Hymn to Heracles the lion-hearted

I will sing of Heracles, the son of Zeus and much the
mightiest of men on earth. Alcmena bare him in Thebes, the city of
lovely dances, when the dark-clouded Son of Cronos had lain with her.
Once he used to wander over unmeasured tracts of land and sea at the
bidding of King Eurystheus, and himself did many deeds of violence and
endured many; but now he lives happily in the glorious home of snowy
Olympus, and has neat-ankled Hebe for his wife.

Hail, lord, son of Zeus! Give me success and prosperity.

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Hymn to the Mother of the gods

I prithee, clear-voiced Muse, daughter of mighty Zeus, sing
of the mother of all gods and men. She is well-pleased with the sound
of rattles and of timbrels, with the voice of flutes and the outcry of
wolves and bright-eyed lions, with echoing hills and wooded coombes.

And so hail to you in my song and to all goddesses as well!

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Hymn to Demeter

I begin to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful goddess--of her
and her trim-ankled daughter whom Aidoneus rapt away, given to him by
all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer.

Apart from Demeter, lady of the golden sword and glorious
fruits, she was playing with the deep-bosomed daughters of Oceanus and
gathering flowers over a soft meadow, roses and crocuses and beautiful
violets, irises also and hyacinths and the narcissus, which Earth made
to grow at the will of Zeus and to please the Host of Many, to be a
snare for the bloom-like girl--a marvellous, radiant flower. It was a
thing of awe whether for deathless gods or mortal men to see: from its
root grew a hundred blooms, and it smelled most sweetly, so that all
wide heaven above and the whole earth and the sea's salt swell laughed
for joy. And the girl was amazed and reached out with both hands to take
the lovely toy; but the wide-pathed earth yawned there in the plain of
Nysa, and the lord, Host of Many, with his immortal horses sprang out
upon her--the Son of Cronos, He who has many names [2505].

He caught her up reluctant on his golden car and bare her
away lamenting. Then she cried out shrilly with her voice, calling upon
her father, the Son of Cronos, who is most high and excellent. But no
one, either of the deathless gods or of mortal men, heard her voice,
nor yet the olive-trees bearing rich fruit: only tender-hearted Hecate,
bright-coiffed, the daughter of Persaeus, heard the girl from her cave,
and the lord Helios, Hyperion's bright son, as she cried to her father,
the Son of Cronos. But he was sitting aloof, apart from the gods, in his
temple where many pray, and receiving sweet offerings from mortal men.
So he, that Son of Cronos, of many names, who is Ruler of Many and
Host of Many, was bearing her away by leave of Zeus on his immortal
chariot--his own brother's child and all unwilling.

And so long as she, the goddess, yet beheld earth and starry
heaven and the strong-flowing sea where fishes shoal, and the rays of
the sun, and still hoped to see her dear mother and the tribes of
the eternal gods, so long hope calmed her great heart for all her
trouble ....and the heights of the mountains and the
depths of the sea rang with her immortal voice: and her queenly mother
heard her.

Bitter pain seized her heart, and she rent the covering upon
her divine hair with her dear hands: her dark cloak she cast down from
both her shoulders and sped, like a wild-bird, over the firm land and
yielding sea, seeking her child. But no one would tell her the truth,
neither god nor mortal men; and of the birds of omen none came with true
news for her. Then for nine days queenly Deo wandered over the earth
with flaming torches in her hands, so grieved that she never tasted
ambrosia and the sweet draught of nectar, nor sprinkled her body with
water. But when the tenth enlightening dawn had come, Hecate, with a
torch in her hands, met her, and spoke to her and told her news:

'Queenly Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver of good
gifts, what god of heaven or what mortal man has rapt away Persephone
and pierced with sorrow your dear heart? For I heard her voice, yet
saw not with my eyes who it was. But I tell you truly and shortly all I
know.'

So, then, said Hecate. And the daughter of rich-haired Rhea
answered her not, but sped swiftly with her, holding flaming torches in
her hands. So they came to Helios, who is watchman of both gods and men,
and stood in front of his horses: and the bright goddess enquired of
him: 'Helios, do you at least regard me, goddess as I am, if ever by
word or deed of mine I have cheered your heart and spirit. Through the
fruitless air I heard the thrilling cry of my daughter whom I bare,
sweet scion of my body and lovely in form, as of one seized violently;
though with my eyes I saw nothing. But you--for with your beams you look
down from the bright upper air Over all the earth and sea--tell me truly
of my dear child, if you have seen her anywhere, what god or mortal man
has violently seized her against her will and mine, and so made off.'

So said she. And the Son of Hyperion answered her: 'Queen
Demeter, daughter of rich-haired Rhea, I will tell you the truth; for
I greatly reverence and pity you in your grief for your trim-ankled
daughter. None other of the deathless gods is to blame, but only
cloud-gathering Zeus who gave her to Hades, her father's brother, to be
called his buxom wife. And Hades seized her and took her loudly crying
in his chariot down to his realm of mist and gloom. Yet, goddess, cease
your loud lament and keep not vain anger unrelentingly: Aidoneus, the
Ruler of Many, is no unfitting husband among the deathless gods for
your child, being your own brother and born of the same stock: also, for
honour, he has that third share which he received when division was made
at the first, and is appointed lord of those among whom he dwells.'

So he spake, and called to his horses: and at his chiding
they quickly whirled the swift chariot along, like long-winged birds.

But grief yet more terrible and savage came into the heart
of Demeter, and thereafter she was so angered with the dark-clouded Son
of Cronos that she avoided the gathering of the gods and high Olympus,
and went to the towns and rich fields of men, disfiguring her form a
long while. And no one of men or deep-bosomed women knew her when they
saw her, until she came to the house of wise Celeus who then was lord of
fragrant Eleusis. Vexed in her dear heart, she sat near the wayside by
the Maiden Well, from which the women of the place were used to draw
water, in a shady place over which grew an olive shrub. And she was
like an ancient woman who is cut off from childbearing and the gifts of
garland-loving Aphrodite, like the nurses of king's children who deal
justice, or like the house-keepers in their echoing halls. There the
daughters of Celeus, son of Eleusis, saw her, as they were coming
for easy-drawn water, to carry it in pitchers of bronze to their dear
father's house: four were they and like goddesses in the flower of their
girlhood, Callidice and Cleisidice and lovely Demo and Callithoe who was
the eldest of them all. They knew her not,--for the gods are not easily
discerned by mortals--but standing near by her spoke winged words:

'Old mother, whence and who are you of folk born long ago?
Why are you gone away from the city and do not draw near the houses? For
there in the shady halls are women of just such age as you, and others
younger; and they would welcome you both by word and by deed.'

Thus they said. And she, that queen among goddesses
answered them saying: 'Hail, dear children, whosoever you are of
woman-kind. I will tell you my story; for it is not unseemly that I
should tell you truly what you ask. Doso is my name, for my stately
mother gave it me. And now I am come from Crete over the sea's wide
back,--not willingly; but pirates brought me thence by force of strength
against my liking. Afterwards they put in with their swift craft to
Thoricus, and there the women landed on the shore in full throng and the
men likewise, and they began to make ready a meal by the stern-cables
of the ship. But my heart craved not pleasant food, and I fled secretly
across the dark country and escaped my masters, that they should not
take me unpurchased across the sea, there to win a price for me. And so
I wandered and am come here: and I know not at all what land this is or
what people are in it. But may all those who dwell on Olympus give you
husbands and birth of children as parents desire, so you take pity on
me, maidens, and show me this clearly that I may learn, dear children,
to the house of what man and woman I may go, to work for them cheerfully
at such tasks as belong to a woman of my age. Well could I nurse a new
born child, holding him in my arms, or keep house, or spread my masters'
bed in a recess of the well-built chamber, or teach the women their
work.'

So said the goddess. And straightway the unwed maiden
Callidice, goodliest in form of the daughters of Celeus, answered her
and said:

'Mother, what the gods send us, we mortals bear perforce,
although we suffer; for they are much stronger than we. But now I will
teach you clearly, telling you the names of men who have great power and
honour here and are chief among the people, guarding our city's coif of
towers by their wisdom and true judgements: there is wise Triptolemus
and Dioclus and Polyxeinus and blameless Eumolpus and Dolichus and our
own brave father. All these have wives who manage in the house, and no
one of them, so soon as she has seen you, would dishonour you and
turn you from the house, but they will welcome you; for indeed you are
godlike. But if you will, stay here; and we will go to our father's
house and tell Metaneira, our deep-bosomed mother, all this matter
fully, that she may bid you rather come to our home than search after
the houses of others. She has an only son, late-born, who is being
nursed in our well-built house, a child of many prayers and welcome: if
you could bring him up until he reached the full measure of youth, any
one of womankind who should see you would straightway envy you, such
gifts would our mother give for his upbringing.'

So she spake: and the goddess bowed her head in assent.
And they filled their shining vessels with water and carried them
off rejoicing. Quickly they came to their father's great house and
straightway told their mother according as they had heard and seen. Then
she bade them go with all speed and invite the stranger to come for a
measureless hire. As hinds or heifers in spring time, when sated with
pasture, bound about a meadow, so they, holding up the folds of their
lovely garments, darted down the hollow path, and their hair like a
crocus flower streamed about their shoulders. And they found the good
goddess near the wayside where they had left her before, and led her to
the house of their dear father. And she walked behind, distressed in her
dear heart, with her head veiled and wearing a dark cloak which waved
about the slender feet of the goddess.

