The Homeric Hymns

Book Description

A rich source for students of Greek mythology and literature, the Homeric hymns are also fine poetry. Attributed by the ancients to Homer, these prooimia, or preludes, were actually composed over centuries and used by poets to prepare for the singing or recitation of longer portions of the Homeric epics. In his acclaimed translations of the hymns, Apostolos Athanassakis preserves the essential simplicity of the original Greek, offering a straightforward, line-by-line translation that makes no attempts to masquerade or modernize. For this long-awaited new edition, Athanassakis enhances his classic work with a comprehensive index, careful and selective changes in the translations themselves, and numerous additions to the notes which will enrich the reader's experience of these ancient and influential poems.

Customer Reviews:

The Best of the Best.......2007-08-12

It's really hard to find a good translation of classical works. We mustn't forget that most of these literary works had been translated in the mid to late 1800's and the use of language is not always the best.

I enjoy reading and referring to this book for two reasons:

-it was translated by Mr. Athanassakis, a Greek-American professor, who understands the text in its original format and can produce a sound translation into English without losing the meaning and without employing personal "stylisic contortions" of the text;

-the book contains notes relating to each passage, which helps students of classical works identify the Greek religion, mythology and cultural history; it makes references to specific titles like the Theogony, Odyssey, Iliad, Orphic Hymns, Herodotos, Euripides; also translates Roman-Latin words found in corresponding texts of the same passage.

If you are looking for an "unadulterated" text of the Homeric Hymns, this is book you need for your library! I'm surprised it's not being used in schools...

Ian Myles Slater on: An Established Favorite.......2003-12-03

The Athanassakis translation of the "Homeric Hymns" -- a somewhat disparate collection of narratives, possible opening invocations for performances of longer poems, and a mix of what seem to be actual religious documents and literary exercises -- displays both literary grace (in the verse-line translations), and scholarly explication (in the introduction, and in the accompanying notes to the individual hymns).

[In his 2004 revised edition -- my review is of the original 1976 publication -- the translator continues to insist he was not aiming at producing poetry. It is indeed not formal English verse, but after decades of use I still find his translation not only readable but exceptionally attractive, and at least poetic, and not just by comparison to the old Evelyn-White translation.]

The poems are described as Homer's in the manuscript tradition, in which they are offered together with hymns by historical poets, but also some attributed to the mythical Orpheus. They are in the dactylic hexameter line of the Homeric epics, which in some of them is employed as a lyric meter -- a somewhat astonishing idea to those who know the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." Athanassakis does a wonderful job of producing consistently attractive English versions, while attempting to adhere closely to the original. (I have no claims to real scholarship in this, but I once took the trouble to work through passages against the corresponding lines in a Greek text, with the help of the Liddel-&-Scott "Lexicon" and several grammars.)

After a long period of neglect on the part of translators into English, this group of poems has been translated in both verse and prose a number of times in recent decades. This volume first appeared at about the same time as translations by the poet Charles Boer (extremely "modern") and by Thelma Sargent in the Norton Library (to mention those still in print). These lacked the helpful apparatus (although Sargent could probably have provided something similar). The later Shelmerdine translation, in the Focus Classical Library series, is very extensively annotated, but is aimed at readers completely unfamiliar with Greek myth and literature. (In other words, a good textbook in a world in which the "classics" have dropped out of pre-collegiate courses.) Among the crop of *very* recent translations, by Cashford (Penguin Classics, with notes by Richardson), by Crudden (Oxford World's Classics), and (in a Loeb Classical Library bilingual edition) by M.L. West) [and now (2004) Diane Rayor], the work of Athanassakis seems to me to retain its place as both attractive and useful. Although Crudden, in particular, shows the benefit of another quarter-century of scholarship, his annotations often address other issues, and his notes on some of the hymns range from slim to nothing at all.

How important are the notes? To a casual reader, they are of interest only if they help to make sense of a passage at hand. Some readers, however, will be using the book as a primary source for Greek myth and religion. Guesses and compromises obvious to a classicist, or even an amateur like me, may look like solid facts to the uninformed.

