Humanitext Reader

Homeric Hymns · Homeric Hymn 1 to Dionysus §1-21

Birthplace of Dionysus at Nysa and divine honors

Passage 1 of 1 · Greek

Summary

The poet recounts various traditions regarding Dionysus' birthplace, affirming Nysa as the true one, and describes Zeus's nod of assent confirming his worship. The hymn concludes with a prayer and a promise of perpetual song.

§1οἳ μὲν γὰρ Δρακάνῳ σʼ, οἳ δʼ Ἰκάρῳ ἠνεμοέσσῃ §2φάσʼ, οἳ δʼ ἐν Νάξῳ, δῖον γένος, εἰραφιῶτα, §3οἳ δέ σʼ ἐπʼ Ἀλφειῷ ποταμῷ βαθυδινήεντι §4κυσαμένην Σεμέλην τεκέειν Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ·
For some say [you were born] in Dracanum, and some in windy Icarus, some in Naxos, O Eiraphiotes, divine offspring, and others say that on the deep-swirling river Alpheus, pregnant Semele bore you to Zeus who delights in thunder.
§5ἄλλοι δʼ ἐν Θήβῃσιν, ἄναξ, σε λέγουσι γενέσθαι, §6ψευδόμενοι·
Others, O lord, say that you were born in Thebes, but they lie.
σὲ δʼ ἔτικτε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε §7πολλὸν ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων, κρύπτων λευκώλενον Ἥρην.
The father of men and of gods begot you far away from men, hiding from white-armed Hera.
§8ἔστι δέ τις Νύση, ὕπατον ὄρος, ἀνθέον ὕλῃ, §9τηλοῦ Φοινίκης, σχεδὸν Αἰγύπτοιο ῥοάων,
There is a certain Nysa, a most high mountain, blooming with woods, far from Phoenicia, near the streams of Egypt.
§10<milestone type="startquote"/>καί οἱ ἀναστήσουσιν ἀγάλματα πόλλʼ ἐνὶ νηοῖς.
<milestone type="startquote"/>"And they will set up many statues for him in temples.
§11ὣς δὲ τὰ μὲν τρία, σοὶ πάντως τριετηρίσιν αἰεὶ §12ἄνθρωποι ῥέξουσι τεληέσσας ἑκατόμβας. <milestone type="endquote"/> §13ἦ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπʼ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων· §14ἀμβρόσιαι δʼ ἄρα χαῖται ἐπερρώσαντο ἄνακτος §15κρατὸς ἀπʼ ἀθανάτοιο· μέγαν δʼ ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον.
And so these three [honors]; to you, in any case, always at triennial festivals men will offer perfect hecatombs."<milestone type="endquote"/> He spoke, and the son of Cronos nodded with his dark brows; and the ambrosial hair of the lord flowed waving from his immortal head; and he shook great Olympus.
§16ὣς εἰπὼν ἐπένευσε καρήατι μητίετα Ζεύς.
So saying, wise Zeus nodded with his head.
§17ἵληθʼ, εἰραφιῶτα, γυναιμανές· οἱ δέ σʼ ἀοιδοὶ §18ᾁδομεν ἀρχόμενοι λήγοντές τʼ· οὐδέ πῃ ἔστι §19σεῖʼ ἐπιληθομένῳ ἱερῆς μεμνῆσθαι ἀοιδῆς.
Be gracious, Eiraphiotes, who drive women mad; we singers sing of you as we begin and as we end; and in no way is it possible for one who forgets you to be mindful of sacred song.
§20καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διώνυσʼ εἰραφιῶτα, §21σὺν μητρὶ Σεμέλῃ, ἥν περ καλέουσι Θυώνην.
And so hail to you, Dionysus, Eiraphiotes, together with your mother Semele, whom they call Thyone.

Notes

  1. §1οἳ μὲν... οἳ δʼ — An early usage of the relative pronoun as a demonstrative, forming the correlative structure 'some... others...' The main verb governing this entire construction is φάσʼ (φάσι) in §2.
  2. §10οἱ — The dative of the third person pronoun (enclitic), referring here to Dionysus ('for him' or 'in his honor').
  3. §13ἦ — Although it can be interpreted either as the third-person singular imperfect of ἠμί ('he spoke') or as an emphatic particle ('truly'), it is best understood as the Homeric formulaic expression ἦ καί ('he spoke, and...').
  4. §19σεῖʼ ἐπιληθομένῳ — The dative participle ἐπιληθομένῳ ('for one who forgets') functions as the subject of the infinitive μεμνῆσθαι, which is dependent on the impersonal construction οὐδέ πῃ ἔστι ('it is in no way possible'). The genitive pronoun σεῖʼ (σεῖο) is the object of this participle.

Cite this passage

Homeric Hymns, Homeric Hymn 1 to Dionysus §1-21. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1-21

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.