Homeric Hymns

Homer | Biography
Homer's Century and Geographical Location
Not much is known about Homer except his reputation as a poet to whom the ancient Greeks
attributed the epic poems The Iliad (c. 750–650 BCE) and its sequel, The Odyssey (c. 725–675
BCE). Inferences from the poems themselves provide most information about Homer. From the
language, scholars believe Homer lived around the early 9th or late 8th century BCE in Ionia, a
region in modern Turkey. According to Homer's description of a poet/singer in The Odyssey,
Homer is often inferred to have been blind.

The Homeric Hymn

Literary and historical convention calls these hymns Homeric because they share traits with
other works attributed to Homer and other epic poets. An epic is a long narrative in verse form.
Epic Greek poems describe, in a formal language, the adventures of gods and heroes from the
distant past. Homer lived and wrote somewhere between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, but
his works are set in the late Bronze Age, between roughly 1600 and 1100 BCE.

Epic poetry was originally accompanied by music, which is one reason it is strongly metric.
Traditional Homeric epics are written in dactylic hexameter, which is sometimes called the
heroic meter. In dactylic hexameter, each line is composed of six metrical feet. The first five are
either one long syllable followed by two short (dactyls) or two long syllables (spondees). The
final foot contains two syllables, which may be long-long or long-short. However, Greek and
English are very different languages, and for translators, it's difficult to render Greek verse in
English while maintaining dactylic hexameter.

Homeric epics often use epithets, which are phrases associated with particular characters or
phenomena that are often presented when that character is reintroduced to the narrative. In
the Homeric Hymns, for example, Zeus is called "Zeus whom thunder delights" and "deep-
crashing, far-seeing Zeus." Hermes's epithets include "Slayer of Argos" and "deathless
Conductor," and wise Athena, "protectress of cities," is often introduced with the preface
"bright-eyed."

Ancient Greek hymns were performed at festivals to praise the gods. The gods' names appear
early in each hymn, and often a god's or goddess's relatives are mentioned to bolster the deity's
status. However, many of the hymns in this collection could be the preludes or postludes of
longer poems that aren't included. For example, Hymn 17 is five lines long. The opening line is
"Of Castor and Polydeuces [also spelled Kastor and Polydeukes] sing, you clear-voiced Muse,"
and the closing line is "Farewell to you, sons of Tyndareus [also spelled Tyndareos], mounted
upon swift steeds." Hymn 18, "To Hermes," opens and closes with lines almost identical to the
introduction and conclusion of Hymn 4, "To Hermes." However, the actual substance of the
hymn appears to be missing.

At least one scholar has suggested that the Homeric Hymns divide into two halves. In the first
half, Hymns 1–8 pay tribute to major male and female gods; 9–14 feature female gods only;
and 15–17 feature demigods. The second half of the collection follows a similar pattern. Male
gods are featured in Hymns 18–23; six hymns dedicated to female gods and Dionysus (24–29)
come next. And after them, three hymns celebrate the sun, moon, and earth. Each half ends
with a tribute to demigods.

Greek Mythology
The ancient Greeks used their mythology to explain the world and all its phenomena, from the
cycle of day and night and the passage of the seasons to the origins of particular landforms and
even flowers, as well as processes such as storms and earthquakes. The Greeks, like most
societies of the ancient world, had multiple gods and goddesses. The 12 major gods live chiefly
on Mount Olympus (also spelled Olympos in some translations), though some live elsewhere.
Zeus is the ruler of the gods, having conquered his own father, the Titan Kronos (Cronos), and
seized control. Hera is Zeus's wife, and she is also his sister.

The other 12 major gods are either siblings of Zeus (Poseidon and Demeter, and sometimes
Aphrodite) or his children (Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus [also spelled
Dionysos], and Hermes). Hephaestus (spelled Hephaistos in some translations), in some
accounts, is the son of only Hera, who conceives him alone. He is born disabled, which enrages
Hera. So does the fact that several of her co-rulers on Mount Olympus are offspring Zeus
conceives with other goddesses. Other major gods include Hestia, sister of Zeus, and Hades,
brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld. The pantheon is somewhat variable, and these
and other major gods are sometimes included in the 12 Olympians, most commonly replacing
Dionysus.

