Humanitext Reader

Homeric Hymns · Homeric Hymn 30 to Earth §1-19

Praise of Mother Earth Gaia and Prayer for Prosperity

Passage 1 of 1 · Greek

Summary

This hymn praises Gaia, the Earth-mother and source of all blessings, describing the prosperity that people enjoy through her favor, and prays for a pleasant life in return for the song.

§1γαῖαν παμμήτειραν ἀείσομαι, ἠυθέμεθλον, §2πρεσβίστην, ἣ φέρβει ἐπὶ χθονὶ πάνθʼ ὁπόσʼ ἐστίν, §3ἠμὲν ὅσα χθόνα δῖαν ἐπέρχεται ἠδʼ ὅσα πόντον §4ἠδʼ ὅσα πωτῶνται, τάδε φέρβεται ἐκ σέθεν ὄλβου.
I shall sing of Earth, the mother of all, well-founded, the eldest, who feeds all things that are upon the ground, both all things that go upon the divine land, and all that go upon the sea, and all things that fly; these are fed from your wealth.
§5ἐκ σέο δʼ εὔπαιδές τε καὶ εὔκαρποι τελέθουσι, §6πότνια, σεῦ δʼ ἔχεται δοῦναι βίον ἠδʼ ἀφελέσθαι §7θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν·
From you people become blessed with children and rich in fruits, O mistress, and from you it depends to give life and to take it away from mortal men.
ὃ δʼ ὄλβιος, ὅν κε σὺ θυμῷ §8πρόφρων τιμήσῃς· τῷ τʼ ἄφθονα πάντα πάρεστι.
Happy is he whom you in your heart gladly honor; to him all things are present in abundance.
§9βρίθει μέν σφιν ἄρουρα φερέσβιος ἠδὲ κατʼ ἀγροὺς §10κτήνεσιν εὐθηνεῖ, οἶκος δʼ ἐμπίπλαται ἐσθλῶν·
For them the life-giving land is heavy with harvest, and in the fields it thrives with cattle, and their house is filled with good things.
§11αὐτοὶ δʼ εὐνομίῃσι πόλιν κάτα καλλιγύναικα §12κοιρανέουσʼ, ὄλβος δὲ πολὺς καὶ πλοῦτος ὀπηδεῖ·
And they themselves with good laws rule their city of beautiful women, and great happiness and wealth follow them.
§13παῖδες δʼ εὐφροσύνῃ νεοθηλέι κυδιόωσι §14παρθενικαί τε χοροῖς πολυανθέσιν εὔφρονι θυμῷ §15παίζουσαι σκαίρουσι κατʼ ἄνθεα μαλθακὰ ποίης, §16οὕς κε σὺ τιμήσῃς, σεμνὴ θεά, ἄφθονε δαῖμον.
Their children exult with fresh-blooming joy, and the maidens in flower-laden dances with merry heart play and skip over the soft flowers of the grass, whom you honor, holy goddess, bounteous spirit.
§17χαῖρε, θεῶν μήτηρ, ἄλοχʼ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος, §18πρόφρων δʼ ἀντʼ ᾠδῆς βίοτον θυμήρεʼ ὄπαζε·
Hail, mother of the gods, wife of starry Heaven, and gladly in return for my song grant a life pleasing to my heart.
§19αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομʼ ἀοιδῆς.
But I will remember both you and another song.

Notes

  1. §6σεῦ δʼ ἔχεται — The verb ἔχομαι in the middle voice with the genitive (σεῦ) means 'to depend on' or 'to cling to'.
  2. §16οὕς κε σὺ τιμήσῃς — The relative pronoun οὕς (accusative plural of ὅς) with the Homeric particle κε and the subjunctive express a general condition ('whomever you honor'). The antecedent is implied to be the people enjoying prosperity described in §9-15.
  3. §19καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομʼ ἀοιδῆς — The verb μιμνήσκομαι ('to remember') takes the genitive case, governing both σεῖο (epic genitive of σύ) and ἄλλης ἀοιδῆς. This is a formulaic closing expression in Epic Hymns.

Cite this passage

Homeric Hymns, Homeric Hymn 30 to Earth §1-19. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg030.humanitext-grc2:1-19

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.