To Antinous Homo Deus

Blessed are you, Antinous Homo Deus,

deified by the waters of the Nile:

blessed are you, man become god,

one with Osiris, mortal raised to

immortality. Blessed is the mystery

by which human becomes divine,

blessed the holy gods who welcome us

into their company; with Herakles, Semele,

Ariadne you take your place among

the glorious ones. Bid us remember,

O Bithynian boy, the lesson behind

this mystery: That no human becomes

a god without first dying.