Soon they came to the house of heaven-nurtured Celeus and
went through the portico to where their queenly mother sat by a pillar
of the close-fitted roof, holding her son, a tender scion, in her bosom.
And the girls ran to her. But the goddess walked to the threshold: and
her head reached the roof and she filled the doorway with a heavenly
radiance. Then awe and reverence and pale fear took hold of Metaneira,
and she rose up from her couch before Demeter, and bade her be seated.
But Demeter, bringer of seasons and giver of perfect gifts, would not
sit upon the bright couch, but stayed silent with lovely eyes cast down
until careful Iambe placed a jointed seat for her and threw over it a
silvery fleece. Then she sat down and held her veil in her hands before
her face. A long time she sat upon the stool without speaking
because of her sorrow, and greeted no one by word or by sign, but
rested, never smiling, and tasting neither food nor drink, because
she pined with longing for her deep-bosomed daughter, until careful
Iambe--who pleased her moods in aftertime also--moved the holy lady
with many a quip and jest to smile and laugh and cheer her heart. Then
Metaneira filled a cup with sweet wine and offered it to her; but she
refused it, for she said it was not lawful for her to drink red wine,
but bade them mix meal and water with soft mint and give her to drink.
And Metaneira mixed the draught and gave it to the goddess as she bade.
So the great queen Deo received it to observe the sacrament....


And of them all, well-girded Metaneira first began to
speak: 'Hail, lady! For I think you are not meanly but nobly born; truly
dignity and grace are conspicuous upon your eyes as in the eyes of kings
that deal justice. Yet we mortals bear perforce what the gods send us,
though we be grieved; for a yoke is set upon our necks. But now, since
you are come here, you shall have what I can bestow: and nurse me this
child whom the gods gave me in my old age and beyond my hope, a son much
prayed for. If you should bring him up until he reach the full measure
of youth, any one of womankind that sees you will straightway envy you,
so great reward would I give for his upbringing.'

Then rich-haired Demeter answered her: 'And to you, also,
lady, all hail, and may the gods give you good! Gladly will I take the
boy to my breast, as you bid me, and will nurse him. Never, I ween,
through any heedlessness of his nurse shall witchcraft hurt him nor
yet the Undercutter: for I know a charm far stronger than
the Woodcutter, and I know an excellent safeguard against woeful
witchcraft.'

When she had so spoken, she took the child in her fragrant
bosom with her divine hands: and his mother was glad in her heart. So
the goddess nursed in the palace Demophoon, wise Celeus' goodly son whom
well-girded Metaneira bare. And the child grew like some immortal being,
not fed with food nor nourished at the breast: for by day rich-crowned
Demeter would anoint him with ambrosia as if he were the offspring of
a god and breathe sweetly upon him as she held him in her bosom. But at
night she would hide him like a brand in the heart of the fire, unknown
to his dear parents. And it wrought great wonder in these that he grew
beyond his age; for he was like the gods face to face. And she would
have made him deathless and unageing, had not well-girded Metaneira in
her heedlessness kept watch by night from her sweet-smelling chamber and
spied. But she wailed and smote her two hips, because she feared for her
son and was greatly distraught in her heart; so she lamented and uttered
winged words:

'Demophoon, my son, the strange woman buries you deep in
fire and works grief and bitter sorrow for me.'

Thus she spoke, mourning. And the bright goddess,
lovely-crowned Demeter, heard her, and was wroth with her. So with her
divine hands she snatched from the fire the dear son whom Metaneira had
born unhoped-for in the palace, and cast him from her to the ground; for
she was terribly angry in her heart. Forthwith she said to well-girded
Metaneira:

'Witless are you mortals and dull to foresee your
lot, whether of good or evil, that comes upon you. For now in your
heedlessness you have wrought folly past healing; for--be witness the
oath of the gods, the relentless water of Styx--I would have made your
dear son deathless and unageing all his days and would have bestowed on
him everlasting honour, but now he can in no way escape death and the
fates. Yet shall unfailing honour always rest upon him, because he lay
upon my knees and slept in my arms. But, as the years move round and
when he is in his prime, the sons of the Eleusinians shall ever wage war
and dread strife with one another continually. Lo! I am that Demeter
who has share of honour and is the greatest help and cause of joy to
the undying gods and mortal men. But now, let all the people build me
a great temple and an altar below it and beneath the city and its sheer
wall upon a rising hillock above Callichorus. And I myself will teach
my rites, that hereafter you may reverently perform them and so win the
favour of my heart.'

When she had so said, the goddess changed her stature and
her looks, thrusting old age away from her: beauty spread round about
her and a lovely fragrance was wafted from her sweet-smelling robes,
and from the divine body of the goddess a light shone afar, while golden
tresses spread down over her shoulders, so that the strong house was
filled with brightness as with lightning. And so she went out from the
palace.

And straightway Metaneira's knees were loosed and she
remained speechless for a long while and did not remember to take up her
late-born son from the ground. But his sisters heard his pitiful wailing
and sprang down from their well-spread beds: one of them took up the
child in her arms and laid him in her bosom, while another revived the
fire, and a third rushed with soft feet to bring their mother from
her fragrant chamber. And they gathered about the struggling child and
washed him, embracing him lovingly; but he was not comforted, because
nurses and handmaids much less skilful were holding him now.

All night long they sought to appease the glorious
goddess, quaking with fear. But, as soon as dawn began to show, they
told powerful Celeus all things without fail, as the lovely-crowned
goddess Demeter charged them. So Celeus called the countless people to
an assembly and bade them make a goodly temple for rich-haired Demeter
and an altar upon the rising hillock. And they obeyed him right speedily
and harkened to his voice, doing as he commanded. As for the child, he
grew like an immortal being.

Now when they had finished building and had drawn back
from their toil, they went every man to his house. But golden-haired
Demeter sat there apart from all the blessed gods and stayed, wasting
with yearning for her deep-bosomed daughter. Then she caused a most
dreadful and cruel year for mankind over the all-nourishing earth: the
ground would not make the seed sprout, for rich-crowned Demeter kept it
hid. In the fields the oxen drew many a curved plough in vain, and much
white barley was cast upon the land without avail. So she would have
destroyed the whole race of man with cruel famine and have robbed them
who dwell on Olympus of their glorious right of gifts and sacrifices,
had not Zeus perceived and marked this in his heart. First he sent
golden-winged Iris to call rich-haired Demeter, lovely in form. So he
commanded. And she obeyed the dark-clouded Son of Cronos, and sped
with swift feet across the space between. She came to the stronghold of
fragrant Eleusis, and there finding dark-cloaked Demeter in her temple,
spake to her and uttered winged words:

'Demeter, father Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, calls
you to come join the tribes of the eternal gods: come therefore, and let
not the message I bring from Zeus pass unobeyed.'

Thus said Iris imploring her. But Demeter's heart was not
moved. Then again the father sent forth all the blessed and eternal gods
besides: and they came, one after the other, and kept calling her and
offering many very beautiful gifts and whatever right she might be
pleased to choose among the deathless gods. Yet no one was able to
persuade her mind and will, so wrath was she in her heart; but she
stubbornly rejected all their words: for she vowed that she would never
set foot on fragrant Olympus nor let fruit spring out of the ground,
until she beheld with her eyes her own fair-faced daughter.

Now when all-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer heard this, he
sent the Slayer of Argus whose wand is of gold to Erebus, so that having
won over Hades with soft words, he might lead forth chaste Persephone
to the light from the misty gloom to join the gods, and that her mother
might see her with her eyes and cease from her anger. And Hermes obeyed,
and leaving the house of Olympus, straightway sprang down with speed to
the hidden places of the earth. And he found the lord Hades in his house
seated upon a couch, and his shy mate with him, much reluctant, because
she yearned for her mother. But she was afar off, brooding on her fell
design because of the deeds of the blessed gods. And the strong Slayer
of Argus drew near and said:

'Dark-haired Hades, ruler over the departed, father Zeus
bids me bring noble Persephone forth from Erebus unto the gods, that her
mother may see her with her eyes and cease from her dread anger with the
immortals; for now she plans an awful deed, to destroy the weakly tribes
of earthborn men by keeping seed hidden beneath the earth, and so she
makes an end of the honours of the undying gods. For she keeps fearful
anger and does not consort with the gods, but sits aloof in her fragrant
temple, dwelling in the rocky hold of Eleusis.'

So he said. And Aidoneus, ruler over the dead, smiled
grimly and obeyed the behest of Zeus the king. For he straightway urged
wise Persephone, saying:

'Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and
feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down;
for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods,
that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall
rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among
the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power
with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall
be punished for evermore.'

When he said this, wise Persephone was filled with joy
and hastily sprang up for gladness. But he on his part secretly gave her
sweet pomegranate seed to eat, taking care for himself that she might
not remain continually with grave, dark-robed Demeter. Then Aidoneus the
Ruler of Many openly got ready his deathless horses beneath the golden
chariot. And she mounted on the chariot, and the strong Slayer of Argos
took reins and whip in his dear hands and drove forth from the hall, the
horses speeding readily. Swiftly they traversed their long course, and
neither the sea nor river-waters nor grassy glens nor mountain-peaks
checked the career of the immortal horses, but they clave the deep air
above them as they went. And Hermes brought them to the place where
rich-crowned Demeter was staying and checked them before her fragrant
temple.

