The Homeric Hymns (Penguin Classics) by Homer

Author:Homer
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9780141911175
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2003-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

V

Hymn to Aphrodite

Muse, speak to me of the works of Aphrodite,

the golden one, the Cyprian,

she who awakens sweet longing in the gods

and subdues the race of human beings

and the birds that fly through the air

and all the wild beasts and the many creatures

[5] that the dry land feeds, that the sea nourishes.

All these love what she brings to pass,

the Cytherean in her lovely crown.

But there are three hearts

she can neither persuade nor beguile.

First, there is the daughter of Zeus who holds the

aegis,

Athena with her gleaming eyes.

The works of golden Aphrodite give her no pleasure,

[10] she likes wars and the work of Ares,

fights and battles and caring for her glorious crafts.

She was the first to teach the craftsmen of the earth

how to make carriages and chariots patterned with

bronze.

She it is who teaches soft-skinned maidens

the wondrous arts of the home,

[15] putting them in the mind of each one.

The second goddess whom laughter-loving Aphrodite

cannot tame in love is Artemis

with her golden arrows and her hunting cries.

She loves the bow and slaying wild animals

in the mountains, she loves lyres and dancing

and the piercing cries of women,

[20] shadowy glades and the cities of just men.

The third one who is not charmed by the works of

Aphrodite

is Hestia, the pure maiden, who was the first-born,

the oldest child of crafty Kronos,

and also the youngest, the last-born,

by the will of Zeus who holds the aegis.

Poseidon and Apollo courted her, the mighty goddess,

but she was wholly unwilling and adamantly refused

[25] them.

And she swore a great oath – which has been fulfilled –

touching the head of father Zeus who holds the aegis,

that she would be virgin all her days, divine goddess.

So instead of marriage, father Zeus gave her a lovely

gift

[30] and now she sits at the heart of the home,

accepting the prize of all the offerings.

She is honoured in all the temples of the gods

and she is the goddess most revered among all the

mortals.

These are the three hearts

Aphrodite can neither persuade nor beguile.

But no one else, none of the blessed gods

[35] or human beings, can ever escape Aphrodite.

She has even led astray the mind of thunder-loving

Zeus,

even though he is the greatest of all

and has the greatest honour.

The truth is, she beguiled his discreet heart

whenever she pleased, uniting him easily

with mortal women and making him utterly forget

[40] Hera, his sister and wife, the most beautiful

among the deathless goddesses.

She is the most glorious of goddesses

whom crafty Kronos and mother Rhea bore,

and Zeus, whose knowledge is incorruptible,

made her his respected wife in all her wisdom.

[45] But Zeus in turn cast sweet longing

to be united with a mortal man

into the heart of Aphrodite herself

so that, very soon, not even she should be able

to keep away from the bed of a mortal man

lest she, who loves laughter, should one day

sweetly smile upon the whole company of gods

and, mocking them all, say

[50] that she had mated gods with mortal women

who had borne mortal sons to immortal gods

and she had also mated goddesses with mortal men.

So it was for Anchises who was tending his cattle

on the high mountains

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.