- Source
- Anonymous. Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. Evelyn-White, Hugh G., editor. London: William Heinmann; New York: The Macmillan Co., 1914.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg003.humanitext-grc2:346-414
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Hera gives birth to Typhaon and entrusts him to the dragoness who is later slain by Apollo. Apollo establishes the name of Pytho, punishes the deceptive spring Telphusa, and then, taking the form of a dolphin, hijacks a Cretan ship to obtain priests for his temple.
αὐτῷ1 ἐφεζομένη πυκινὰς φραζέσκετο βουλάς·
Sitting upon it, she was constantly planning deep counsels;
ἀλλʼ ἥ γʼ ἐν νηοῖσι πολυλλίστοισι μένουσα
but remaining in the temples where many prayers are made,
τέρπετο οἷς ἱεροῖσι βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη.
the ox-eyed lady Hera delighted in her holy offerings.
ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ μῆνές τε καὶ ἡμέραι ἐξετελεῦντο
But when indeed the months and days were fulfilled,
ἂψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι,
as the year came round again and the seasons came on,
ἣ δʼ ἔτεκʼ οὔτε θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιον οὔτε βροτοῖσι,
she bore one like neither to gods nor to mortals,
δεινόν τʼ ἀργαλέον τε Τυφάονα, πῆμα βροτοῖσιν.
the terrible and troublesome Typhaon, a plague to mortals.
αὐτίκα τόνδε λαβοῦσα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη
Immediately taking him, the ox-eyed lady Hera
δῶκεν ἔπειτα φέρουσα κακῷ κακόν· ἣ δʼ ὑπέδεκτο.
gave him then, carrying him, as an evil to an evil; and she received him.
ὃς κακὰ πόλλʼ ἔρδεσκεν ἀγακλυτὰ φῦλʼ ἀνθρώπων·
He used to work many evils upon the glorious tribes of men;
ὃς τῇ γʼ ἀντιάσειε, φέρεσκέ μιν αἴσιμον ἦμαρ,2
whoever met her, the fated day would carry him off,
πρίν γέ οἱ ἰὸν ἐφῆκε ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων
until the lord far-shooting Apollo sent a strong
καρτερόν· ἣ δʼ ὀδύνῃσιν ἐρεχθομένη χαλεπῇσι
arrow upon her; and she, racked with bitter pains,
κεῖτο μέγʼ ἀσθμαίνουσα κυλινδομένη κατὰ χῶρον.
lay gasping hard, rolling over the ground.
θεσπεσίη δʼ ἐνοπὴ γένετʼ ἄσπετος· ἣ δὲ καθʼ ὕλην
A wondrous, unspeakable cry arose; and she through the wood
πυκνὰ μάλʼ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα ἑλίσσετο, λεῖπε δὲ θυμὸν
rolled over and over very thick, here and there, and breathed out her life,
φοινὸν ἀποπνείουσʼ· ὃ δʼ ἐπηύξατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·
breathing out her bloody breath; and Phoebus Apollo boasted over her:
ἐνταυθοῖ νῦν πύθευ ἐπὶ χθονὶ βωτιανείρῃ·
”Rot here now upon the man-nourishing earth;
οὐδὲ σύ γε ζώουσα κακὸν δήλημα βροτοῖσιν
nor shall you, living, be any more a harmful bane to mortals,
ἔσσεαι, οἳ γαίης πολυφόρβου καρπὸν ἔδοντες
who, eating the fruit of the much-nourishing earth,
ἐνθάδʼ ἀγινήσουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας·
shall bring hither perfect hecatombs;
οὐδέ τί τοι θάνατόν γε δυσηλεγέʼ οὔτε Τυφωεὺς
nor shall Typhoeus protect you from grievous death,
ἀρκέσει οὔτε Χίμαιρα δυσώνυμος, ἀλλά σέ γʼ αὐτοῦ
nor the ill-named Chimera, but right here
πύσει3 Γαῖα μέλαινα καὶ ἠλέκτωρ Ὑπερίων.
the black Earth and shining Hyperion shall rot you.”
ὣς φάτʼ ἐπευχόμενος· τὴν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψε.
