Source recordAncient text
Homeric Hymns
Various (attributed to Homer) · c. 700-500 BCE · Ancient Greek
Ancient text
Homeric Hymns
Various (attributed to Homer)
A collection of thirty-three anonymous hymns celebrating individual Greek deities. Major source for myths of Demeter, Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite.
About this work
A collection of thirty-three anonymous hymns celebrating individual Greek deities. Major source for myths of Demeter, Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite.
Where to start
Start with Hymn 2 (to Demeter) for the magnificent narrative behind the Eleusinian Mysteries, followed by Hymn 4 (to Hermes) for divine trickster humor, and Hymn 7 (to Dionysus).
Figures in the text
Heroes and divinities who feature prominently, with where they appear.
Deities and immortals
DemeterHymn 2Goddess of agriculture whose grief for her abducted daughter withers the crops of the earth
PersephoneHymn 2Queen of the Underworld whose eating of the pomegranate seed compels her cyclical return to Hades
ApolloHymn 3Archer god of music and light who slays Python on Mount Parnassus to establish the Delphic Oracle
HermesHymn 4Trickster infant born at dawn who invents the lyre, steals Apollo's cattle at noon, and plays for Zeus at dusk
AphroditeHymn 5Goddess of love compelled by Zeus to desire the mortal Trojan shepherd Anchises, conceiving Aeneas
DionysusHymn 7God of wine and divine ecstasy who turns Tyrrhenian pirate kidnappers into leaping dolphins
Key scenes
Turning points of the work, in reading order.
The Abduction of Persephone and the Eleusinian Rites
Hades seizes Persephone into the underworld; Demeter wanders in mourning, withholds harvest from humanity, and upon Persephone's return teaches holy mysteries at Eleusis.
Hermes Crafts the Lyre and Steals Apollo's Cattle
Hours after his birth in Mount Cyllene's cave, baby Hermes scoops a tortoise from its shell, strings it with sheep-gut, sings, and drives Apollo's sacred heifers backwards to baffle pursuers.
Dionysus and the Tyrrhenian Pirates
Pirates bind young Dionysus; bands fall away, fragrant wine floods the dark ship, ivy wraps the mast, and the god roars as a lion, causing the crew to jump into the sea as dolphins.
Passages
Direct quotations are distinguished from editorial paraphrases and records awaiting verification.
“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.”
Homeric Hymn to Hera · 1-3
Translation: Hugh G. Evelyn-White
H. G. Evelyn-White, 1914
Read source“I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, guardian of the city, dread goddess, who with Ares cares for the works of war, the sacking of cities and the war-cry, and who saves the host as it goes forth and returns.”
Homeric Hymn 11 to Athena · 1-4
Translation: Hugh G. Evelyn-White
H. G. Evelyn-White, 1914
Read sourceStories drawn from it
Retellings in the atlas that quote or cite this work.
About this record
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Dates and authorship follow standard scholarly references; for many ancient works both are approximate or disputed.