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Contents: To DionysusTo DemeterTo HermesTo AphroditeTo AphroditeTo DionysusTo AresTo ArtemisTo AphroditeTo AthenaTo HeraTo DemeterTo the Mother of the GodsTo Heracles the Lion-HeartedTo AsclepiusTo the DioscuriTo HermesTo PanTo Hephaestusto ApolloTo PoseidonTo the Son of Cronos, Most HighTo HestiaTo the Muses and ApolloTo DionysusTo ArtemisTo AthenaTo HestiaTo Earth the Mother of AllTo HeliosTo SeleneTo the Dioscuri |
Homeric Hymns (ed. Hugh G. Evelyn-White)
Editions and translations: Greek (ed. Hugh G. Evelyn-White) | English (ed. Hugh G. Evelyn-White)
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[1] 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, [5] --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. [10] And when the purpose of great Zeus was fulfilled, and the tenth moon with her 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, [15] 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. [20] 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. [25] 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:
There are a total of 6 comments on and cross references to this page.
Further comments from Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, Commentary on the Homeric Hymns:
line 1: Hermên
line 1: Maiados
line 10: Dios Noos eXeteleito
line 15: oPôpÊtêra
line 15: Pulêdokon
line 25 (general note)
Cross references from Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, Commentary on the Homeric Hymns:
* [HYMN TO APOLLO]
* [HYMN TO APOLLO]
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This text is based on the following book(s): Anonymous. The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. OCLC: 41785942 ISBN: 0674990633
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