So he spoke, boasting; and darkness covered her eyes.
τὴν δʼ αὐτοῦ κατέπυσʼ ἱερὸν μένος Ἠελίοιο,
And there the holy power of Helios rotted her,
ἐξ οὗ νῦν Πυθὼ κικλήσκεται· οἳ δὲ ἄνακτα
from which now the place is called Pytho; and they call the lord
Πύθιον ἀγκαλέουσιν ἐπώνυμον, οὕνεκα κεῖθι
Pythian by surname, because there
αὐτοῦ πῦσε πέλωρ μένος ὀξέος Ἠελίοιο.
the power of the sharp Helios rotted the monster.
καὶ τότʼ ἄρʼ ἔγνω ᾗσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων,
And then indeed Phoebus Apollo knew in his heart
οὕνεκά μιν κρήνη καλλίρροος ἐξαπάφησε·
that the beautiful-flowing spring had deceived him;
βῆ δʼ ἐπὶ Τελφούσῃ κεχολωμένος, αἶψα δʼ ἵκανε·
and he went against Telphusa in anger, and quickly came there;
στῆ δὲ μάλʼ ἄγχʼ αὐτῆς καί μιν πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
and he stood very close to her and spoke a word to her:
Τελφοῦσʼ, οὐκ ἄρʼ ἔμελλες ἐμὸν νόον ἐξαπαφοῦσα
”Telphusa, you were not destined to deceive my mind
χῶρον ἔχουσʼ ἐρατὸν προρέειν καλλίρροον ὕδωρ.
and, holding this lovely place, to pour forth your beautiful-flowing water.
ἐνθάδε δὴ καὶ ἐμὸν κλέος ἔσσεται, οὐδὲ σὸν οἴης.
Here indeed shall my glory also be, and not yours alone.”
ἦ καὶ ἐπὶ ῥίον ὦσε ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων
He spoke, and lord far-shooting Apollo pushed down a crag
πετραίῃς προχυτῇσιν, ἀπέκρυψεν δὲ ῥέεθρα
with a shower of stones, and hid her streams,
καὶ βωμὸν ποιήσατʼ ἐν ἄλσεϊ δενδρήεντι,
and made an altar in a woody grove,
ἄγχι μάλα κρήνης καλλιρρόου· ἔνθαδʼ ἄνακτι
very near the beautiful-flowing spring; there to the lord
πάντες ἐπίκλησιν Τελφουσίῳ εὐχετόωνται,
all pray by the surname of Telphusian,
οὕνεκα Τελφούσης ἱερῆς ᾔσχυνε ῥέεθρα.
because he defiled the streams of sacred Telphusa.
καὶ τότε δὴ κατὰ θυμὸν ἐφράζετο Φοῖβος Απόλλων,
And then indeed Phoebus Apollo planned in his heart
οὕστινας ἀνθρώπους ὀργείονας εἰσαγάγοιτο,4
what men he should bring in as priests,
οἳ θεραπεύσονται Πυθοῖ ἔνι πετρηέσσῃ·
who should serve him in rocky Pytho;
ταῦτʼ ἄρα ὁρμαίνων ἐνόησʼ ἐπὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ
while pondering these things, he noticed on the wine-dark sea
νῆα θοήν· ἐν δʼ ἄνδρες ἔσαν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοί,
a swift ship; and in her were many and noble men,
Κρῆτες ἀπὸ Κνωσοῦ Μινωίου, οἵ ῥα ἄνακτι
Cretans from Minoan Knossos, who indeed to the lord
ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι καὶ ἀγγέλλουσι θέμιστας
perform sacrifices and announce the decrees
φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος χρυσαόρου, ὅττι κεν εἴπῃ
of Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, whatever he says
χρείων ἐκ δάφνης γυάλων ὕπο Παρνησοῖο.
prophesying from the laurel under the hollows of Parnassus.
