The Homeric Hymns

by Homer; Cashford, Jules; Richardson, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9780140437829
• ISBN10: 0140437827
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-28
• Publisher: Penguin Classics

Summary

Written by unknown poets in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, the Homeric Hymns were recited at festivals to honour the Olympian goddesses and gods, and to pray for divine favour or for victory in singing contests. They stand now as works of great poetic force, full of grace and lyricism, and ranging in tone from irony to solemnity, ebullience to grandeur. Recounting significant episodes from mythology, such as the abduction of Persephone by Hades and Hermes' theft of Apollo's cattle. The HymnsHomeric Hymns is new to Penguin Classics, providing a key text for understanding ancient Greek mythology and religion. The introduction explores their authorship, performance, literary qualities and influence on later writers.

Author Biography

Jules Cashford writes and lectures on mythology and is the author of The Myth of the Goddess. Nicholas Richardson is a fellow in English at Merton College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. vii
Further Reading	p. xxxvi
Translator's Note	p. xxxviii
The Homeric Hymns
Hymn to Dionysos	p. 3
Hymn to Demeter	p. 5
Hymn to Apollo	p. 27
Delian Apollo	p. 27
Pythian Apollo	p. 38
Hymn to Hermes	p. 55
Hymn to Aphrodite	p. 85
Hymn to Aphrodite	p. 98
Hymn to Dionysos	p. 100
Hymn to Ares	p. 106
Hymn to Artemis	p. 108
Hymn to Aphrodite	p. 109
Hymn to Athena	p. 110
Hymn to Hera	p. 111
Hymn to Demeter	p. 112
Hymn to The Mother of The Gods	p. 113
Hymn to Herakles, The Lion-Hearted	p. 114
Hymn to Asklepios	p. 115
Hymn to The Dioskouroi	p. 116
Hymn to Hermes	p. 117
Hymn to Pan	p. 119
Hymn to Hephaistos	p. 125
Hymn to Apollo	p. 126
Hymn to Poseidon	p. 127
Hymn to the Son of Kronos, Most High	p. 128
Hymn to Hestia	p. 129
Hymn to the Muses and Apollo	p. 130
Hymn to Dionysos	p. 131
Hymn to Artemis	p. 133
Hymn to Athena	p. 136
Hymn to Hestia	p. 138
Hymn to Gaia, Mother of All	p. 140
Hymn to Helios	p. 142
Hymn to Selene	p. 144
Hymn to the Dioskouroi	p. 146
Notes	p. 149
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