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    Contents:
  • THE HOMERIC HYMNS IN ANTIQUITY
  • THE NATURE OF THE HOMERIC HYMNS
  • Poem 1: HYMN TO DIONYSUS
  • Poem 2: HYMN TO DEMETER
  • Poem 3: HYMN TO APOLLO
  • Poem 4: HYMN TO HERMES
  • Poem 5: HYMN TO APHRODITE
  • Poem 6: HYMN TO APHRODITE
  • Poem 7: HYMN TO DIONYSUS
  • Poem 8: HYMN TO ARES
  • Poem 9: HYMN TO ARTEMIS
  • Poem 10: HYMN TO APHRODITE
  • Poem 11: HYMN TO ATHENA
  • Poem 12: HYMN TO HERA
  • Poem 13: HYMN TO DEMETER
  • Poem 14: HYMN TO THE MOTHER OF THE GODS
  • Poem 15: HYMN TO HERACLES THE LION-HEARTED
  • Poem 16: HYMN TO ASCLEPIUS
  • Poem 17: HYMN TO THE DIOSCURI
  • Poem 18: HYMN TO HERMES
  • Poem 19: HYMN TO PAN
  • Poem 20: HYMN TO HEPHAESTUS
  • Poem 21: HYMN TO APOLLO
  • Poem 22: HYMN TO POSEIDON
  • Poem 23: HYMN TO ZEUS
  • Poem 24: HYMN TO HESTIA
  • Poem 25: HYMN TO THE MUSES AND APOLLO
  • Poem 26: HYMN TO DIONYSUS
  • Poem 27: HYMN TO ARTEMIS
  • Poem 28: HYMN TO ATHENA
  • Poem 29: HYMN TO HESTIA
  • Poem 30: HYMN TO EARTH THE MOTHER OF ALL
  • Poem 31: HYMN TO HELIOS
  • Poem 32: HYMN TO SELENE
  • Poem 33: HYMN TO THE DIOSCURI
    		•

    Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, Commentary on the Homeric Hymns

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    THE HOMERIC HYMNS IN ANTIQUITY

    The history of these documents during the classical period may be recovered by two methods, the linguistic and the historical. The former is treated below , the latter consists almost entirely in such evidence as is afforded by quotations.

    The quotations of the Homeric Hymns are not abundant in antiquity.1 We leave out allusions, clear or possible, and enumerate the actual citations, and first those of whose age there is no doubt.

    FIFTH CENTURY B.C.

    1. Thuc. iii. 104 dêloi de malista Homêros hoti toiauta ên [a festival at Delos] en tois epesi toisde, ha estin ek prooimiou Apollônos: `all hote Dêlôi Phoibe malista ge thumon eterphthês,
    entha toi helkechitônes Iaones êgerethontai
    sun sphoisin tekeessi gunaixi te sên es aguian:
    entha se pugmachiêi te kai orchêstui kai aoidêi
    mnêsamenoi terpousin hotan kathesôsin agôna.

    ' hoti de kai mousikês agôn ên kai agônioumenoi ephoitôn, en toisde au dêloi, ha estin ek tou autou prooimiou. ton gar Dêliakon choron tôn gunaikôn humnêsas eteleuta tou epainou es tade ta epê, en hois kai heautou epemnêsthê: `all ageth hilêkoi men Apollôn Artemidi xun,
    chairete d humeis pasai: emeio de kai metopisthe
    mnêsasth' hoppote ken tis epichthoniôn anthrôpôn
    enthad aneirêtai talapeirios allos epelthôn:
    ô kourai tis d' ummin anêr hêdistos aoidôn
    enthade pôleitai kai teôi terpesthe malista;
    humeis d' eu mala pasai hupokrinasthai aphêmôs,
    tuphlos anêr, oikei de Chiôi eni paipaloessêi.

    ' = Apoll. 146-150, 165-172 with variants.

    This citation, which was possibly intended as a reply to Herodotus' appeal to Olen's hymn (also with regard to Delos) iv. 35 (see further p. lvi), evidently recognises the Hymn to Apollo as Homeric. Thucydides calls it prooimion, the designation used by Pindar, who (Nem. ii. 1) alludes to a hymn to Zeus as Dios ek prooimiou.2 Thucydides' words have been used 3 to support the view that the document as we have it contains two hymns, one of which ended at this point; but the natural interpretation of the passage is that the words eteleuta tou epainou mean “he ended his compliment” to the Delian women, after which he returned to his account of the God. (Cf. the introduction to the Hymn.) The variants (J. H. S. xv. 309, Gemoll ad loc.) seem independent, and not necessarily preferable one to the other. In a text which depends throughout on the MSS. we have not departed from them here. In two places the Thucydidean version seems to have preserved a reading which was common to the MSS. also, but has been corrupted in them; 165 all' ageth' hilêkoi men where the MSS. all' age dê lêtô men gives no construction, and may easily be accounted for on graphical grounds (through lêtoi); 171 aphêmôs of the older MSS. of Thucydides appears to be the parent of the voces nihili of the younger Thucydides-MSS. and all the Hymn-MSS. aph' hêmeôn, aph' humeôn, aph' humôn.

    1 A. Guttmann de Hymnorum Homericorum historia critica particulae quattuor, 1869, p. 14 f., and the prefaces to the editions.

    2 Plutarch (de mus. 1133c) uses the word of Terpander. Empedocles (Diog. Laert. viii. 2. 3) wrote a prooimion to Apollo. There seems no reason, however, with Welcker Ep. Cycl. i. 328 to limit the word to the worship of Apollo. Cf. Plato's words Laws 722 D kai dê pou kitharôidikês ôidês legomenôn nomôn kai pasês mousês prooimia thaumastôs espoudasmena prokeitai. See further p. lxi. An analogous word is proaulion ( Plato Cratylus 417 fin. hôsper tou tês Athênaas nomou proaulion stomaulêsai).

    3 First by Ruhnken Ep. crit. i. p. 7, 8; cf. Guttmann l.c. p. 16.



    The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

    This text is based on the following book(s):
    The Homeric Hymns, edited, with preface, apparatus criticus, notes, and appendices. Thomas W. Allen. E. E. Sikes. London. Macmillan. 1904.

    This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a medium level of accuracy.

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