An example of the care Athanassakis takes with such issues is his explanation of a much-debated passage in the "Hymn to Demeter." It is usually understood to explain winter as the portion of the year Persephone must remain in the Underworld. (If you don't know the story, sorry -- look it up, you may enjoy it). Unfortunately, explicit statements of this interpretation in Greek texts are late. Some scholars, such as the very distinguished authority on Greek religion, M.P. Nilsson, have argued for the barren Mediterranean summer instead. The "Hymn" should settle the matter, and Athanassakis, like most translators, offers a version in which it *is* winter -- but explicitly notes (as Cashford/Richardson, for example, do not) that the whole section is in such poor condition in the only extant manuscript that this is merely a plausible reconstruction. Important to know, if you want to build on argument on what looks like a solid fact!

Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod

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THE CHTHONIC SOJOURN & THE ASCENT IN POWER
great comparisons

Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod
Charle Penglase
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Inanna

ASIN: 0415157064

Book Description

b /b b i Greek Myths and Mesopotamia /i /b investigates the nature and extent of Mesopotamian influence on Greek religious mythological works. It shows how Mesopotamian ideas and motifs can increase our understanding of, for instance, the Homeric hymns to Apollo, Aphrodite or Athena, and of the works of Hesiod. This book is essential reading for scholars and students of ancient Greek and Near Eastern religion and mythology.

Customer Reviews:

THE CHTHONIC SOJOURN & THE ASCENT IN POWER.......2001-07-14

Penglase examines structural relationships between on the one hand the `Homeric' hymns from c.650BC (?) and Hesiod's `Theogony' and `Works & Days' from sometime in the eight century and on the other, the myths of Inanna-Ishtar, Dumuzi (Tammuz - as in the month in Arabic and Hebrew) and Ninurta-Ningirsu in the Mesopotamian tradition.

The book begins within a recounting of Inanna's descent into the underworld & the image of her clothes as power (SJK- common to the Gnostic and Hermetic traditions as well). Her condemnation to death by the Anunnaki represents the initial defeat motif and by means of her - seemingly, horizontal - ascent she gains netherworld powers. There is no discussion of her emergence onto the mythological scene or the fact that she (earlier (s)he) was probably a composite deity from various local versions.

Ekur (`kur' means `mountain') relates closely to Olympus but there is no attempt by Penglase to force Mesopotamia to be the origin of the Olympian gods - for Leto, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter & Persephone as well as the motif of Athena's birth and Zeus' journey for power, the relationship is only structurally derivative. The exception is Aphrodite who is probably a direct derivative of Ishtar.

In the Hymn to Apollo, both Apollo and his mother, Leto, perform journeys whilst Hera's role parallels that of Erishkegal. Again, the ascent sequence from within the earth follows the image of the searching mother goddess. There is an initial defeat which is later rectified and the complete journey results in the alternating ascent and descent of the deity with accompanying fertility effects. Apollo's struggles with Pytho and the river Telphousa are related to the Tiamat motif. But whilst Telphousa and Tiamat are both essentially animate, Asag and the kur are essentially inanimate. There isn't much of an attempt to develop this into a chronological modification. Common motifs include food, dressing, noise, radiance, & the return journey to the Assembly of the supreme deity.

The Hymn to Demeter is of particular interest because it is the first written evidence of the Mysteries of Eleusis but the literature of the time presents a very sombre view of the afterlife. Whilst there is plenty on the pomegranate motif there is no mention of the fact that it is a sacred symbol for both Tanit (as successor deity for Astarte and Asherah) and the Kore cults in Carthaginian Tunisia. The unwashed journey of Demeter parallels that of Dutter whilst the child gender issue which threatens to unwind Penglase's analysis is settled by both the kouros / Ploutos in one tradition and by the descent of Geshtinanna's descent in the other. The carrying away of a young person parallels Geshtinanna in the composition `Dumuzi's Dream' and both are accompanied by cosmic screaming. Pengalse rejects the oft-accepted rape thesis on the grounds that `poll'aekazomeni' demonstrates both sexual unwillingness on the part of the young girl and also Hades' forbearance. I remain less than 100% convinced although I don't rule out his interpretation. The Isis / Osiris myth from Egypt is argued to have come from the Persephone legend and not the other way around - this does make sense in spite of the fact that Isis was a clearly defined deity prior to 2500BC. The pig connection between Isis and Demeter is not discussed.