Gods can be associated with more than one power or attribute. Athena, for example, is the
goddess of war but is also associated with cities, justice, skill in crafts, and wisdom. Hermes, her
half-brother and herald of the gods, is the god of boundaries and transitions and is associated
with—among other things—travelers, herdsmen, thieves, orators, athletics, and invention.
Hades is the god of the dead, which is why one of his epithets is "Receiver of Many." All the
gods appreciate it when mortals sacrifice livestock in their honor, and some of the gods are
associated with particular animals. For example, it was traditional to sacrifice pigs to Demeter
and Dionysus. Since the gods eat only ambrosia and drink only nectar, it was not expected that
they would partake of the creatures that had been killed in their honor. Rather, humans did
that.

The gods have human form and characteristics—and human flaws as well. They can be loving
and jealous, generous, and vengeful. They direct human destiny, and they often interact with
humans. On occasion, the gods might trick one another or tell lies. Zeus is the final arbiter of
the gods' quarrels, although he can be tricked as well on occasion. Aphrodite laughingly claims
the credit when he falls in love with mortal women, and Zeus retaliates by causing Aphrodite
herself to fall in love with a mortal. In addition to the 12 major gods, there are dozens of minor
gods. They too are immortal, and they too have supernatural abilities, but most do not live on
Mount Olympus. The nine Muses, for instance, live at the bottom of the mountain. The
demigod Asclepius (Asklepios in some translations), the god of medicine, lives on earth, where
he works as a doctor. Hermes's son Pan, who has goats' legs and horns, was born in Arcadia,
where he holds wild nightly revels with nymphs and other minor deities.

Rituals and Sites

A shrine is a holy site of worship, but it is not always a building. Shrines can be placed inside
temples and houses as well as outdoors. Ancient Greeks often set up elaborate shrines in
temples that honored one or more gods and goddesses. In several Homeric Hymns, new shrines
or temples are erected in honor of one of the gods. Demeter establishes a shrine at Eleusis in
Hymn 2. Apollo establishes one at Delphi in Hymn 3 and then kidnaps a ship full of Cretan
sailors to build the temple. Hymn 4 was written possibly for the dedication of the Altar of the
Twelve Gods, in Athens in 522/521 BCE. In Hymn 5 Aphrodite prepares to meet Anchises
(spelled Ankhises in some translations) in Aphrodite's sanctuary at Paphos on the island of
Cyprus. Hestia is often worshiped jointly with other gods, and Hymn 29 may celebrate the
dedication of a new temple she shares with Hermes. Most of the major gods had more than
one shrine. In Hymn 3, when Hera is pregnant with the monster Typhon (spelled Typhaon in
some translations), she keeps away from Mount Olympus and retreats to her "prayer-filled
shrines," enjoying the offerings people bring to her. The speaker doesn't need to explain how
Hera, a goddess, travels from shrine to shrine. She simply can. As the goddess of the hearth,
Hestia is assumed to have a shrine in every household as well as every temple.

Visitors were rarely allowed inside the temples in ancient Greece. These spaces were not
intended for communal worship. Temples were for the gods to visit or live in, and members of
the community wanted the gods to be comfortable. Gods could be touchy beings, and it was
important to appease them. Angry gods were not reluctant to punish the people who
worshiped them. The gods were provided with meals every day, and a staff of servants was
hired to work for them. The gods also received sacrifices or a portion of harvests. Temple
architecture was customized to suit particular gods. A temple to Poseidon might have a water
view, for example. A statue of the particular god being honored was prominently displayed
within the temple.

More is known about Apollo's famous shrine at Delphi than about many of the others. The site
may have been sacred since 1500 BCE, with the Greeks taking over its management around
1000 BCE, although it seems to have taken on its Greek religious significance about 200 years
later. The first temple in honor of Apollo was built around 650. The shrine became so popular
that many new homes and inns were built around it, and the priestesses (oracles) who
prophesied there became rich. Pilgrims journeyed to the shrine to ask the oracle questions in a
day-long process. First the oracle, eventually required to be a virgin over 50, purified herself by
fasting, drinking holy water, and bathing in a spring. Then the supplicant sacrificed an animal
and followed the oracle into the inner temple. The oracle touched a sacred stone, inhaled some
mysterious vapors released from a cavern, and went into a trance. Whatever words she
mumbled while in the trance were transcribed and interpreted afterward by a priest. More
than one historian has suggested that oracles, like modern fortune-tellers, were good at saying
what their visitors wanted to hear.