- 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.tlg010.humanitext-grc2:1-6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
An introductory hymn praising the beauty of Aphrodite, her rule over Salamis and Cyprus, and asking for her favor in song.
κυπρογενῆ Κυθέρειαν ἀείσομαι, ἥτε1 βροτοῖσι
I shall sing of Cytherea, born in Cyprus, who to mortals
μείλιχα δῶρα δίδωσιν, ἐφ’ ἱμερτῷ δὲ προσώπῳ
gives gentle gifts, and on her lovely face
αἰεὶ μειδιάει καὶ ἐφ’ ἱμερτὸν θέει ἄνθος.2
always smiles, and a lovely bloom flits over it.
χαῖρε, θεά, Σαλαμῖνος ἐυκτιμένης μεδέουσα
Hail, goddess, who rules well-built Salamis
εἰναλίης τε Κύπρου· δὸς δ’ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδήν.
and sea-girt Cyprus; and grant me a lovely song.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ’ ἀοιδῆς.3
But I shall remember both you and another song.
- 1ἥτε
The relative pronoun ἥ combined with the epic particle τέ. It indicates a characteristic or habitual action ('she who always').
- 3ἐφ’ ἱμερτὸν θέει ἄνθος
ἄνθος (bloom/flower of youth) is the subject, and θέει (runs/flits) is the verb. The preposition ἐφ’ (ἐπί) governs an omitted object—the 'face' (πρόσωπον) mentioned in the previous line ('over [her face]')—while ἱμερτόν modifies ἄνθος, meaning 'a lovely bloom flits over her face'.
- 6καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ’ ἀοιδῆς
The verb μνήσομαι (future middle of μνάομαι, 'I shall remember/mention') takes the genitive case. Here, both the personal pronoun σεῖο (of you) and ἄλλης ἀοιδῆς (another song) are coordinated by καὶ...καὶ... as its objects.