Of great interest is the issue of the drought image. It is argued that given the Greek environmental surroundings, the image of drought fits better with the risks of living in the Iraqi homelands of the Sumerians, Akkadians and Babylonians. But what is never asked is: `From whence did the Greeks come?' There isn't even any mention of the roles played by Zeus. Hera, Athena and Artemis in known Linear B texts from Pylos and Knossos. Admittedly any analysis is going to run in to problems given such limited religious material beyond 750BC.

Penglase roundly rejects the pan-IndoEuropeanist view of Aphrodite seeing her as part of a common development from Inanna-Ishtar with Astarte, and more controversially, Asherah. Common to both Ishtar and Aphrodite are the control of sexual desire (SJK - Ishtar was more deity of sex and violence than love and war), their original androgynous roots (SJK - Inanna was originally both the morning and evening star and both male and female although she is not alone amongst goddesses in having male traits. Interestingly, both Athar and Akkadian Ishtar are masculine in linguistic form), Ourania `the Queen of Heaven', the sacrifice of doves and sacred prostitution. In addition both have a shepherd lover. Strangely enough there is no mention of the shared embroidered girdle with intrinsic powers but Penglase is absolutely clear on ruling out Phoenician influences.

In the creation of Pandora, the first woman, it is the thought that comes from Zeus whilst the creative ability comes from Hephaistos and Athena. This parallels the roles of Enlil and Enki in the Mesopotamian creation myth. Notably, there is no actual female deity involvement in the Enuma Elish. Pandora's powers of attraction are argued to be - at least in part - resultant from the attire she wears.

Penglase's discussion of the birth of Athena is based on evidence from the Homeric Hymn to Athena and the Seventh Olympian Ode of Pindar and the differences from Mesopotamian ideas are seen as the result, not of misunderstanding, but rather of deliberate design. Hesiod is argued not to be presenting a fundamental new paradigm within Greek mythological thinking but rather acting as compiler and integrating Hittite material. Athena springs from Zeus' head but bear in mind here that the Greek word for `head' can also be read as `mountain peak'.

But surely there is also a connection with the overthrow of one order of deities by another? Penglase doesn't dwell on this, nor on the nature of pre-existing Akkadian religion prior to its Sumarianisation or even the issue of the Dorian `invasion' at the start of the Greek Dark Age. Nevertheless, a heavy-going read as it sometimes is, this book is time well invested.

great comparisons.......2000-05-16

Penglase is one of the leading experts on Greek and Mesopotamian mythology and any influence that may have occured between the two. He promotes what I would call "big theme" influences, not tiny details that strip each culture of its own creativity. A bit confusing at times, it is well worth the time of myth speicalists.

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Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns
Hesiod
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0226329658

Book Description

Winner of the 2005 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

In Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns, highly acclaimed poet and translator Daryl Hine brings to life the words of Hesiod and the world of Archaic Greece. While most available versions of these early Greek writings are rendered in prose, Hine's illuminating translations represent these early classics as they originally appeared, in verse. Since prose was not invented as a literary medium until well after Hesiod's time, presenting these works as poems more closely approximates not only the mechanics but also the melody of the originals.

This volume includes Hesiod's Works and Days and Theogony, two of the oldest non-Homeric poems to survive from antiquity. Works and Days is in part a farmer's almanac—filled with cautionary tales and advice for managing harvests and maintaining a good work ethic—and Theogony is the earliest comprehensive account of classical mythology—including the names and genealogies of the gods (and giants and monsters) of Olympus, the sea, and the underworld. Hine brings out Hesiod's unmistakable personality; Hesiod's tales of his escapades and his gritty and persuasive voice not only give us a sense of the author's own character but also offer up a rare glimpse of the everyday life of ordinary people in the eighth century BCE.

In contrast, the Homeric Hymns are more distant in that they depict aristocratic life in a polished tone that reveals nothing of the narrators' personalities. These hymns (so named because they address the deities in short invocations at the beginning and end of each) are some of the earliest examples of epyllia, or short stories in the epic manner in Greek.

This volume unites Hine's skillful translations of the Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns—along with Hine's rendering of the mock-Homeric epic The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice—in a stunning pairing of these masterful classics.