And when Demeter saw them, she rushed forth as does a
Maenad down some thick-wooded mountain, while Persephone on the other
side, when she saw her mother's sweet eyes, left the chariot and horses,
and leaped down to run to her, and falling upon her neck, embraced her.
But while Demeter was still holding her dear child in her arms, her
heart suddenly misgave her for some snare, so that she feared greatly
and ceased fondling her daughter and asked of her at once: 'My child,
tell me, surely you have not tasted any food while you were below? Speak
out and hide nothing, but let us both know. For if you have not, you
shall come back from loathly Hades and live with me and your father, the
dark-clouded Son of Cronos and be honoured by all the deathless gods;
but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret
places of the earth, there to dwell a third part of the seasons every
year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me and the other deathless
gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring
in every kind, then from the realm of darkness and gloom thou shalt come
up once more to be a wonder for gods and mortal men. And now tell me how
he rapt you away to the realm of darkness and gloom, and by what trick
did the strong Host of Many beguile you?'

Then beautiful Persephone answered her thus: 'Mother, I
will tell you all without error. When luck-bringing Hermes came, swift
messenger from my father the Son of Cronos and the other Sons of Heaven,
bidding me come back from Erebus that you might see me with your eyes
and so cease from your anger and fearful wrath against the gods, I
sprang up at once for joy; but he secretly put in my mouth sweet food,
a pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my will. Also I will
tell how he rapt me away by the deep plan of my father the Son of Cronos
and carried me off beneath the depths of the earth, and will relate
the whole matter as you ask. All we were playing in a lovely meadow,
Leucippe and Phaeno and Electra and Ianthe, Melita also and Iache
with Rhodea and Callirhoe and Melobosis and Tyche and Ocyrhoe, fair as
a flower, Chryseis, Ianeira, Acaste and Admete and Rhodope and Pluto
and charming Calypso; Styx too was there and Urania and lovely Galaxaura
with Pallas who rouses battles and Artemis delighting in arrows: we were
playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled
with irises and hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to
see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as
a crocus. That I plucked in my joy; but the earth parted beneath, and
there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden
chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth: then I cried
with a shrill cry. All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell
the tale.'

So did they turn, with hearts at one, greatly cheer each
the other's soul and spirit with many an embrace: their heart had relief
from their griefs while each took and gave back joyousness.

Then bright-coiffed Hecate came near to them, and often
did she embrace the daughter of holy Demeter: and from that time the
lady Hecate was minister and companion to Persephone.

And all-seeing Zeus sent a messenger to them, rich-haired
Rhea, to bring dark-cloaked Demeter to join the families of the gods:
and he promised to give her what right she should choose among the
deathless gods and agreed that her daughter should go down for the third
part of the circling year to darkness and gloom, but for the two parts
should live with her mother and the other deathless gods. Thus he
commanded. And the goddess did not disobey the message of Zeus; swiftly
she rushed down from the peaks of Olympus and came to the plain of
Rharus, rich, fertile corn-land once, but then in nowise fruitful, for
it lay idle and utterly leafless, because the white grain was hidden by
design of trim-ankled Demeter. But afterwards, as springtime waxed, it
was soon to be waving with long ears of corn, and its rich furrows to be
loaded with grain upon the ground, while others would already be bound
in sheaves. There first she landed from the fruitless upper air: and
glad were the goddesses to see each other and cheered in heart. Then
bright-coiffed Rhea said to Demeter:

'Come, my daughter; for far-seeing Zeus the loud-thunderer
calls you to join the families of the gods, and has promised to give you
what rights you please among the deathless gods, and has agreed that
for a third part of the circling year your daughter shall go down to
darkness and gloom, but for the two parts shall be with you and the
other deathless gods: so has he declared it shall be and has bowed
his head in token. But come, my child, obey, and be not too angry
unrelentingly with the dark-clouded Son of Cronos; but rather increase
forthwith for men the fruit that gives them life.'

So spake Rhea. And rich-crowned Demeter did not refuse
but straightway made fruit to spring up from the rich lands, so that the
whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers. Then she went,
and to the kings who deal justice, Triptolemus and Diocles, the
horse-driver, and to doughty Eumolpus and Celeus, leader of the people,
she showed the conduct of her rites and taught them all her mysteries,
to Triptolemus and Polyxeinus and Diocles also,--awful mysteries which
no one may in any way transgress or pry into or utter, for deep awe of
the gods checks the voice. Happy is he among men upon earth who has seen
these mysteries; but he who is uninitiate and who has no part in them,
never has lot of like good things once he is dead, down in the darkness
and gloom.

But when the bright goddess had taught them all, they
went to Olympus to the gathering of the other gods. And there they dwell
beside Zeus who delights in thunder, awful and reverend goddesses. Right
blessed is he among men on earth whom they freely love: soon they do
send Plutus as guest to his great house, Plutus who gives wealth to
mortal men.

And now, queen of the land of sweet Eleusis and sea-girt
Paros and rocky Antron, lady, giver of good gifts, bringer of seasons,
queen Deo, be gracious, you and your daughter all beauteous Persephone,
and for my song grant me heart-cheering substance. And now I will
remember you and another song also.

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Hymn to Aphrodite

Of Cytherea, born in Cyprus, I will sing. She gives kindly
gifts to men: smiles are ever on her lovely face, and lovely is the
brightness that plays over it.

Hail, goddess, queen of well-built Salamis and sea-girt
Cyprus; grant me a cheerful song. And now I will remember you and
another song also.

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Hymn to Hera

I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bare. Queen of the
immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty: she is the sister and the
wife of loud-thundering Zeus,--the glorious one whom all the blessed
throughout high Olympus reverence and honour even as Zeus who delights
in thunder.

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Hymn to Athena

Of Pallas Athene, guardian of the city, I begin to sing. Dread
is she, and with Ares she loves deeds of war, the sack of cities and the
shouting and the battle. It is she who saves the people as they go out
to war and come back.

Hail, goddess, and give us good fortune with happiness!

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Hymn to Artemis

Muse, sing of Artemis, sister of the Far-shooter, the virgin
who delights in arrows, who was fostered with Apollo. She waters her
horses from Meles deep in reeds, and swiftly drives her all-golden
chariot through Smyrna to vine-clad Claros where Apollo, god of the
silver bow, sits waiting for the far-shooting goddess who delights in
arrows.

And so hail to you, Artemis, in my song and to all goddesses
as well. Of you first I sing and with you I begin; now that I have begun
with you, I will turn to another song.

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Hymn to Ares

Ares, exceeding in strength, chariot-rider, golden-helmed,
doughty in heart, shield-bearer, Saviour of cities, harnessed in bronze,
strong of arm, unwearying, mighty with the spear, O defence of Olympus,
father of warlike Victory, ally of Themis, stern governor of the
rebellious, leader of righteous men, sceptred King of manliness, who
whirl your fiery sphere among the planets in their sevenfold courses
through the aether wherein your blazing steeds ever bear you above the
third firmament of heaven; hear me, helper of men, giver of dauntless
youth! Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of
war, 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 one, give you me boldness to abide within
the harmless laws of peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent
fiends of death.

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Hymn to Dionysus

I will tell of Dionysus, the son of glorious Semele, how
he appeared on a jutting headland by the shore of the fruitless sea,
seeming like a stripling in the first flush of manhood: his rich, dark
hair was waving about him, and on his strong shoulders he wore a purple
robe. Presently there came swiftly over the sparkling sea Tyrsenian
pirates on a well-decked ship--a miserable doom led them on. When
they saw him they made signs to one another and sprang out quickly, and
seizing him straightway, put him on board their ship exultingly; for
they thought him the son of heaven-nurtured kings. They sought to bind
him with rude bonds, but the bonds would not hold him, and the withes
fell far away from his hands and feet: and he sat with a smile in his
dark eyes. Then the helmsman understood all and cried out at once to his
fellows and said:

'Madmen! What god is this whom you have taken and bind,
strong that he is? Not even the well-built ship can carry him. Surely
this is either Zeus or Apollo who has the silver bow, or Poseidon, for
he looks not like mortal men but like the gods who dwell on Olympus.
Come, then, let us set him free upon the dark shore at once: do not lay
hands on him, lest he grow angry and stir up dangerous winds and heavy
squalls.'

So said he: but the master chid him with taunting words:
'Madman, mark the wind and help hoist sail on the ship: catch all the
sheets. As for this fellow we men will see to him: I reckon he is bound
for Egypt or for Cyprus or to the Hyperboreans or further still. But in
the end he will speak out and tell us his friends and all his wealth and
his brothers, now that providence has thrown him in our way.'

When he had said this, he had mast and sail hoisted on the
ship, and the wind filled the sail and the crew hauled taut the sheets
on either side. But soon strange things were seen among them. First of
all sweet, fragrant wine ran streaming throughout all the black ship
and a heavenly smell arose, so that all the seamen were seized with
amazement when they saw it. And all at once a vine spread out both ways
along the top of the sail with many clusters hanging down from it, and a
dark ivy-plant twined about the mast, blossoming with flowers, and with
rich berries growing on it; and all the thole-pins were covered with
garlands. When the pirates saw all this, then at last they bade the
helmsman to put the ship to land. But the god changed into a dreadful
lion there on the ship, in the bows, and roared loudly: amidships also
he showed his wonders and created a shaggy bear which stood up ravening,
while on the forepeak was the lion glaring fiercely with scowling brows.
And so the sailors fled into the stern and crowded bemused about the
right-minded helmsman, until suddenly the lion sprang upon the master
and seized him; and when the sailors saw it they leapt out overboard one
and all into the bright sea, escaping from a miserable fate, and were
changed into dolphins. But on the helmsman Dionysus had mercy and held
him back and made him altogether happy, saying to him:

'Take courage, good...; you have found favour with my heart.
I am loud-crying Dionysus whom Cadmus' daughter Semele bare of union
with Zeus.'

