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Homeric Hymns · Homeric Hymn 28 to Athena §1-18

The Birth of Fully Armed Athena and the Wonder of Cosmos

Passage 1 of 1 · Greek

Summary

This passage describes the miraculous birth of Athena fully armed from the head of Zeus, and the immense awe and natural disruption her sudden appearance caused throughout the cosmos, including the halting of the sun.

§1Παλλάδ’ Ἀθηναίην, κυδρὴν θεόν, ἄρχομ’ ἀείδειν §2γλαυκῶπιν, πολύμητιν, ἀμείλιχον ἦτορ ἔχουσαν, §3παρθένον αἰδοίην, ἐρυσίπτολιν, ἀλκήεσσαν, §4Τριτογενῆ, τὴν αὐτὸς ἐγείνατο μητίετα Ζεὺς §5σεμνῆς ἐκ κεφαλῆς, πολεμήια τεύχε’ ἔχουσαν, §6χρύσεα, παμφανόωντα· σέβας δ’ ἔχε πάντας ὁρῶντας
I begin to sing of Pallas Athena, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, of many counsels, who has an unyielding heart, a revered maiden, protector of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia, whom wise Zeus himself begot from his sacred head, having her warlike armor, golden and all-radiant; and awe seized all the immortals who beheld her.
§7ἀθανάτους· ἣ δὲ πρόσθεν Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο §8ἐσσυμένως ὤρουσεν ἀπ’ ἀθανάτοιο καρήνου, §9σείσασ’ ὀξὺν ἄκοντα· μέγας δ’ ἐλελίζετ’ Ὄλυμπος §10δεινὸν ὑπὸ βρίμης γλαυκώπιδος· ἀμφὶ δὲ γαῖα §11σμερδαλέον ἰάχησεν· ἐκινήθη δ’ ἄρα πόντος, §12κύμασι πορφυρέοισι κυκώμενος· ἔκχυτο δ’ ἅλμη §13ἐξαπίνης· στῆσεν δ’ Ὑπερίονος ἀγλαὸς υἱὸς §14ἵππους ὠκύποδας δηρὸν χρόνον, εἰσότε κούρη §15εἵλετ’ ἀπ’ ἀθανάτων ὤμων θεοείκελα τεύχη §16Παλλὰς Ἀθηναίη· γήθησε δὲ μητίετα Ζεύς.
And she, before Zeus who holds the aegis, impetuously leapt down from his immortal head, shaking her sharp javelin; and great Olympus shook dreadfully beneath the wrath of the bright-eyed goddess; and around the earth shrieked terribly; and the sea was moved, stirred by its dark waves; and the salty deep was poured forth suddenly; and the glorious son of Hyperion stopped his swift-footed horses for a long time, until the maiden, Pallas Athena, had stripped the god-like armor from her immortal shoulders; and wise Zeus rejoiced.
§17καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, Διὸς τέκος αἰγιόχοιο· §18αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ’ ἀοιδῆς.
And so, hail to you, child of aegis-bearing Zeus; but I will remember both you and another song.

Notes

  1. §2ἀμείλιχον ἦτορ ἔχουσαν — An accusative participial phrase. Grammatically, it modifies the direct object of the main verb in §1, Παλλάδ’ Ἀθηναίην (accusative), alongside the preceding adjectives (γλαυκῶπιν, πολύμητιν), describing the attributes of Athena who is being sung.
  2. §6σέβας δ’ ἔχε πάντας ὁρῶντας — The noun σέβας ('awe') is a neuter singular nominative serving as the subject. The verb ἔχε is an imperfect (unaugmented form typical of Epic dialect, for εἶχε). Literally 'awe seized all who beheld', dramatically expressing the gods' reaction to Athena's appearance in an active construction.
  3. §13στῆσεν — The third-person singular weak (first) aorist active of ἵστημι (for ἔστησεν). Unlike the strong (second) aorist which is intransitive ('stood still'), this form is causative/transitive, meaning 'stopped, brought to a halt', governing the direct object ἵππους ('horses'). It indicates that the son of Hyperion halted his chariot in amazement at Athena.
  4. §18σεῖο — The genitive singular form of the second-person pronoun in the Epic dialect (equivalent to Attic σοῦ). It is in the genitive case because the verb μνήσομ’ (μνήσομαι, 'I will remember/mention') governs the genitive. The subsequent phrase ἄλλης ἀοιδῆς ('another song') is also in the genitive, governed by the same verb.

Cite this passage

Homeric Hymns, Homeric Hymn 28 to Athena §1-18. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg028.humanitext-grc2:1-18

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