The Homeric Hymns: A Translation, with Introduction and Notes (Joan Palevsky Classic Literature Book)

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An excellent translation
Ian Myles Slater on: A Splendid New Translation
up-to-date, page-turning translation, superb notes & intro!

The Homeric Hymns: A Translation, with Introduction and Notes (Joan Palevsky Classic Literature Book)
Diane Rayor
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520239938

Book Description

The Homeric Hymns have survived for two and a half millennia because of their captivating stories, beautiful language, and religious significance. Well before the advent of writing in Greece, they were performed by traveling bards at religious events, competitions, banquets, and festivals. Thirty-four poems that invoke and celebrate the gods of ancient Greece, the Homeric Hymns raise questions that humanity still struggles with--questions about our place among others and in the world.
"Homeric" because they were composed in the same meter, dialect, and style as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, these "hymns" were created to be sung aloud. In this superb translation by Diane Rayor, which deftly combines accuracy and poetry, the ancient music of the hymns comes alive for the modern reader. Here is the birth of Apollo, god of prophecy, healing, and music and founder of Delphi, the most famous oracular shrine in ancient Greece. Here is Zeus, inflicting upon Aphrodite her own mighty power to cause gods to mate with humans, and here is Demeter rescuing her daughter Persephone from the underworld and initiating the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
With her introduction and notes, Rayor places the hymns in their historical and aesthetic context, providing all the information needed to read, interpret, and fully appreciate these literary windows on an ancient world. As introductions to the Greek gods, entrancing stories, exquisite poetry, and early literary records of key religious rituals and sites, The Homeric Hymns should be read by any student of mythology, classical literature, ancient religion, women in antiquity, or the Greek language.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent translation.......2005-10-19

A beautiful and accessible translation. The notes in the back are an added bonus.

Ian Myles Slater on: A Splendid New Translation.......2004-08-14

For those unfamiliar with the "Homeric Hymns," translated in this case by Diane Rayor: they are a set of thirty-three or thirty-four short and long poems in honor of the major -- and a few minor -- Greek Gods, in the dactylic hexameter used in the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," and other early Greek poems. They are attributed to Homer in the surviving manuscripts, and some allusions and quotations in classical writing. This is not taken seriously, but provides a label. Some are clearly early, a few are suspected of being Hellenistic, or even post-Christian. The longer hymns combine invocation, praise, and extended narratives; the shorter hymns lack the narrative, and in few cases are little more than invocations. They also vary considerably in the solemnity with which they approach the gods (see the trickster Hermes as a baby in Hymn 4). The two opening hymns survive in one damaged manuscript, so "To Dionysos" is a set of fragments, and, "To Demeter," has several gaps. The third, "To Apollo," is suspected of being two separate works linked by an ancient editor. The last piece, "To Hosts," is sometimes excluded, as it is a reminder that hospitality is a sacred duty, and not actually a hymn, and is also found in other contexts. All but a few are clearly intended for public performance, either as short introductions (proems), or as major pieces in themselves.

As I have commented in reviews of other translations, by Apostolos N. Athanassakis (Johns Hopkins, 1976), Jules Cashford (Penguin Classics, 2003, with Introduction and Notes by Nicholas Richardson) and Martin L. West ("Homeric Hymns, Homeric Apocrypha, Lives of Homer," Loeb Classical Library, 2003, with a newly-edited Greek text), this long-neglected body of texts has received several bursts of attention over the last few decades.

After a gap between World War I (Evelyn-West's old Loeb bilingual edition of 1914, last revised 1936; probably still available for awhile) and the 1960s, we now have English renderings by Boer (1970; a second edition [1975?] restored a Hymn to Apollo), Sargent (W.W. Norton, 1973), Athanassakis, Shelmerdine (Focus, 1995), Crudden (Oxford World's Classics, 2002), Cashford, West, and now Diane Rayor (University of California, 2004) -- counting only those currently in print. There are also editions and translations of individual hymns. Although English readers await a modern full critical text edition (the most recent are Italian: West, following the Loeb format, gives only major manuscript variants and those emendations he uses, with minimal, albeit useful, notes), and a full commentary to replace the venerable Allen, Halliday and Sikes (second edition, 1936), this is still a superabundance. "Get just one, or collect the whole set!" comes to mind.