Hail, child of fair-faced Semele! He who forgets you can in
no wise order sweet song.

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Hymn to Aphrodite

I will sing of stately Aphrodite, gold-crowned and beautiful,
whose dominion is the walled cities of all sea-set Cyprus. There the
moist breath of the western wind wafted her over the waves of the
loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Hours
welcomed her joyously. They clothed her with heavenly garments: on her
head they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in her pierced
ears they hung ornaments of orichalc and precious gold, and adorned her
with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts, jewels
which the gold-filleted Hours wear themselves whenever they go to their
father's house to join the lovely dances of the gods. And when they had
fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when
they saw her, giving her their hands. Each one of them prayed that he
might lead her home to be his wedded wife, so greatly were they amazed
at the beauty of violet-crowned Cytherea.

Hail, sweetly-winning, coy-eyed goddess! Grant that I may
gain the victory in this contest, and order you my song. And now I will
remember you and another song also.

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Hymn to Aphrodite

Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cyprian, who
stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men
and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry
land rears, and all the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned
Cytherea.

Yet there are three hearts that she cannot bend nor yet
ensnare. First is the daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis, bright-eyed
Athene; for she has no pleasure in the deeds of golden Aphrodite, but
delights in wars and in the work of Ares, in strifes and battles and
in preparing famous crafts. She first taught earthly craftsmen to make
chariots of war and cars variously wrought with bronze, and she, too,
teaches tender maidens in the house and puts knowledge of goodly arts
in each one's mind. Nor does laughter-loving Aphrodite ever tame in love
Artemis, the huntress with shafts of gold; for she loves archery and the
slaying of wild beasts in the mountains, the lyre also and dancing and
thrilling cries and shady woods and the cities of upright men. Nor
yet does the pure maiden Hestia love Aphrodite's works. She was the
first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by will of
Zeus who holds the aegis,--a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo
sought to wed. But she was wholly unwilling, nay, stubbornly refused;
and touching the head of father Zeus who holds the aegis, she, that fair
goddess, sware a great oath which has in truth been fulfilled, that
she would be a maiden all her days. So Zeus the Father gave her an high
honour instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the
house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she
has a share of honour, and among all mortal men she is chief of the
goddesses.

Of these three Aphrodite cannot bend or ensnare the hearts.
But of all others there is nothing among the blessed gods or among
mortal men that has escaped Aphrodite. Even the heart of Zeus, who
delights in thunder, is led astray by her; though he is greatest of all
and has the lot of highest majesty, she beguiles even his wise heart
whensoever she pleases, and mates him with mortal women, unknown to
Hera, his sister and his wife, the grandest far in beauty among the
deathless goddesses--most glorious is she whom wily Cronos with her
mother Rhea did beget: and Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, made her
his chaste and careful wife.

But upon Aphrodite herself Zeus cast sweet desire to be
joined in love with a mortal man, to the end that, very soon, not
even she should be innocent of a mortal's love; lest laughter-loving
Aphrodite should one day softly smile and say mockingly among all the
gods that she had joined the gods in love with mortal women who bare
sons of death to the deathless gods, and had mated the goddesses with
mortal men.

And so he put in her heart sweet desire for Anchises who
was tending cattle at that time among the steep hills of many-fountained
Ida, and in shape was like the immortal gods. Therefore, when
laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him, she loved him, and terribly desire
seized her in her heart. She went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where her
precinct is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-smelling
temple. There she went in and put to the glittering doors, and there the
Graces bathed her with heavenly oil such as blooms upon the bodies of
the eternal gods--oil divinely sweet, which she had by her, filled with
fragrance. And laughter-loving Aphrodite put on all her rich clothes,
and when she had decked herself with gold, she left sweet-smelling
Cyprus and went in haste towards Troy, swiftly travelling high up among
the clouds. So she came to many-fountained Ida, the mother of wild
creatures and went straight to the homestead across the mountains. After
her came grey wolves, fawning on her, and grim-eyed lions, and bears,
and fleet leopards, ravenous for deer: and she was glad in heart to
see them, and put desire in their breasts, so that they all mated, two
together, about the shadowy coombes.

But she herself came to the neat-built shelters, and
him she found left quite alone in the homestead--the hero Anchises who
was comely as the gods. All the others were following the herds over the
grassy pastures, and he, left quite alone in the homestead, was roaming
hither and thither and playing thrillingly upon the lyre. And Aphrodite,
the daughter of Zeus stood before him, being like a pure maiden in
height and mien, that he should not be frightened when he took heed of
her with his eyes. Now when Anchises saw her, he marked her well and
wondered at her mien and height and shining garments. For she was clad
in a robe out-shining the brightness of fire, a splendid robe of gold,
enriched with all manner of needlework, which shimmered like the moon
over her tender breasts, a marvel to see.

Also she wore twisted brooches and shining earrings in the form of
flowers; and round her soft throat were lovely necklaces.

And Anchises was seized with love, and said to her: 'Hail,
lady, whoever of the blessed ones you are that are come to this house,
whether Artemis, or Leto, or golden Aphrodite, or high-born Themis, or
bright-eyed Athene. Or, maybe, you are one of the Graces come hither,
who bear the gods company and are called immortal, or else one of those
who inhabit this lovely mountain and the springs of rivers and grassy
meads. I will make you an altar upon a high peak in a far seen place,
and will sacrifice rich offerings to you at all seasons. And do you feel
kindly towards me and grant that I may become a man very eminent among
the Trojans, and give me strong offspring for the time to come. As for
my own self, let me live long and happily, seeing the light of the
sun, and come to the threshold of old age, a man prosperous among the
people.'

Thereupon Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him:
'Anchises, most glorious of all men born on earth, know that I am no
goddess: why do you liken me to the deathless ones? Nay, I am but a
mortal, and a woman was the mother that bare me. Otreus of famous name
is my father, if so be you have heard of him, and he reigns over all
Phrygia rich in fortresses. But I know your speech well beside my own,
for a Trojan nurse brought me up at home: she took me from my dear
mother and reared me thenceforth when I was a little child. So comes
it, then, that I well know your tongue also. And now the Slayer of
Argus with the golden wand has caught me up from the dance of huntress
Artemis, her with the golden arrows. For there were many of us, nymphs
and marriageable maidens, playing together; and an innumerable
company encircled us: from these the Slayer of Argus with the golden
wand rapt me away. He carried me over many fields of mortal men and
over much land untilled and unpossessed, where savage wild-beasts
roam through shady coombes, until I thought never again to touch the
life-giving earth with my feet. And he said that I should be called the
wedded wife of Anchises, and should bear you goodly children. But when
he had told and advised me, he, the strong Slayer of Argos, went back
to the families of the deathless gods, while I am now come to you: for
unbending necessity is upon me. But I beseech you by Zeus and by your
noble parents--for no base folk could get such a son as you--take me
now, stainless and unproved in love, and show me to your father and
careful mother and to your brothers sprung from the same stock. I shall
be no ill-liking daughter for them, but a likely. Moreover, send a
messenger quickly to the swift-horsed Phrygians, to tell my father and
my sorrowing mother; and they will send you gold in plenty and woven
stuffs, many splendid gifts; take these as bride-piece. So do, and then
prepare the sweet marriage that is honourable in the eyes of men and
deathless gods.'

When she had so spoken, the goddess put sweet desire in
his heart. And Anchises was seized with love, so that he opened his
mouth and said:

'If you are a mortal and a woman was the mother who bare
you, and Otreus of famous name is your father as you say, and if you are
come here by the will of Hermes the immortal Guide, and are to be called
my wife always, then neither god nor mortal man shall here restrain
me till I have lain with you in love right now; no, not even if
far-shooting Apollo himself should launch grievous shafts from his
silver bow. Willingly would I go down into the house of Hades, O lady,
beautiful as the goddesses, once I had gone up to your bed.'

So speaking, he caught her by the hand. And
laughter-loving Aphrodite, with face turned away and lovely eyes
downcast, crept to the well-spread couch which was already laid
with soft coverings for the hero; and upon it lay skins of bears and
deep-roaring lions which he himself had slain in the high mountains. And
when they had gone up upon the well-fitted bed, first Anchises took
off her bright jewelry of pins and twisted brooches and earrings and
necklaces, and loosed her girdle and stripped off her bright garments
and laid them down upon a silver-studded seat. Then by the will of the
gods and destiny he lay with her, a mortal man with an immortal goddess,
not clearly knowing what he did.

But at the time when the herdsmen drive their oxen and
hardy sheep back to the fold from the flowery pastures, even then
Aphrodite poured soft sleep upon Anchises, but herself put on her rich
raiment. And when the bright goddess had fully clothed herself, she
stood by the couch, and her head reached to the well-hewn roof-tree;
from her cheeks shone unearthly beauty such as belongs to rich-crowned
Cytherea. Then she aroused him from sleep and opened her mouth and said:

'Up, son of Dardanus!--why sleep you so heavily?--and
consider whether I look as I did when first you saw me with your eyes.'

