The procession of the gods

246e247aSocratesA wing is by nature able to lift what is heavy towards the heights where the gods dwell. Of all things connected with the body it has the greatest share of the divine. The divine is beauty, wisdom, goodness and everything of that kind. These above all nourish and grow the soul’s wings; ugliness, badness and their opposites cause them to waste and perish. Zeus, the great leader in heaven, drives his winged chariot first, ordering and caring for everything. An army of gods and divine beings follows him, arranged in eleven divisions. Hestia alone remains at home among the gods. The others, the ruling gods numbered among the twelve, lead in the order appointed to each.