A recent review by a professional classicist (Stephen Evans, on-line in the "Bryn Mawr Classical Review" 2004.08.02) points out that the Crudden, Cashford, and Rayor translations all have annotations and / or introductions which survey recent literature on the hymns, but that they tend to favor different approaches, and so display remarkably little overlap in their coverage.

Rayor does join Crudden in discussing Near-Eastern parallels to the hymns. Where Crudden cites comparisons of Hymn 3, the great Hymn (or Hymns) to Apollo, to Babylonian and Assyrian compositions about the exploits of the warrior-god Ninurta, though, Rayor is willing to go back to their Sumerian predecessors for the Hymn to Aphrodite. Unfortunately, I am not convinced that the stripping of the love-goddess Inanna (= Ishtar) of her magic vestments as she passes the gates of the Netherworld has much to do with the undressing of the disguised (as a mortal) Aphrodite by the Trojan prince Anchises in Hymn 5 -- particularly since the living body of Inanna is described throughout in terms of the materials of her own cult statue (something even the smitten Anchises would have noticed). The passage comes from "The Descent of Inanna," which Rayor calls a hymn, although it is usually classed as a narrative. These are not mutually exclusive, as both Greek and Mesopotamian examples show, but if it *is* a hymn, it is *not* to Inanna, but to her rival, the Queen of the Netherworld: it ends with the invocation "Holy Ereshkigal, sweet is your praise!" Still, taken as a "type-scene," it is an interesting parallel, particularly since the setting of the Hymn to Aphrodite is explicitly *not* Greece, but "foreign" (Asia Minor); and Greek re-workings even of Greek sources can be rather drastic.

Diane Rayor's translations are not only the product of a distinguished classicist; they have been polished over several years of public readings, and with her students, to create a version which actually works in performance -- at least in American English. Most other available translations are worth reading aloud (with perhaps the exception of Boer's visually experimental free verse, and certainly of Evelyn-White's stodgy prose), but Rayor's alone invites it.

Here is a sample of three recent versions of The (Delian and Pythian) Hymn(s) to Apollo (Hymn 3), lines 331-339, for comparison. Hera, Queen of the Gods, is furious over the many children fathered on others by her husband Zeus, the successful rebel against their father Kronos and his fellow Titans, and current King of the Gods -- particularly the "motherless" Athena, who emerged from his head.

*Cashford*
When she had spoken, she went away from the gods,
Her heart very angry. Then immediately
She prayed, the lady Hera with her cow-eyes,
And she struck the earth
With her hand flat against it, saying:
`Hear me now, Gaia, and broad Ouranos high above,
and you Titan gods who live beneath the earth
around great Tartaros from whom men and gods come.
Listen to me now, all of you,
And give me a child apart from Zeus
And one not lesser than him in strength.
Rather, may he be as much stronger than Zeus,
Who sees all things, as Zeus, for his part,
Is stronger than Kronos.'

*West*
So saying, she went apart from the gods, angry at heart. Then straightway she prayed, did the mild-eyed lady Hera, and struck the earth with the flat of her hand and said, "Hear me now, Earth and broad Heaven above, and you Titan gods who dwell below the earth around great Tartarus, and from whom gods and men descend; all of you now in person, hear me and grant me a son without Zeus' help, in no way falling short of him in strength, but as much superior as wide-sounding Zeus is to Kronos."

*Rayor*
In great fury, she stormed from the gods.
Eyes dark and wide as a cow's, Queen Hera prayed
And with down-turned palms struck the earth:
"Now hear me Earth and wide Heaven above,
and Titans, gods beneath the earth, dwelling around
great Tartaros, from whom men and gods derive:
all hear me and grant me a child apart from Zeus,
in no way weaker in strength than he, a child greater
than Zeus by as much as Zeus is greater than Kronos."