So she spake. And he awoke in a moment and obeyed her.
But when he saw the neck and lovely eyes of Aphrodite, he was afraid
and turned his eyes aside another way, hiding his comely face with his
cloak. Then he uttered winged words and entreated her:

'So soon as ever I saw you with my eyes, goddess, I knew
that you were divine; but you did not tell me truly. Yet by Zeus who
holds the aegis I beseech you, leave me not to lead a palsied life among
men, but have pity on me; for he who lies with a deathless goddess is no
hale man afterwards.'

Then Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him:
'Anchises, most glorious of mortal men, take courage and be not too
fearful in your heart. You need fear no harm from me nor from the other
blessed ones, for you are dear to the gods: and you shall have a dear
son who shall reign among the Trojans, and children's children after
him, springing up continually. His name shall be Aeneas, because
I felt awful grief in that I laid me in the bed of mortal man: yet are
those of your race always the most like to gods of all mortal men in
beauty and in stature.

'Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes
because of his beauty, to be amongst the Deathless Ones and pour drink
for the gods in the house of Zeus--a wonder to see--honoured by all the
immortals as he draws the red nectar from the golden bowl. But grief
that could not be soothed filled the heart of Tros; for he knew not
whither the heaven-sent whirlwind had caught up his dear son, so that
he mourned him always, unceasingly, until Zeus pitied him and gave him
high-stepping horses such as carry the immortals as recompense for his
son. These he gave him as a gift. And at the command of Zeus, the Guide,
the slayer of Argus, told him all, and how his son would be deathless
and unageing, even as the gods. So when Tros heard these tidings from
Zeus, he no longer kept mourning but rejoiced in his heart and rode
joyfully with his storm-footed horses.

'So also golden-throned Eos rapt away Tithonus who was
of your race and like the deathless gods. And she went to ask the
dark-clouded Son of Cronos that he should be deathless and live
eternally; and Zeus bowed his head to her prayer and fulfilled her
desire. Too simply was queenly Eos: she thought not in her heart to ask
youth for him and to strip him of the slough of deadly age. So while
he enjoyed the sweet flower of life he lived rapturously with
golden-throned Eos, the early-born, by the streams of Ocean, at the ends
of the earth; but when the first grey hairs began to ripple from his
comely head and noble chin, queenly Eos kept away from his bed, though
she cherished him in her house and nourished him with food and ambrosia
and gave him rich clothing. But when loathsome old age pressed full upon
him, and he could not move nor lift his limbs, this seemed to her in her
heart the best counsel: she laid him in a room and put to the shining
doors. There he babbles endlessly, and no more has strength at all, such
as once he had in his supple limbs.

'I would not have you be deathless among the deathless
gods and live continually after such sort. Yet if you could live on such
as now you are in look and in form, and be called my husband, sorrow
would not then enfold my careful heart. But, as it is, harsh old
age will soon enshroud you--ruthless age which stands someday at the
side of every man, deadly, wearying, dreaded even by the gods.

'And now because of you I shall have great shame among
the deathless gods henceforth, continually. For until now they feared my
jibes and the wiles by which, or soon or late, I mated all the immortals
with mortal women, making them all subject to my will. But now my mouth
shall no more have this power among the gods; for very great has been my
madness, my miserable and dreadful madness, and I went astray out of
my mind who have gotten a child beneath my girdle, mating with a mortal
man. As for the child, as soon as he sees the light of the sun, the
deep-breasted mountain Nymphs who inhabit this great and holy mountain
shall bring him up. They rank neither with mortals nor with immortals:
long indeed do they live, eating heavenly food and treading the lovely
dance among the immortals, and with them the Sileni and the sharp-eyed
Slayer of Argus mate in the depths of pleasant caves; but at their birth
pines or high-topped oaks spring up with them upon the fruitful earth,
beautiful, flourishing trees, towering high upon the lofty mountains
(and men call them holy places of the immortals, and never mortal lops
them with the axe); but when the fate of death is near at hand, first
those lovely trees wither where they stand, and the bark shrivels away
about them, and the twigs fall down, and at last the life of the Nymph
and of the tree leave the light of the sun together. These Nymphs shall
keep my son with them and rear him, and as soon as he is come to lovely
boyhood, the goddesses will bring him here to you and show you your
child. But, that I may tell you all that I have in mind, I will come
here again towards the fifth year and bring you my son. So soon as ever
you have seen him--a scion to delight the eyes--you will rejoice in
beholding him; for he shall be most godlike: then bring him at once to
windy Ilion. And if any mortal man ask you who got your dear son beneath
her girdle, remember to tell him as I bid you: say he is the offspring
of one of the flower-like Nymphs who inhabit this forest-clad hill.
But if you tell all and foolishly boast that you lay with rich-crowned
Aphrodite, Zeus will smite you in his anger with a smoking thunderbolt.
Now I have told you all. Take heed: refrain and name me not, but have
regard to the anger of the gods.'

When the goddess had so spoken, she soared up to windy heaven.

Hail, goddess, queen of well-builded Cyprus! With you have
I begun; now I will turn me to another hymn.

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Hymn to Hermes

Muse, sing of Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia, lord of
Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, the luck-bringing messenger of the
immortals whom Maia bare, the rich-tressed nymph, when she was joined
in love with Zeus,--a shy goddess, for she avoided the company of the
blessed gods, and lived within a deep, shady cave. There the son of
Cronos used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph, unseen by deathless
gods and mortal men, at dead of night while sweet sleep should hold
white-armed Hera fast. And when the purpose of great Zeus was fixed in
heaven, she was delivered and a notable thing was come to pass. For
then she bare a son, of many shifts, blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle
driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates,
one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods.
Born with the dawning, at mid-day he played on the lyre, and in the
evening he stole the cattle of far-shooting Apollo on the fourth day
of the month; for on that day queenly Maia bare him. So soon as he had
leaped from his mother's heavenly womb, he lay not long waiting in his
holy cradle, but he sprang up and sought the oxen of Apollo. But as he
stepped over the threshold of the high-roofed cave, he found a tortoise
there and gained endless delight. For it was Hermes who first made the
tortoise a singer. The creature fell in his way at the courtyard gate,
where it was feeding on the rich grass before the dwelling, waddling
along. When he saw it, the luck-bringing son of Zeus laughed and said:

'An omen of great luck for me so soon! I do not slight it.
Hail, comrade of the feast, lovely in shape, sounding at the dance! With
joy I meet you! Where got you that rich gaud for covering, that spangled
shell--a tortoise living in the mountains? But I will take and carry you
within: you shall help me and I will do you no disgrace, though first of
all you must profit me. It is better to be at home: harm may come out
of doors. Living, you shall be a spell against mischievous witchcraft;
but if you die, then you shall make sweetest song.

Thus speaking, he took up the tortoise in both hands and
went back into the house carrying his charming toy. Then he cut off its
limbs and scooped out the marrow of the mountain-tortoise with a scoop
of grey iron. As a swift thought darts through the heart of a man when
thronging cares haunt him, or as bright glances flash from the eye, so
glorious Hermes planned both thought and deed at once. He cut stalks of
reed to measure and fixed them, fastening their ends across the back and
through the shell of the tortoise, and then stretched ox hide all over
it by his skill. Also he put in the horns and fitted a cross-piece upon
the two of them, and stretched seven strings of sheep-gut. But when he
had made it he proved each string in turn with the key, as he held the
lovely thing. At the touch of his hand it sounded marvellously; and, as
he tried it, the god sang sweet random snatches, even as youths bandy
taunts at festivals. He sang of Zeus the son of Cronos and neat-shod
Maia, the converse which they had before in the comradeship of love,
telling all the glorious tale of his own begetting. He celebrated, too,
the handmaids of the nymph, and her bright home, and the tripods all
about the house, and the abundant cauldrons.

But while he was singing of all these, his heart was bent
on other matters. And he took the hollow lyre and laid it in his sacred
cradle, and sprang from the sweet-smelling hall to a watch-place,
pondering sheer trickery in his heart--deeds such as knavish folk pursue
in the dark night-time; for he longed to taste flesh.

The Sun was going down beneath the earth towards Ocean
with his horses and chariot when Hermes came hurrying to the shadowy
mountains of Pieria, where the divine cattle of the blessed gods had
their steads and grazed the pleasant, unmown meadows. Of these the Son
of Maia, the sharp-eyed slayer of Argus then cut off from the herd fifty
loud-lowing kine, and drove them straggling-wise across a sandy place,
turning their hoof-prints aside. Also, he bethought him of a crafty ruse
and reversed the marks of their hoofs, making the front behind and the
hind before, while he himself walked the other way. Then he
wove sandals with wicker-work by the sand of the sea, wonderful
things, unthought of, unimagined; for he mixed together tamarisk and
myrtle-twigs, fastening together an armful of their fresh, young wood,
and tied them, leaves and all securely under his feet as light sandals.
The brushwood the glorious Slayer of Argus plucked in Pieria as he was
preparing for his journey, making shift [2515] as one making haste for a
long journey.

But an old man tilling his flowering vineyard saw him as he
was hurrying down the plain through grassy Onchestus. So the Son of Maia
began and said to him:

'Old man, digging about your vines with bowed shoulders,
surely you shall have much wine when all these bear fruit, if you obey
me and strictly remember not to have seen what you have seen, and not to
have heard what you have heard, and to keep silent when nothing of your
own is harmed.'

