Homer’s Prayer to the Muse

The man for wisdom’s various arts renown’d,
Long exercised in woes, O Muse! resound;
Who, when his arms had wrought the destined fall
Of sacred Troy, and razed her heaven-built wall,
Wandering from clime to clime, observant stray’d,
Their manners noted, and their states survey’d,
On stormy seas unnumber’d toils he bore,
Safe with his friends to gain his natal shore:
Vain toils! their impious folly dared to prey
On herds devoted to the god of day;
The god vindictive doom’d them never more
(Ah, men unbless’d!) to touch that natal shore.
Oh, snatch some portion of these acts from fate,
Celestial Muse! and to our world relate.

–Editor’s note: The invocation reproduced above is from Alexander Pope’s 1725 public-domain translation of Homer’s Odyssey. Steven Pressfield discusses T. E. Lawrence’s translation in his memoir, Gov’t Cheese.

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I read The Odyssey in high school and then again in college. But it was only recently, after reading Steven Pressfield’s book Gov’t Cheese, that I remembered it. Steven Pressfield’s recollection of how he was introduced to this poem (T.E. Lawrence’s translation), and how he learned about the importance of calling upon the Muse before beginning his work, inspired me to revisit this ancient literary tradition and incorporate it into my own daily writing practice. Except I always replace “Muse” with “Holy Spirit.”

If you’re interested in Pressfield’s thoughts on writing, creativity, and the Muse, I highly recommend Gov’t Cheese.