion, and then on the ocean

sailing for this island: they hadn’t power to

finish their journey

till they called on you, on the god of strangers

Zeus, and on Thyónë’s delightful son:

now I too entreat you, O goddess, help me

as in the old days.”

-Sappho

Poseidon

“To the high ruler of the sea Jove’s brother And to his Thetis I give

praise and thanks With joy and gratitude to the salt floods That

having in their power my life my all From their dread realms restor d

me to country To you great Neptune above other gods I pay my utmost

thanks Men call you cruel Rude and severe of greedy disposition Blood

thirsty fierce unsuflerahle outrageous But I have prov d you other in

the deep I found you of an easy clement nature And mild as I could

wish I ve heard before This commendation of you and from great That

you were wont to spare the indigent And crush the wealthy I applaud

your justice In treating men according to their merits Tis worthy of

the gods to have respect Unto the poor I know you may be trusted

Though they proclaim you treacherous for without Your aid your wild

attendants in the deep Had maul d me sorely scatter d all I have All

mine and me too through the azure plains Fierce hurricanes beset the

ship like dogs Rain winds and waves had broke the masts yards And

split the sails if with propitious peace You had not been at hand Away

then I m Resolv d henceforth to give me up to ease I ve got enough 0

with what troubles have I Struggled in seeking riches for my son But

who is this that’s entering now our street A stranger in appearance

and in dress Well though I needs must long to be at home I ll wait

awhile and see what he’s about”

-Plautus, Rudens

Underworld gods

“Ye awful goddesses, avenging power Of Tartaros upon the damned, and

Chaos huge Who striv’st to mix innumerable worlds, And Pluto, king of

earth, whose weary soul Grieves at his godhead; Styx; and plains of

bliss840 We may not enter: and thou, Proserpine, Hating thy mother and

the skies above, My patron goddess, last and lowest form 196 Of Hecate

through whom the shades and I Hold silent converse; warder of the gate

Who castest human offal to the dog: Ye sisters who shall spin the

threads again; 197 And thou, O boatman of the burning wave, Now

wearied of the shades from hell to me Returning, hear me if with voice

I cry”

-Lucan, Pharsalia

Apollo

‘It was a blessed delivery when Leto gave birth on the fruitful island

of Delos: (sc. she gave birth to) the golden-haired expert on the

lyre, and her whose pride is in accurate archery. She carried her

offspring from the island in the sea, leaving the famous birthplace,

to Mt. Pamassos’ peak where abundant water flows and which dances to

Dionysos’ tune. There a darkly patterned dragon, scales glinting in

the shade of thick laurel foliage, Earth’s abominable monster, guarded

her oracle. While still a baby, while still in your mother’s arms, you

sprang, Phoibos Apollo, killed the beast, and took control of the

oracle, and now you are seated on the golden tripod, the unerring

throne. There you give prophecies to men from the holy temple by the

spring Kastalia, the hub of earth in your command.”

-Delphic hymn

“Daphne, sacred plant of Apollo’s prophetic gift, whose leaves he

tasted once and revealed (prophetic) songs-sceptre-holding King,

leios, famous Paean, who lives in Kolophon, listen in person to (my)

sacred song. Come quickly o earth frompanies’ theaven and associate

with me; stand by me and breathe into me songs (sc. of prophecy) from

your immortal mouth. Come in at Temperson King of song, famous Lord of

song! Hear me, blessed god of heavy wrath and mighty spirit, hear me,

Titan! Do not ignore my voice now, immortal one! Stand by me and utter

prophecy from your immortal mouth to your supplicant, quickly, most

pure Apollo!”

-Delphic hymn

“Listen, fair-armned daughters of loud-thundering Zeus who received

thickly-wooded Helikon as your lot, come here and sing of your brother

Phoibos of the golden hair, who, together with the well-known Delphic

women comes up Mt. Pamassus’ twin-peaked rock to visit the streams of

the well-supplied Kastalian Spring, up the Delphic slope to occupy his

prophetic seat. Behold the (people of) great and famous Athens who

joyfully reside on the unshakeable plain of the heavily armed

Tritonian! (See how) on holy altars Hephaistos bums the thighs of

young bulls; Arabian incense wafts up to Olympus with the flames! The

reed instrument pipes its piercing strain of trilling notes; the

golden sweet-voiced kithara resounds with hymns. The entire company of

choristers from Athens hymns you, son of mighty Zeus, famed for your

kithara-playing, beside this snow-capped place; you who provide for

all mortals unerring divine prophecies since you took over the

prophetic tripod which the wicked dragon used to guard. Then you

pierced the gleaming serpent coils with your arrows, till the beast,

emitting repeated hideous squeals, gave up the ghost at last. Likewise

the barbarian horde of Gauls who sacrilegiously invaded this land died

in the driving wet snow blizzard.”

-Praise and Persuasion in Greek Hymns, William D. Furley

To the sun

“Father of the dawn with her* snow-white eyelids, you who follow in

your rose-pink chariot the track of your flying steeds, exulting in

the gold of your hair, twining your darting rays across the boundless

vault of sky, whirling around the whole earth the fount of your

all-seeing beams, while flowing rivers of your deathless fire beget

the lovely day. For you the peaceful chorus of stars dance their

measure across Olympos their lord, forever singing their leisured

song, rejoicing in the music of Apollo’s lyre; and leading them the

silvery-gray Moon marshals the months and seasons, drawn by her team

of milk-white heifers. And your benevolent mind rejoices as it whirls

around the manifold raiment of the universe.”

-Mesomedes

Fates

“High-skilled Asklepios (Asclepius); and summon the two Dioskouroi (Dioscuri) and the august Kharites (Charites, Graces) and glorious Mousai (Muses) and kindly Moirai (Moirae, Fates) . . . Greetings, all you immortal gods everlasting and immortal goddesses!”

-Stobaeus, Anthology