Thou art the God who manifests joyfully smiling,
and beautiful beyond all imagining, abounding in all graces,
with horns to drive back every kind of misfortune, thy radiance
so powerful that it transforms a New Moon into a Full Moon;
so I praise thee, O Kind and Gentle One who desires thy devotees
to be always drunk and rapturously enjoying life, glorious lover
of the Goddess Peace, crowned with the flowers of a wet and mild
spring that lasts forever, gathered by the moss-haired Nymphs
who smile approvingly at the clever jests of the Satyrs who gambol
through the wooded coverts of Mount Nysa – thee I honor, O Prince
who roused the Granddaughter of the Sun when she was sunk deep
into a depressed slumber, and thou enticed her back to the land of the living
with kisses and visions of what she would become at thy tenderly cruel hands.
Thee I honor, O great God Dionysos, grandson of the Goddess Harmonia,
with fervent prayers and hymns which our forefathers sang,
thee I offer plentiful sacrifices to at all seasons, and thee I petition
for assistance so that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice
from my head, and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul.
Restrain also the keen fury of my heart which provokes me
to tread the ways of blood-curdling strife. Rather, O Blessed
and Beatific One, grant me boldness to abide within the harmless laws
of Peace, avoiding strife, and hatred, and the violent fiends of death.
Look with favor, O Lord of the laughter which banishes
quarrelsomeness and dejection, not just upon me, but upon all those
who are dear to me; and as for our enemies, may their brains be poured
on the ground just like this wine, so that they never again trouble us.