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Homeric Hymns

Homeric tradition

Hymn 31 | Primary edition: Hugh G. Evelyn-White

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Line RefHugh G. Evelyn-White | English
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And now, O Muse Calliope, daughter of Zeus, begin to sing of glowing Helios whom mild-eyed Euryphaessa, the far- shining one, bare to the Son of Earth and starry Heaven. For Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios who is like the deathless gods. As he rides in his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks streaming form the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters in the wind: and stallions carry him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest point of heaven, until he marvellously drives them down again through heaven to Ocean. Hail to you, lord! Freely bestow on me substance that cheers the heart. And now that I have begun with you, I will celebrate the race of mortal men half-divine whose deeds the Muses have showed to mankind.

Text notes and edition context

Work

Homeric Hymns

The Homeric Hymns range from brief invocations to extended mythic narratives, offering one of the clearest bridges between epic diction and cult praise.

Hymns | Original language: Ancient Greek

Archaic and later Greek hymn tradition, with core material commonly dated between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE

You are reading Hymn 31.

Primary Edition

Hugh G. Evelyn-White

English | Prose

Early 20th-century English prose translation

Evelyn-White's Loeb-era translation is a standard public-domain access edition for early Greek hymn material.

This edition preserves canonical hymn numbering and line-span references while reading smoothly in English prose.

Source family: English aggregate translations

Project Gutenberg / Internet Archive / Theoi | Public-domain source texts

English prose and verse classics consolidated into a single aggregate dataset.

Primary source: English aggregate translations | Project Gutenberg / Internet Archive / Theoi.