The Birth and Nurturing of Zeus in Arcadia and Crete — Callimachus, Hymn to Zeus, lines 1–50, Greek & English

Ζηνὸς¹ ἔοι τί κεν ἄλλο παρὰ σπονδῇσιν ἀείδειν

At the libations of Zeus, what else is better to sing than the god himself,

λώιον ἢ θεὸν αὐτόν, ἀεὶ μέγαν, αἰὲν ἄνακτα,

ever great, forever king,

Πηλαγόνων ἐλατῆρα, δικασπόλον οὐρανίδῃσι;

the driver of the Pelagones, the lawgiver to the heavenly ones?

πῶς καί μιν, Δικταῖον ἀείσομεν ἠὲ Λυκαῖον;

And how shall we sing of him? As Dictaean or Lycaean?

ἐν δοιῇ μάλα θυμός, ἐπεὶ γένος ἀμφήριστον.

My mind is in great doubt, since his birth is disputed.

Ζεῦ, σὲ μὲν Ἰδαίοισιν ἐν οὔρεσί φασι γενέσθαι,

Zeus, some say you were born on the Idaean mountains,

Ζεῦ, σὲ δʼ ἐν Ἀρκαδίῃ· πότεροι, πάτερ, ἐψεύσαντο;

Zeus, others say in Arcadia; which of them, Father, have lied?

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται· καὶ γὰρ τάφον, ὦ ἄνα, σεῖο

”Cretans are always liars”; for indeed a tomb, O King, of you

Κρῆτες ἐτεκτήναντο· σὺ δʼ οὐ θάνες, ἐσσὶ γὰρ αἰεί.

the Cretans fashioned; but you did not die, for you exist forever.

ἐν δέ σε Παρρασίῃ Ῥείη τέκεν, ἧχι μάλιστα

And in Parrhasia, Rhea bore you, where especially

ἔσκεν ὄρος θάμνοισι περισκεπές· ἔνθεν ὁ χῶρος

there was a mountain closely covered with bushes; thence the place

ἱερός, οὐδέ τί μιν κεχρημένον Εἰλειθυίης

is holy, nor does any beast or woman

ἑρπετὸν οὐδὲ γυνὴ ἐπιμίσγεται, ἀλλά ἑ Ῥείης

needing Eileithyia approach it, but the Apidanians

ὠγύγιον καλέουσι λεχώιον Ἀπιδανῆες.

call it the primeval birth-bed of Rhea.

ἔνθα σʼ ἐπεὶ μήτηρ μεγάλων ἀπεθήκατο κόλπων

There, when your mother had laid you down from her great womb,

αὐτίκα δίζητο ῥόον ὕδατος, ᾧ κε τόκοιο

she immediately sought a stream of water, with which she might

λύματα χυτλώσαιτο,² τεὸν δʼ ἐνὶ χρῶτα λοέσσαι.

wash away the stains of birth and cleanse your flesh.

Λάδων ἀλλʼ οὔπω μέγας ἔρρεεν οὐδʼ Ἐρύμανθος,

But the great Ladon did not yet flow, nor Erymanthus,

λευκότατος ποταμῶν, ἔτι δʼ ἄβροχος ἦεν ἅπασα

the clearest of rivers, and all Arcadia was still waterless;

Ἀρκαδίη· μέλλεν δὲ μάλʼ εὔυδρος καλέεσθαι

yet it was destined to be called well-watered

αὖτις· ἐπεὶ τημόσδε, Ῥέη ὅτʼ ἐλύσατο μίτρην,

hereafter; since at that time, when Rhea loosed her girdle,

ἦ πολλὰς ἐφύπερθε σαρωνίδας ὑγρὸς Ἰάων

indeed many oak trees did the wet Iaon raise above itself,

ἤειρεν,³ πολλὰς δὲ Μέλας ὤκχησεν ἁμάξας,

and many chariots did the Melas carry,

πολλὰ δὲ Καρνίωνος ἄνω διεροῦ περ ἐόντος

and many beasts made their dens above the Carnion, damp though it is now,

ἰλυοὺς ἐβάλοντο κινώπετα, νίσσετο δʼ ἀνὴρ

and a foot-traveler walked

πεζὸς ὑπὲρ Κρᾶθίν τε πολύστιόν τε Μετώπην

over the Crathis and the pebbly Metope,

διψαλέος· τὸ δὲ πολλὸν ὕδωρ ὑπὸ ποσσὶν ἔκειτο.

thirsty; yet abundant water lay beneath his feet.

καί ῥʼ ὑπʼ ἀμηχανίης σχομένη φάτο πότνια Ῥείη·

And so, held by helplessness, lady Rhea said:

Γαῖα φίλη, τέκε καὶ σύ· τεαὶ δʼ ὠδῖνες ἐλαφραί.

