THE HOMERIC HYMNS : TO Dementer - Hephaestus
XIII. TO DEMETER (3 lines)
(ll. 1-2) I begin to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful goddess,
of her and of her daughter lovely Persephone.
(l. 3) Hail, goddess! Keep this city safe, and govern my song.
XIV. TO THE MOTHER OF THE GODS (6 lines)
(ll. 1-5) 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.
(l. 6) And so hail to you in my song and to all goddesses as
well!
XV. TO HERACLES THE LION-HEARTED (9 lines)
(ll. 1-8) 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.
(l. 9) Hail, lord, son of Zeus! Give me success and prosperity.
XVI. TO ASCLEPIUS (5 lines)
(ll. 1-4) 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.
(l. 5) And so hail to you, lord: in my song I make my prayer to
thee!
XVII. TO THE DIOSCURI (5 lines)
(ll. 1-4) Sing, clear-voiced Muse, of Castor and Polydeuces, the
Tyndaridae, who sprang from Olympian Zeus. Beneath the heights
fo Taygetus stately Leda bare them, when the dark-clouded Son of
Cronos had privily bent her to his will.
(l. 5) Hail, children of Tyndareus, riders upon swift horses!
XVIII. TO HERMES (12 lines)
(ll. 1-9) 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.
(ll. 10-11) And so hail to you, Son of Zeus and Maia; with you I
have begun: now I will turn to another song!
(l. 12) Hail, Hermes, giver of grace, guide, and giver of good
things! (31)
XIX. TO PAN (49 lines)
(ll. 1-26) 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.
(ll. 27-47) 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 fo 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 be 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
(32) because he delighted all their hearts.
(ll. 48-49) And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with a
song. And now I will remember you and another song also.
XX. TO HEPHAESTUS (8 lines)
(ll. 1-7) 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.
(l. 8) Be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant me success and
prosperity!