When he had said this much, he hurried the strong cattle on
together: through many shadowy mountains and echoing gorges and flowery
plains glorious Hermes drove them. And now the divine night, his dark
ally, was mostly passed, and dawn that sets folk to work was quickly
coming on, while bright Selene, daughter of the lord Pallas, Megamedes'
son, had just climbed her watch-post, when the strong Son of Zeus drove
the wide-browed cattle of Phoebus Apollo to the river Alpheus. And they
came unwearied to the high-roofed byres and the drinking-troughs
that were before the noble meadow. Then, after he had well-fed the
loud-bellowing cattle with fodder and driven them into the byre,
close-packed and chewing lotus and began to seek the art of fire.

He chose a stout laurel branch and trimmed it with the knife....
held firmly in his hand: and the hot smoke rose
up. For it was Hermes who first invented fire-sticks and fire. Next
he took many dried sticks and piled them thick and plenty in a
sunken trench: and flame began to glow, spreading afar the blast of
fierce-burning fire.

And while the strength of glorious Hephaestus was
beginning to kindle the fire, he dragged out two lowing, horned cows
close to the fire; for great strength was with him. He threw them both
panting upon their backs on the ground, and rolled them on their sides,
bending their necks over, and pierced their vital chord. Then he
went on from task to task: first he cut up the rich, fatted meat, and
pierced it with wooden spits, and roasted flesh and the honourable chine
and the paunch full of dark blood all together. He laid them there upon
the ground, and spread out the hides on a rugged rock: and so they are
still there many ages afterwards, a long, long time after all this, and
are continually. Next glad-hearted Hermes dragged the rich meats
he had prepared and put them on a smooth, flat stone, and divided them
into twelve portions distributed by lot, making each portion wholly
honourable. Then glorious Hermes longed for the sacrificial meat, for
the sweet savour wearied him, god though he was; nevertheless his proud
heart was not prevailed upon to devour the flesh, although he greatly
desired. But he put away the fat and all the flesh in the
high-roofed byre, placing them high up to be a token of his youthful
theft. And after that he gathered dry sticks and utterly destroyed with
fire all the hoofs and all the heads.

And when the god had duly finished all, he threw his
sandals into deep-eddying Alpheus, and quenched the embers, covering the
black ashes with sand, and so spent the night while Selene's soft light
shone down. Then the god went straight back again at dawn to the bright
crests of Cyllene, and no one met him on the long journey either of
the blessed gods or mortal men, nor did any dog bark. And luck-bringing
Hermes, the son of Zeus, passed edgeways through the key-hole of the
hall like the autumn breeze, even as mist: straight through the cave he
went and came to the rich inner chamber, walking softly, and making no
noise as one might upon the floor. Then glorious Hermes went hurriedly
to his cradle, wrapping his swaddling clothes about his shoulders as
though he were a feeble babe, and lay playing with the covering about
his knees; but at his left hand he kept close his sweet lyre.

But the god did not pass unseen by the goddess his mother;
but she said to him: 'How now, you rogue! Whence come you back so at
night-time, you that wear shamelessness as a garment? And now I surely
believe the son of Leto will soon have you forth out of doors with
unbreakable cords about your ribs, or you will live a rogue's life in
the glens robbing by whiles. Go to, then; your father got you to be a
great worry to mortal men and deathless gods.'

Then Hermes answered her with crafty words: 'Mother, why
do you seek to frighten me like a feeble child whose heart knows few
words of blame, a fearful babe that fears its mother's scolding?
Nay, but I will try whatever plan is best, and so feed myself and you
continually. We will not be content to remain here, as you bid, alone
of all the gods unfee'd with offerings and prayers. Better to live
in fellowship with the deathless gods continually, rich, wealthy, and
enjoying stories of grain, than to sit always in a gloomy cave: and, as
regards honour, I too will enter upon the rite that Apollo has. If
my father will not give it to me, I will seek--and I am able--to be a
prince of robbers. And if Leto's most glorious son shall seek me out, I
think another and a greater loss will befall him. For I will go to
Pytho to break into his great house, and will plunder therefrom splendid
tripods, and cauldrons, and gold, and plenty of bright iron, and much
apparel; and you shall see it if you will.'

With such words they spoke together, the son of Zeus who
holds the aegis, and the lady Maia. Now Eros the early born was rising
from deep-flowing Ocean, bringing light to men, when Apollo, as he went,
came to Onchestus, the lovely grove and sacred place of the loud-roaring
Holder of the Earth. There he found an old man grazing his beast along
the pathway from his court-yard fence, and the all-glorious Son of Leto
began and said to him.

'Old man, weeder [2520] of grassy Onchestus, I am come
here from Pieria seeking cattle, cows all of them, all with curving
horns, from my herd. The black bull was grazing alone away from the
rest, but fierce-eyed hounds followed the cows, four of them, all of one
mind, like men. These were left behind, the dogs and the bull--which is
great marvel; but the cows strayed out of the soft meadow, away from the
pasture when the sun was just going down. Now tell me this, old man born
long ago: have you seen one passing along behind those cows?'

Then the old man answered him and said: 'My son, it is
hard to tell all that one's eyes see; for many wayfarers pass to and fro
this way, some bent on much evil, and some on good: it is difficult to
know each one. However, I was digging about my plot of vineyard all day
long until the sun went down, and I thought, good sir, but I do not know
for certain, that I marked a child, whoever the child was, that followed
long-horned cattle--an infant who had a staff and kept walking from
side to side: he was driving them backwards way, with their heads toward
him.'

So said the old man. And when Apollo heard this report,
he went yet more quickly on his way, and presently, seeing a long-winged
bird, he knew at once by that omen that thief was the child of Zeus the
son of Cronos. So the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, hurried on to goodly
Pylos seeking his shambling oxen, and he had his broad shoulders covered
with a dark cloud. But when the Far-Shooter perceived the tracks, he
cried:

'Oh, oh! Truly this is a great marvel that my eyes behold!
These are indeed the tracks of straight-horned oxen, but they are turned
backwards towards the flowery meadow. But these others are not the
footprints of man or woman or grey wolves or bears or lions, nor do I
think they are the tracks of a rough-maned Centaur--whoever it be that
with swift feet makes such monstrous footprints; wonderful are the
tracks on this side of the way, but yet more wonderfully are those on
that.'

When he had so said, the lord Apollo, the Son of Zeus
hastened on and came to the forest-clad mountain of Cyllene and the
deep-shadowed cave in the rock where the divine nymph brought forth the
child of Zeus who is the son of Cronos. A sweet odour spread over the
lovely hill, and many thin-shanked sheep were grazing on the grass.
Then far-shooting Apollo himself stepped down in haste over the stone
threshold into the dusky cave.

Now when the Son of Zeus and Maia saw Apollo in a rage
about his cattle, he snuggled down in his fragrant swaddling-clothes;
and as wood-ash covers over the deep embers of tree-stumps, so Hermes
cuddled himself up when he saw the Far-Shooter. He squeezed head and
hands and feet together in a small space, like a new born child seeking
sweet sleep, though in truth he was wide awake, and he kept his lyre
under his armpit. But the Son of Leto was aware and failed not to
perceive the beautiful mountain-nymph and her dear son, albeit a little
child and swathed so craftily. He peered in every corner of the great
dwelling and, taking a bright key, he opened three closets full of
nectar and lovely ambrosia. And much gold and silver was stored in them,
and many garments of the nymph, some purple and some silvery white, such
as are kept in the sacred houses of the blessed gods. Then, after the
Son of Leto had searched out the recesses of the great house, he spake
to glorious Hermes:

'Child, lying in the cradle, make haste and tell me of my
cattle, or we two will soon fall out angrily. For I will take and cast
you into dusty Tartarus and awful hopeless darkness, and neither your
mother nor your father shall free you or bring you up again to the
light, but you will wander under the earth and be the leader amongst
little folk.'

Then Hermes answered him with crafty words: 'Son of Leto,
what harsh words are these you have spoken? And is it cattle of the
field you are come here to seek? I have not seen them: I have not heard
of them: no one has told me of them. I cannot give news of them, nor win
the reward for news. Am I like a cattle-lifter, a stalwart person? This
is no task for me: rather I care for other things: I care for sleep, and
milk of my mother's breast, and wrappings round my shoulders, and warm
baths. Let no one hear the cause of this dispute; for this would be a
great marvel indeed among the deathless gods, that a child newly born
should pass in through the forepart of the house with cattle of the
field: herein you speak extravagantly. I was born yesterday, and my feet
are soft and the ground beneath is rough; nevertheless, if you will
have it so, I will swear a great oath by my father's head and vow that
neither am I guilty myself, neither have I seen any other who stole your
cows--whatever cows may be; for I know them only by hearsay.'

So, then, said Hermes, shooting quick glances from his
eyes: and he kept raising his brows and looking this way and that,
whistling long and listening to Apollo's story as to an idle tale.

But far-working Apollo laughed softly and said to him:
'O rogue, deceiver, crafty in heart, you talk so innocently that I most
surely believe that you have broken into many a well-built house and
stripped more than one poor wretch bare this night [2522], gathering his
goods together all over the house without noise. You will plague many
a lonely herdsman in mountain glades, when you come on herds and
thick-fleeced sheep, and have a hankering after flesh. But come now, if
you would not sleep your last and latest sleep, get out of your cradle,
you comrade of dark night. Surely hereafter this shall be your
title amongst the deathless gods, to be called the prince of robbers
continually.'