up-to-date, page-turning translation, superb notes & intro!.......2004-07-04

These dynamic translations will interest both beginners and more advanced readers, whether to read these as poetry and great stories, for their importance in World Literature, or their particular relation to classical antiquity. The hymns are immensely readable in Rayor's smooth and engaging translations, and the length of the hymns, and their appeal to myth, makes them really perfect for classroom use. Readers will be fascinated with their speculations on the origins, powers, and mishaps of the gods and goddesses, and they provide a great take-off point for writing assigments, in my classes. Rayor's notes are clear, to the point, giving just enough detail for readers who want more, and signalling where we can look further. The text throughout is well-informed by recent anthropological approaches that have expanded knowledge of ancient Greek culture, evident in the valuable introduction and notes, which attend to the interrelation of literature, folklore, religion, and geography. Rayor's introduction adopts a practical-minded, functionalist approach to literary problems such as genre and authorship, describing a hymn as a poem of praise, sometimes narrative, addressed to a god, and noting the importance of oral performance in Greek culture. I took personal delight in the maps and glossary, whose easy-to-follow pronounciation guide anticipates and lays aside the uncertainties about proper names that many students find to be the greatest single obstacle to the Hymn and to classics. Casual readers will appreciate the clarity and accuracy of the language, with its fast-paced readability: the English of the hymns neither extrapolates nor subtracts from the original texts, balancing the desire for accuracy with creating a translation that is at once concise and musical. The introduction is clear and the bibliography offers a well-balanced selection of recent criticism. Of particular value are the the notes, which point to additional ancient and contemporary sources, always stressing the poems' contexts in poetic performance and religious worship in the ancient world.

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Ian Myles Slater on: Not Your Ordinary Hymnal

Homeric Hymns (Penguin Classics)
Homer
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140437827
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Book Description

From the abduction of Persephone by Hades to Hermes' theft of Apollo's cattle, the Homeric Hymns recount some of the most compelling and significant episodes in Greek mythology. They were recited at festivals to honor the Olympian gods and goddesses, to pray for divine favor, and for victory in singing contests. They stand now as works of great poetic force, full of grace and lyricism, ranging in tone from irony to solemnity, ebullience to grandeur. Enhanced with an informative introduction that explores the hymns' authorship, performance, literary qualities, and influence on later writers, this collection gives an intriguing view of the ancient Greek relationship between humans and the divine.

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Ian Myles Slater on: Not Your Ordinary Hymnal.......2003-11-25

This review concerns the Penguin Classics volume of "The Homeric Hymns," translated by Jules Cashford, with an Introduction and Notes by Nicholas Richardson -- just in case this is appearing with another translation, as was the case with two earlier reviews originally posted here, and since removed (at least one of which was of the version translated and annotated by Susan C. Shelmerdine, for the Focus Classical Library).

The Homeric Hymns themselves are a miscellaneous collection of 33 poems, differing in terms of age and likely function; what they have in common are the Greek gods who are their subject, and the epic hexameter. They are assigned to Homer in a manuscript tradition which includes the supposed works of the mythical poet Orpheus, which for starters does not inspire confidence in the attribution, along with literary hymns by the historical figures Callimachus and Proclus. The "Homeric" songs range from the reverential (the Hymn to Demeter) to the humorous (the first Hymn to Hermes) in tone, and the contents are variously lyric and narrative. The long hymns at the opening of the collection are of considerable importance to our knowledge of Greek myth and religion, but the following shorter hymns have a value of their own. The description as "hymns" is in some cases problematic (although it has attracted listings of Christian hymnals to some of the Amazon sites for other translations!). At least some of the shorter works seem to have been intended as introductory invocations to the gods at public performances of other works, including the Homeric epics. In these cases, despite their religious nature, I agree with the Classicists who argue that "proem" is probably the better term.

For some reason, the long-neglected collection has come in for a lot of attention from translators in Britain and America during the last quarter-century or so. Earlier translations, with the exception of Evelyn-White's bilingual volume in the Loeb Classical Library (itself very recently replaced by a new edition by M.L. West) had long since dropped out of print. Now the reader faces an abundance of riches, most with something different to offer. There is an interesting, rather aggressively modern, translation by Boer (1970; second edition, restoring missing text, preferred), and more conventional ones, with various sorts of commentaries, by Athanassakis (1976; second edition, 2004, not seen), Crudden (2001; Oxford World's Classics, 2002), Sargent (1973; very readable, but no commmentary), Shelmerdine (1995), and West (2003; with Greek text), with another, by Diane Rayor, published in 2004. [As of August 2004, I have reviewed the 1976 Athanassakis, West, and Rayor translations.] There have also been a number of treatments of single hymns, including one by Richardson.

