Homer · 8th century BC (traditional)
The Homeric Hymns
Ὁμηρικοὶ ὕμνοιThe thirty-three Homeric Hymns are songs to the gods in epic verse, each ending with a farewell to the god and a promise to turn to another song. The longest, to Demeter, Apollo, Hermes and Aphrodite, are full narratives of myth; the rest range from a few lines to a few dozen. They are numbered here as in Evelyn-White's edition, and the first hymn survives only as a fragment.
Contents · 26 passages
- 1.1–21Hymn 1 to Dionysus (fragment)205 words
- 2.1–86Hymn 2 to Demeter (1): the abduction of Persephone909 words
- 2.87–179Hymn 2 to Demeter (2): Demeter at Eleusis944 words
- 2.180–289Hymn 2 to Demeter (3): the nurse of Demophoon1163 words
- 2.290–394Hymn 2 to Demeter (4): the famine and the mission of Hermes1016 words
- 2.395–495Hymn 2 to Demeter (5): reunion and the Mysteries1047 words
- 3.1–84Hymn 3 to Apollo (1): the god among the gods; Leto's wanderings882 words
- 3.85–178Hymn 3 to Apollo (2): the birth of Apollo on Delos883 words
- 3.179–299Hymn 3 to Apollo (3): the search for an oracle site1118 words
- 3.300–439Hymn 3 to Apollo (4): the she-dragon and the Cretan ship1433 words
- 3.440–546Hymn 3 to Apollo (5): the Cretans at Delphi1129 words
- 4.1–90Hymn 4 to Hermes (1): the newborn god makes the lyre952 words
- 4.91–209Hymn 4 to Hermes (2): the theft of Apollo's cattle1169 words
- 4.210–339Hymn 4 to Hermes (3): Apollo finds the thief1336 words
- 4.340–444Hymn 4 to Hermes (4): the quarrel before Zeus1130 words
- 4.445–580Hymn 4 to Hermes (5): the lyre and the reconciliation1389 words
- 5.1–104Hymn 5 to Aphrodite (1): Zeus makes Aphrodite love Anchises1056 words
- 5.105–214Hymn 5 to Aphrodite (2): Aphrodite's false story and the revelation1092 words
- 5.215–293Hymn 5 to Aphrodite (3): Tithonus and the birth of Aeneas769 words
- 6.1–7.59Hymns 6 and 7: Aphrodite and Dionysus807 words
- 8.1–11.5Hymns 8 to 11: Ares, Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena370 words
- 12.1–18.12Hymns 12 to 18: Hera, Demeter, the Mother of the Gods, Heracles, Asclepius, the Dioscuri and Hermes448 words
- 19.1–49Hymn 19 to Pan499 words
- 20.1–25.7Hymns 20 to 25: Hephaestus, Apollo, Poseidon, Zeus, Hestia and the Muses352 words
- 26.1–29.14Hymns 26 to 29: Dionysus, Artemis, Athena, Hestia and Hermes636 words
- 30.1–33.19Hymns 30 to 33: Earth, Helios, Selene and the Dioscuri742 words
More by Homer
English translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914). Original text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White (ed.), Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library, London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1914 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.