So said Phoebus Apollo, and took the child and began to
carry him. But at that moment the strong Slayer of Argus had his
plan, and, while Apollo held him in his hands, sent forth an omen, a
hard-worked belly-serf, a rude messenger, and sneezed directly after.
And when Apollo heard it, he dropped glorious Hermes out of his hands on
the ground: then sitting down before him, though he was eager to go on
his way, he spoke mockingly to Hermes:

'Fear not, little swaddling baby, son of Zeus and Maia.
I shall find the strong cattle presently by these omens, and you shall
lead the way.'

When Apollo had so said, Cyllenian Hermes sprang up
quickly, starting in haste. With both hands he pushed up to his ears the
covering that he had wrapped about his shoulders, and said:

'Where are you carrying me, Far-Worker, hastiest of all
the gods? Is it because of your cattle that you are so angry and harass
me? O dear, would that all the sort of oxen might perish; for it is not
I who stole your cows, nor did I see another steal them--whatever cows
may be, and of that I have only heard report. Nay, give right and take
it before Zeus, the Son of Cronos.'

So Hermes the shepherd and Leto's glorious son kept
stubbornly disputing each article of their quarrel: Apollo, speaking
truly ....not fairly sought to seize glorious Hermes
because of the cows; but he, the Cyllenian, tried to deceive the God of
the Silver Bow with tricks and cunning words. But when, though he had
many wiles, he found the other had as many shifts, he began to walk
across the sand, himself in front, while the Son of Zeus and Leto came
behind. Soon they came, these lovely children of Zeus, to the top of
fragrant Olympus, to their father, the Son of Cronos; for there were the
scales of judgement set for them both.

There was an assembly on snowy Olympus, and the immortals who perish not
were gathering after the hour of gold-throned Dawn.

Then Hermes and Apollo of the Silver Bow stood at the
knees of Zeus: and Zeus who thunders on high spoke to his glorious son
and asked him:

'Phoebus, whence come you driving this great spoil, a
child new born that has the look of a herald? This is a weighty matter
that is come before the council of the gods.'

Then the lord, far-working Apollo, answered him: 'O my
father, you shall soon hear no trifling tale though you reproach me that
I alone am fond of spoil. Here is a child, a burgling robber, whom I
found after a long journey in the hills of Cyllene: for my part I have
never seen one so pert either among the gods or all men that catch folk
unawares throughout the world. He stole away my cows from their meadow
and drove them off in the evening along the shore of the loud-roaring
sea, making straight for Pylos. There were double tracks, and wonderful
they were, such as one might marvel at, the doing of a clever sprite;
for as for the cows, the dark dust kept and showed their footprints
leading towards the flowery meadow; but he himself--bewildering
creature--crossed the sandy ground outside the path, not on his feet nor
yet on his hands; but, furnished with some other means he trudged his
way--wonder of wonders!--as though one walked on slender oak-trees. Now
while he followed the cattle across sandy ground, all the tracks showed
quite clearly in the dust; but when he had finished the long way across
the sand, presently the cows' track and his own could not be traced
over the hard ground. But a mortal man noticed him as he drove the
wide-browed kine straight towards Pylos. And as soon as he had shut them
up quietly, and had gone home by crafty turns and twists, he lay down in
his cradle in the gloom of a dim cave, as still as dark night, so that
not even an eagle keenly gazing would have spied him. Much he rubbed his
eyes with his hands as he prepared falsehood, and himself straightway
said roundly: "I have not seen them: I have not heard of them: no man
has told me of them. I could not tell you of them, nor win the reward of
telling."'

When he had so spoken, Phoebus Apollo sat down. But Hermes
on his part answered and said, pointing at the Son of Cronos, the lord
of all the gods:

'Zeus, my father, indeed I will speak truth to you; for I
am truthful and I cannot tell a lie. He came to our house to-day looking
for his shambling cows, as the sun was newly rising. He brought no
witnesses with him nor any of the blessed gods who had seen the theft,
but with great violence ordered me to confess, threatening much to throw
me into wide Tartarus. For he has the rich bloom of glorious youth,
while I was born but yesterday--as he too knows--nor am I like a
cattle-lifter, a sturdy fellow. Believe my tale (for you claim to be
my own father), that I did not drive his cows to my house--so may I
prosper--nor crossed the threshold: this I say truly. I reverence Helios
greatly and the other gods, and you I love and him I dread. You yourself
know that I am not guilty: and I will swear a great oath upon it:--No!
by these rich-decked porticoes of the gods. And some day I will punish
him, strong as he is, for this pitiless inquisition; but now do you help
the younger.'

So spake the Cyllenian, the Slayer of Argus, while he kept
shooting sidelong glances and kept his swaddling-clothes upon his
arm, and did not cast them away. But Zeus laughed out loud to see his
evil-plotting child well and cunningly denying guilt about the cattle.
And he bade them both to be of one mind and search for the cattle, and
guiding Hermes to lead the way and, without mischievousness of heart, to
show the place where now he had hidden the strong cattle. Then the Son
of Cronos bowed his head: and goodly Hermes obeyed him; for the will of
Zeus who holds the aegis easily prevailed with him.

Then the two all-glorious children of Zeus hastened both
to sandy Pylos, and reached the ford of Alpheus, and came to the fields
and the high-roofed byre where the beasts were cherished at night-time.
Now while Hermes went to the cave in the rock and began to drive out the
strong cattle, the son of Leto, looking aside, saw the cowhides on the
sheer rock. And he asked glorious Hermes at once:

'How were you able, you crafty rogue, to flay two cows,
new-born and babyish as you are? For my part, I dread the strength that
will be yours: there is no need you should keep growing long, Cyllenian,
son of Maia!'

So saying, Apollo twisted strong withes with his hands
meaning to bind Hermes with firm bands; but the bands would not hold
him, and the withes of osier fell far from him and began to grow at once
from the ground beneath their feet in that very place. And intertwining
with one another, they quickly grew and covered all the wild-roving
cattle by the will of thievish Hermes, so that Apollo was astonished as
he gazed.

Then the strong slayer of Argus looked furtively upon
the ground with eyes flashing fire.... desiring to hide....
Very easily he softened the son of all-glorious Leto as he would,
stern though the Far-shooter was. He took the lyre upon his left arm and
tried each string in turn with the key, so that it sounded awesomely at
his touch. And Phoebus Apollo laughed for joy; for the sweet throb of
the marvellous music went to his heart, and a soft longing took hold on
his soul as he listened. Then the son of Maia, harping sweetly upon his
lyre, took courage and stood at the left hand of Phoebus Apollo; and
soon, while he played shrilly on his lyre, he lifted up his voice and
sang, and lovely was the sound of his voice that followed. He sang the
story of the deathless gods and of the dark earth, how at the first they
came to be, and how each one received his portion. First among the gods
he honoured Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses, in his song; for the son of
Maia was of her following. And next the goodly son of Zeus hymned the
rest of the immortals according to their order in age, and told how each
was born, mentioning all in order as he struck the lyre upon his arm.
But Apollo was seized with a longing not to be allayed, and he opened
his mouth and spoke winged words to Hermes:

'Slayer of oxen, trickster, busy one, comrade of the
feast, this song of yours is worth fifty cows, and I believe that
presently we shall settle our quarrel peacefully. But come now, tell me
this, resourceful son of Maia: has this marvellous thing been with you
from your birth, or did some god or mortal man give it you--a noble
gift--and teach you heavenly song? For wonderful is this new-uttered
sound I hear, the like of which I vow that no man nor god dwelling on
Olympus ever yet has known but you, O thievish son of Maia. What skill
is this? What song for desperate cares? What way of song? For verily
here are three things to hand all at once from which to choose,--mirth,
and love, and sweet sleep. And though I am a follower of the Olympian
Muses who love dances and the bright path of song--the full-toned chant
and ravishing thrill of flutes--yet I never cared for any of those feats
of skill at young men's revels, as I do now for this: I am filled with
wonder, O son of Zeus, at your sweet playing. But now, since you, though
little, have such glorious skill, sit down, dear boy, and respect the
words of your elders. For now you shall have renown among the deathless
gods, you and your mother also. This I will declare to you exactly: by
this shaft of cornel wood I will surely make you a leader renowned among
the deathless gods, and fortunate, and will give you glorious gifts and
will not deceive you from first to last.'

Then Hermes answered him with artful words: 'You question
me carefully, O Far-worker; yet I am not jealous that you should enter
upon my art: this day you shall know it. For I seek to be friendly
with you both in thought and word. Now you well know all things in your
heart, since you sit foremost among the deathless gods, O son of Zeus,
and are goodly and strong. And wise Zeus loves you as all right is, and
has given you splendid gifts. And they say that from the utterance of
Zeus you have learned both the honours due to the gods, O Far-worker,
and oracles from Zeus, even all his ordinances. Of all these I myself
have already learned that you have great wealth. Now, you are free to
learn whatever you please; but since, as it seems, your heart is so
strongly set on playing the lyre, chant, and play upon it, and give
yourself to merriment, taking this as a gift from me, and do you, my
friend, bestow glory on me. Sing well with this clear-voiced companion
in your hands; for you are skilled in good, well-ordered utterance.
>From now on bring it confidently to the rich feast and lovely dance and
glorious revel, a joy by night and by day. Whoso with wit and wisdom
enquires of it cunningly, him it teaches through its sound all manner
of things that delight the mind, being easily played with gentle
familiarities, for it abhors toilsome drudgery; but whoso in
ignorance enquires of it violently, to him it chatters mere vanity and
foolishness. But you are able to learn whatever you please. So then, I
will give you this lyre, glorious son of Zeus, while I for my part
will graze down with wild-roving cattle the pastures on hill and
horse-feeding plain: so shall the cows covered by the bulls calve
abundantly both males and females. And now there is no need for you,
bargainer though you are, to be furiously angry.'