”Dear Earth, do you bring forth too; your birth-pangs are light.”

εἶπε καὶ ἀντανύσασα θεὴ μέγαν ὑψόθι πῆχυν

She spoke, and raising her great arm aloft,

πλῆξεν ὄρος σκήπτρῳ· τὸ δέ οἱ δίχα πουλὺ διέστη,

the goddess struck the mountain with her staff; and it split wide apart for her,

ἐκ δʼ ἔχεεν μέγα χεῦμα· τόθι χρόα φαιδρύνασα,

and poured forth a great stream. There, having cleansed your body,

ὦνα, τεὸν σπείρωσε, Νέδῃ δέ σε δῶκε κομίζειν

O King, she swaddled you and gave you to Neda to carry

κευθμὸν ἔσω Κρηταῖον, ἵνα κρύφα παιδεύοιο,

into the Cretan hiding-place, so that you might be nurtured in secret—

πρεσβυτάτῃ Νυμφέων αἵ μιν τότε μαιώσαντο,

to the eldest of the nymphs who then assisted at her birth,

πρωτίστῃ γενεῇ μετά γε Στύγα τε Φιλύρην τε.

the very first in generation after Styx and Philyra.

οὐδʼ ἁλίην ἀπέτεισε θεὴ χάριν, ἀλλὰ τὸ χεῦμα

Nor did the goddess repay her with empty thanks, but named

κεῖνο Νέδην ὀνόμηνε· τὸ μέν ποθι πουλὺ κατʼ αὐτὸ

that stream Neda; which, flowing in great volume somewhere near

Καυκώνων πτολίεθρον, ὃ Λέπρειον πεφάτισται,

the city of the Caucones, which is called Lepreum,

συμφέρεται Νηρῆι, παλαιότατον δέ μιν ὕδωρ

mingles with Nereus, and its most ancient water

υἱωνοὶ πίνουσι Λυκαονίης ἄρκτοιο.

the grandsons of the Lycaonian Bear drink.

εὖτε Θενὰς ἀπέλειπεν ἐπὶ Κνωσοῖο φέρουσα,

When the Nymph left Thenae, carrying you toward Knossos,

Ζεῦ πάτερ, ἡ Νύμφη σε (Θεναὶ δʼ ἔσαν ἐγγύθι Κνωσοῦ),

Father Zeus (and Thenae was near Knossos),

τουτάκι τοι πέσε, δαῖμον, ἄπʼ ὀμφαλός· ἔνθεν ἐκεῖνο

then, O divine one, your navel-string fell off; wherefore that plain

ὀμφάλιον μετέπειτα πέδον καλέουσι Κύδωνες.

the Cydonians thereafter call the Plain of the Navel.

Ζεῦ, σὲ δὲ Κυρβάντων ἑτάραι προσεπηχύναντο

Zeus, the companions of the Cyrbantes, the Dictaean Meliae,

Δικταῖαι Μελίαι, σὲ δʼ ἐκοίμισεν Ἀδρήστεια

took you in their arms, and Adrasteia lulled you to sleep

λίκνῳ ἐνὶ χρυσέῳ, σὺ δʼ ἐθήσαο πίονα μαζὸν

in a golden cradle, and you sucked the rich udder

αἰγὸς Ἀμαλθείης, ἐπὶ δὲ γλυκὺ κηρίον ἔβρως.

of the goat Amaltheia, and ate the sweet honeycomb.

γέντο⁴ γὰρ ἐξαπιναῖα Πανακρίδος ἔργα μελίσσης

For the works of the Panacrian bee suddenly came to pass.

Syntax notes4 items

1Ζηνὸς
Although some take it as a genitive of comparison with the comparative λώιον ('better than [singing of] Zeus'), it is here interpreted as a possessive genitive qualifying παρὰ σπονδῇσιν ('at the libations of Zeus'). This naturally yields the sense: 'At the libations of Zeus, what else is better to sing than the god himself?'
16ᾧ κε τόκοιο / λύματα χυτλώσαιτο
A relative clause of purpose containing the relative pronoun ᾧ with the particle κε (= ἄν) and the optative. It denotes the stream of water as the means with which she might wash away the stains of childbirth.
23ἤειρεν
Imperfect tense of the verb ἀείρω ('to raise' or 'hold up'). It describes the arid condition of the landscape at that time, where oak trees stood high over the empty bed of the Iaon river.
50γέντο
A rare Homeric aorist third-person singular form (a shortened form of ἐγένετο, or by analogy with ἕλετο), meaning 'suddenly came to pass' or 'appeared'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (3, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — note 1
2026-09-21 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0533.tlg015.humanitext-grc3:1-50