οἳ μὲν ἐπὶ πρῆξιν καὶ χρήματα νηὶ μελαίνῃ
They, for business and wealth, in a black ship
ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα Πυλοιγενέας τʼ ἀνθρώπους
were sailing to sandy Pylos and the Pylian-born men;
ἔπλεον· αὐτὰρ ὃ τοῖσι συνήντετο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·
but Phoebus Apollo met them;
ἐν πόντῳ δʼ ἐπόρουσε δέμας δελφῖνι ἐοικὼς
and on the sea he leaped, like a dolphin in form,
νηὶ θοῇ καὶ κεῖτο πέλωρ μέγα τε δεινόν τε·
upon the swift ship and lay, a great and terrible monster;
τῶν δʼ οὔτις κατὰ θυμὸν ἐπεφράσαθʼ ὥστε νοῆσαι5
and of them, no one turned it over in his mind to understand;
[ἐκβάλλειν δʼ ἔθελον δελφῖνʼ· ὁ δὲ νῆα μέλαιναν]
[and they wished to cast out the dolphin, but he the black ship]
πάντοσʼ ἀνασσείσασκε, τίνασσε δὲ νήια δοῦρα.
shook on every side, and rattled the ship’s timbers.
οἳ δʼ ἀκέων ἐνὶ νηὶ καθήατο δειμαίνοντες·
And they sat in silence in the ship, fearing;
οὐδʼ οἵ γʼ ὅπλʼ ἔλυον κοίλην ἀνὰ νῆα μέλαιναν,
nor did they loose the tackling throughout the hollow black ship,
οὐδʼ ἔλυον λαῖφος νηὸς κυανοπρώροιο,
nor did they lower the sail of the dark-prowed ship,
ἀλλʼ ὡς τὰ πρώτιστα κατεστήσαντο βοεῦσιν,
but as they had first set things with ox-hide ropes,
ὣς ἔπλεον· κραιπνὸς δὲ Νότος κατόπισθεν ἔπειγε
so they sailed; and the swift South Wind from behind urged on
νῆα θοήν· πρῶτον δὲ παρημείβοντο Μάλειαν,
the swift ship; and first they passed Malea,
πὰρ δὲ Λακωνίδα γαῖαν ἁλιστέφανον πτολίεθρον
and past the Laconian land, the sea-girt city,
ἷξον καὶ χῶρον τερψιμβρότου Ἠελίοιο,
they came, and to the place of Helios who delights mortals,
Ταίναρον, ἔνθα τε μῆλα βαθύτριχα βόσκεται αἰεὶ
Taenarum, where the thick-fleeced sheep ever graze
Ἠελίοιο ἄνακτος, ἔχει δʼ ἐπιτερπέα χῶρον.
of the lord Helios, and he has a delightful land.
οἳ μὲν ἄρʼ ἔνθʼ ἔθελον νῆα σχεῖν ἠδʼ ἀποβάντες
There they indeed wished to bring the ship to land and, disembarking,
- 346αὐτῷ
The dative αὐτῷ refers to the "richly wrought seat (θῶκον πολυδαίδαλον)" mentioned in the preceding line (345). It functions here without a preposition to mean "sitting upon it."
- 356ὃς τῇ γʼ ἀντιάσειε, φέρεσκέ μιν αἴσιμον ἦμαρ
The combination of the optative ἀντιάσειε (optative of past general condition) in the relative clause and the iterative imperfect indicative φέρεσκε (from φέρω with the iterative suffix -σκε-) in the main clause expresses a past general/repeated action: "whoever met her, his fated day would carry him off."
- 369πύσει
The third-person singular future active of the verb πύθω (to rot). Although usually intransitive ("to rot"), here it is used transitively ("will rot you"). This wordplay directly anticipates the etymological explanation of the name "Pytho" in lines 372-374, derived from the rotting of the monster under the sun.
- 389εἰσαγάγοιτο
Due to the secondary tense in the main clause (ἐφράζετο), the verb in the indirect question clause appears in the optative mood (deliberative optative in past sequence), where a subjunctive (or future indicative) would otherwise be expected, representing Apollo's deliberation on "whom he should bring in."
- 402τῶν δʼ οὔτις κατὰ θυμὸν ἐπεφράσαθʼ ὥστε νοῆσαι
The construction of ὥστε with the infinitive νοῆσαι. Combined with the negative in the main clause (οὔτις ... ἐπεφράσατο), it denotes a result involving intention or capability: "no one turned it over in his mind so as to understand (its identity)."