When Hermes had said this, he held out the lyre: and
Phoebus Apollo took it, and readily put his shining whip in Hermes'
hand, and ordained him keeper of herds. The son of Maia received it
joyfully, while the glorious son of Leto, the lord far-working Apollo,
took the lyre upon his left arm and tried each string with the key.
Awesomely it sounded at the touch of the god, while he sang sweetly to
its note.

Afterwards they two, the all-glorious sons of Zeus turned
the cows back towards the sacred meadow, but themselves hastened back to
snowy Olympus, delighting in the lyre. Then wise Zeus was glad and made
them both friends. And Hermes loved the son of Leto continually, even as
he does now, when he had given the lyre as token to the Far-shooter,
who played it skilfully, holding it upon his arm. But for himself Hermes
found out another cunning art and made himself the pipes whose sound is
heard afar.

Then the son of Leto said to Hermes: 'Son of Maia, guide
and cunning one, I fear you may steal form me the lyre and my curved bow
together; for you have an office from Zeus, to establish deeds of barter
amongst men throughout the fruitful earth. Now if you would only swear
me the great oath of the gods, either by nodding your head, or by the
potent water of Styx, you would do all that can please and ease my
heart.'

Then Maia's son nodded his head and promised that he would
never steal anything of all the Far-shooter possessed, and would never
go near his strong house; but Apollo, son of Leto, swore to be fellow
and friend to Hermes, vowing that he would love no other among the
immortals, neither god nor man sprung from Zeus, better than Hermes: and
the Father sent forth an eagle in confirmation. And Apollo sware also:
'Verily I will make you only to be an omen for the immortals and all
alike, trusted and honoured by my heart. Moreover, I will give you a
splendid staff of riches and wealth: it is of gold, with three branches,
and will keep you scatheless, accomplishing every task, whether of words
or deeds that are good, which I claim to know through the utterance of
Zeus. But as for sooth-saying, noble, heaven-born child, of which you
ask, it is not lawful for you to learn it, nor for any other of the
deathless gods: only the mind of Zeus knows that. I am pledged and have
vowed and sworn a strong oath that no other of the eternal gods save
I should know the wise-hearted counsel of Zeus. And do not you, my
brother, bearer of the golden wand, bid me tell those decrees which
all-seeing Zeus intends. As for men, I will harm one and profit another,
sorely perplexing the tribes of unenviable men. Whosoever shall come
guided by the call and flight of birds of sure omen, that man shall have
advantage through my voice, and I will not deceive him. But whoso shall
trust to idly-chattering birds and shall seek to invoke my prophetic
art contrary to my will, and to understand more than the eternal gods,
I declare that he shall come on an idle journey; yet his gifts I would
take.

'But I will tell you another thing, Son of all-glorious
Maia and Zeus who holds the aegis, luck-bringing genius of the gods.
There are certain holy ones, sisters born--three virgins gifted
with wings: their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and they dwell
under a ridge of Parnassus. These are teachers of divination apart from
me, the art which I practised while yet a boy following herds, though my
father paid no heed to it. From their home they fly now here, now there,
feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are
inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak truth;
but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak
falsely, as they swarm in and out together. These, then, I give you;
enquire of them strictly and delight your heart: and if you should teach
any mortal so to do, often will he hear your response--if he have good
fortune. Take these, Son of Maia, and tend the wild roving, horned oxen
and horses and patient mules.'

So he spake. And from heaven father Zeus himself gave
confirmation to his words, and commanded that glorious Hermes should be
lord over all birds of omen and grim-eyed lions, and boars with gleaming
tusks, and over dogs and all flocks that the wide earth nourishes, and
over all sheep; also that he only should be the appointed messenger to
Hades, who, though he takes no gift, shall give him no mean prize.

Thus the lord Apollo showed his kindness for the Son of
Maia by all manner of friendship: and the Son of Cronos gave him
grace besides. He consorts with all mortals and immortals: a little he
profits, but continually throughout the dark night he cozens the tribes
of mortal men.

And so, farewell, Son of Zeus and Maia; but I will
remember you and another song also.

Back to: The Homeric Hymns

Hymn to Asclepius

I begin to sing of Asclepius, son of Apollo and healer of
sicknesses. In the Dotian plain fair Coronis, daughter of King Phlegyas,
bare him, a great joy to men, a soother of cruel pangs.

And so hail to you, lord: in my song I make my prayer to thee!

Back to: The Homeric Hymns

Hymn to the Dioscuri

Sing, clear-voiced Muse, of Castor and Polydeuces, the
Tyndaridae, who sprang from Olympian Zeus. Beneath the heights of
Taygetus stately Leda bare them, when the dark-clouded Son of Cronos had
privily bent her to his will.

Hail, children of Tyndareus, riders upon swift horses!

Back to: The Homeric Hymns

Hymn to Hermes

I sing of Cyllenian Hermes, the Slayer of Argus, lord of
Cyllene and Arcadia rich in flocks, luck-bringing messenger of the
deathless gods. He was born of Maia, the daughter of Atlas, when she had
made with Zeus,--a shy goddess she. Ever she avoided the throng of the
blessed gods and lived in a shadowy cave, and there the Son of Cronos
used to lie with the rich-tressed nymph at dead of night, while
white-armed Hera lay bound in sweet sleep: and neither deathless god nor
mortal man knew it.

And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with you I have
begun: now I will turn to another song!

Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good things!

Back to: The Homeric Hymns

Hymn to Pan

Muse, tell me about Pan, the dear son of Hermes, with his
goat's feet and two horns--a lover of merry noise. Through wooded glades
he wanders with dancing nymphs who foot it on some sheer cliff's edge,
calling upon Pan, the shepherd-god, long-haired, unkempt. He has every
snowy crest and the mountain peaks and rocky crests for his domain;
hither and thither he goes through the close thickets, now lured by soft
streams, and now he presses on amongst towering crags and climbs up to
the highest peak that overlooks the flocks. Often he courses through the
glistening high mountains, and often on the shouldered hills he speeds
along slaying wild beasts, this keen-eyed god. Only at evening, as he
returns from the chase, he sounds his note, playing sweet and low on his
pipes of reed: not even she could excel him in melody--that bird who in
flower-laden spring pouring forth her lament utters honey-voiced song
amid the leaves. At that hour the clear-voiced nymphs are with him and
move with nimble feet, singing by some spring of dark water, while Echo
wails about the mountain-top, and the god on this side or on that of
the choirs, or at times sidling into the midst, plies it nimbly with
his feet. On his back he wears a spotted lynx-pelt, and he delights in
high-pitched songs in a soft meadow where crocuses and sweet-smelling
hyacinths bloom at random in the grass.

They sing of the blessed gods and high Olympus and choose
to tell of such an one as luck-bringing Hermes above the rest, how he
is the swift messenger of all the gods, and how he came to Arcadia, the
land of many springs and mother of flocks, there where his sacred
place is as god of Cyllene. For there, though a god, he used to tend
curly-fleeced sheep in the service of a mortal man, because there fell
on him and waxed strong melting desire to wed the rich-tressed daughter
of Dryops, and there he brought about the merry marriage. And in the
house she bare Hermes a dear son who from his birth was marvellous
to look upon, with goat's feet and two horns--a noisy, merry-laughing
child. But when the nurse saw his uncouth face and full beard, she was
afraid and sprang up and fled and left the child. Then luck-bringing
Hermes received him and took him in his arms: very glad in his heart
was the god. And he went quickly to the abodes of the deathless gods,
carrying the son wrapped in warm skins of mountain hares, and set him
down beside Zeus and showed him to the rest of the gods. Then all the
immortals were glad in heart and Bacchie Dionysus in especial; and they
called the boy Pan because he delighted all their hearts.

And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with a song.
And now I will remember you and another song also.

Back to: The Homeric Hymns

Hymn to the son of Cronos, most high

I will sing of Zeus, chiefest among the gods and greatest,
all-seeing, the lord of all, the fulfiller who whispers words of wisdom
to Themis as she sits leaning towards him.

Be gracious, all-seeing Son of Cronos, most excellent and great!

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Hymn to Poseidon

I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god, mover of the
earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon
and wide Aegae. A two-fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the
Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships!

Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! O
blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!

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Hymn to Apollo

Phoebus, of you even the swan sings with clear voice to the
beating of his wings, as he alights upon the bank by the eddying river
Peneus; and of you the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched
lyre, always sings both first and last.

And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with my song.

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Hymn to Hephaestus

Sing, clear-voiced Muses, of Hephaestus famed for inventions.
With bright-eyed Athene he taught men glorious gifts throughout the
world,--men who before used to dwell in caves in the mountains like wild
beasts. But now that they have learned crafts through Hephaestus the
famed worker, easily they live a peaceful life in their own houses the
whole year round.

Be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant me success and prosperity!

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