The Cashford translation is in verse, but frequently breaks up the long hexameter lines into shorter, more "lyrical" English phrases; marginal numbers indicate five-line intervals in the underlying Greek text. This gives an initial impression of a very free translation, but spot-checking against West's recent Loeb edition shows an admirable fidelity to details of the Greek, even distinguishing epithets others consider synonyms. Boer uses a similar approach to the verse forms, but Cashford's English is more dignified, and generally suited to a very formal type of composition, which is what we seem to be dealing with, after all.

The Richardson annotations (pages 149 to 174) are useful, and usually to the point; they compare well with the different approaches taken by Athanassakis and Crudden, and all three have something to offer.

A glossary/index, like that offered by Crudden, would probably be very welcome to those readers unfamiliar with Greek myth and literature, if they happen to try this book. (Also to those who just want to locate something quickly!) Of course, if it is used as a textbook it will probably accompany one off the many available introductions to Greek mythology. (If not, Shelmerdine's almost chokingly annotated translation is out there, too.)

This is a welcome addition to the Penguin catalogue, and this reader hopes that it stays there for a good long time.

[Note: an interesting, very detailed, review of this translation by a professional classicist, Stephen Evans, has since become available on-line (posted in early 2004), through the "Bryn Mawr Classical Review," and can be located by the author (Cashford) or the reviewer in the site Archive.]

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Great Product, Prompt Delivery
There are much better translations out there!
A divine Homeric Hymns

Homeric Hymns (Focus Classical Library)
Susan C. Shelmerdine
Manufacturer: Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Theogony, Works and Days (Oxford World's Classics)
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Hesiod's Theogony (Focus Classical Library)

ASIN: 1585100196

Book Description

English translation of all the hymns, with introduction, notes, maps, illustration, notes, maps, illustrations, suggested readings.

Customer Reviews:

Great Product, Prompt Delivery.......2007-03-27

The book was in perfect condition and arrived before I knew it! I needed it for a class so it was good to get it quickly!

There are much better translations out there!.......2003-08-06

You really should consider other options than this particular translation. The only buyers of this book are the students she requires to buy it. Just something to put on a CV and claim sales that she generated by requiring everyone teaching a mythology course in her department (she is the department head) to put her book on the required reading lists. You're not missing anything at all by saving yourself some money and fine a free copy of the work. After all, it's a few thousand years old and I doubt homer is losing his cut of the proceeds.

A divine Homeric Hymns.......2003-02-15

In ancient Greece, a hymn was a song of praise to a god--but it could also tell a rousing story, like the infant Hermes stealing his brother Apollo's cattle, or Aphrodite seducing the Trojan prince Anchises on Mt. Ida.

Professor Susan Shelmerdine's translation of the Homeric Hymns is an ideal introduction to these 33 hymns dedicated to the various Olympian gods. In clear, lively prose, she explains the hymns' literary tradition, myth sources, and forms. In easy-to-access on-the-page footnotes, she explains the relevant background that makes the hymns clear and easy to understand. But what makes her translation first-rate is that the poems are written in a clear, engaging voice that is both true to ancient Greek stylistics and yet sounds as contemporary as today. For example, this description of the abduction of Persephone by Hades:

"But the wide-pathed ground gaped open
along the Plain of Nysa, where the lord who receives many [Hades} sprang out
with his immortal horses, the son of Kronos, worshipped under many names.
He seized her against her will and on his golden chariot
carried her off wailing. And she cried aloud with a shrill voice,
But no one either of the gods or mortal men
heard her cry, not even the olives with their splendid fruit."

In addition, the book provides pictures of the gods taken from ancient Greek art, genealogy charts, and relevant maps. If you are taking a mythology class or just want an authentic introduction to stories of the ancient Greek gods, Susan Shelmerdine's Homeric Hymns is an excellent place to start.

The Homeric Hymns (Oxford World's Classics)
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The Homeric Hymns (Oxford World's Classics)

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Ancient, Classical & Medieval | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Metamorphoses (Oxford World's Classics)

Theogony, Works and Days (Oxford World's Classics)

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Classical Mythology

ASIN: 0192802402

Book Description

'With fair-tressed Demeter, the sacred goddess, my song begins, With herself and her slim-ankled daughter, whom Aidoneus once Abducted...' Most people are familiar, at least by repute, with the two great epics of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, but few are aware that other poems survive that were attributed to Homer in ancient times. The Homeric Hymns are now known to be the work of various poets working in the same tradition, probably during the seventh and sixth centuries BC. They honour the Greek gods, and recount some of the most attractive of the Greek myths. Four of them (Hymns 2-5) stand out by reason of their length and quality. The Hymn to Demeter tells what happened when Hades, lord of the dead, abducted Persephone, Demeter's daughter. The Hymn to Apollo describes Apollo's birth and the foundation of his Delphic oracle. In the Hymn to Hermes Apollo's cattle are stolen by a felonious infant - Hermes, god of thieves. In the Hymn to Aphrodite the goddess of love herself becomes infatuated with a mortal man, the Trojan prince Ankhises.

Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb Classical Library #57)

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Invaluable for Classicists
Very literal translation...very helpful.

Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb Classical Library #57)
Hesiod
Manufacturer: Loeb Classical Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Epic | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Hesiod: Volume II, The Shield. Catalogue of Women. Other Fragments. (Loeb Classical Library No. 503)
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The Odyssey: Books 1-12 (The Loeb Classical Library, No 104)
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ASIN: 0674990633

Book Description

Hesiod (Hesiodus), an epic poet apparently of the eighth century BC, was born in Asia Minor but moved to Boeotia in central Greece. He was regarded by later Greeks as a contemporary of Homer.

Three works survive under Hesiod's name: (1) "Works and Days," addressed to his brother. In it he gives us the allegories of the two Strifes, and the myth of Pandora; stresses that every man must work; describes the accepted Five Ages of the world; delivers moral advice; surveys in splendid style a year's work on a farm; gives precepts on navigation; and propounds lucky and unlucky days. (2) "Theogony," a religious work about the rise of the gods and the universe from Chaos to the triumph of Zeus, and about the progeny of Zeus and of goddesses in union with mortal men. (3) "The Shield" (not by Hesiod), an extract from a "Catalogue of Women," the subject being Alcmena and her son Heracles and his contest with Cycnus, with a description of Heracles' shield. All three works are of great literary interest.

Customer Reviews:

Invaluable for Classicists.......2002-10-11

Like all Loeb Classics, this edition is presented with the ancient greek text on the left page, and its english translation on the right, giving students of classical greek an easy cross-reference. The translations are easy to read and not too difficult to comprehend, while still at the same time accurately rendered (unlike many Loeb translations, which are frequently too literal a translation to be readable).

But what makes this book of keen interest is not the attention paid to Hesiod's Theogony and Works & Days, nor the anonymous "Homeric" Hymns, but rather to its meticulous compedium of the lesser-known works it presents. Especially, for those works for which no complete version has survived, only fragments and occassional (later) commentaries.

In this volume you discover a wonderful epic poem called The Catalogue of Women and Eoie, of which only about half survives scattered among a hundred or so fragments. You also discover The Shield of Hercules, which some attribute to Hesiod. But most fascinating of all are the fragments of the Epic Cycle, poems written as a sort of "history" of the Greek people, of which the two great works by Homer (The Iliad and The Odyssey) were the most well-known and the only ones to survive intact. As far as I know, this is the only volume in english which gathers all of these fragments together and attempts to sort them out in some kind of order; for those interested in the ancient epics, this alone makes the edition worth the price.

This book is a sobering reminder of just how much has been lost over the centuries, of just how little actually has survived. Sadly, this is now probably the closest anyone will ever get to being able to read The Cypriad or The Melampodia again, and that's a shame.

Very literal translation...very helpful........1999-01-09

Sometimes when consulting the Loeb Library for a translation of a greek text one finds a version wildly different than the original. This volume of the Loeb niether betrays the text, nor translates with arcane vocabulary (e.g. thou, thee, etc.). All in all, a very useful tool.

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Hesiod the Homeric Hymns and Homerica
Hesiod
Manufacturer: BiblioBazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1426472935
Release Date: 2007-03-13

Book Description

Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White

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The Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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