The collection of thirty-three Hymns, ascribed to Homer, is the last
considerable work of the Epic School, and seems, on the whole, to be
later than the Cyclic poems. It cannot be definitely assigned either to
the Ionian or Continental schools, for while the romantic element is
very strong, there is a distinct genealogical interest; and in matters
of diction and style the influences of both Hesiod and Homer are
well-marked. The date of the formation of the collection as such is
unknown. Diodorus Siculus (_temp_. Augustus) is the first to mention
such a body of poetry, and it is likely enough that this is, at least
substantially, the one which has come down to us. Thucydides quotes the
Delian _Hymn to Apollo_, and it is possible that the Homeric corpus of
his day also contained other of the more important hymns. Conceivably
the collection was arranged in the Alexandrine period.
Thucydides, in quoting the _Hymn to Apollo_, calls it PROOIMION, which
ordinarily means a “prelude” chanted by a rhapsode before recitation of
a lay from Homer, and such hymns as Nos. vi, xxxi, xxxii, are clearly
preludes in the strict sense; in No. xxxi, for example, after
celebrating Helios, the poet declares he will next sing of the “race of
mortal men, the demi-gods”. But it may fairly be doubted whether such
Hymns as those to _Demeter_ (ii), _Apollo_ (iii), _Hermes_ (iv),
_Aphrodite_ (v), can have been real preludes, in spite of the closing
formula “and now I will pass on to another hymn”. The view taken by
Allen and Sikes, amongst other scholars, is doubtless right, that these
longer hymns are only technically preludes and show to what
disproportionate lengths a simple literacy form can be developed.
The Hymns to _Pan_ (xix), to _Dionysus_ (xxvi), to _Hestia and Hermes_
(xxix), seem to have been designed for use at definite religious
festivals, apart from recitations. With the exception perhaps of the
_Hymn to Ares_ (viii), no item in the collection can be regarded as
either devotional or liturgical.
The Hymn is doubtless a very ancient form; but if no example of extreme
antiquity survive this must be put down to the fact that until the age
of literary consciousness, such things are not preserved.
First, apparently, in the collection stood the _Hymn to Dionysus_, of
which only two fragments now survive. While it appears to have been a
hymn of the longer type 1115, we have no evidence to show either its
scope or date.
The _Hymn to Demeter_, extant only in the MS. discovered by Matthiae at
Moscow, describes the seizure of Persephone by Hades, the grief of
Demeter, her stay at Eleusis, and her vengeance on gods and men by
causing famine. In the end Zeus is forced to bring Persephone back from
the lower world; but the goddess, by the contriving of Hades, still
remains partly a deity of the lower world. In memory of her sorrows
Demeter establishes the Eleusinian mysteries (which, however, were
purely agrarian in origin).
This hymn, as a literary work, is one of the finest in the collection.
It is surely Attic or Eleusinian in origin. Can we in any way fix its
date? Firstly, it is certainly not later than the beginning of the
sixth century, for it makes no mention of Iacchus, and the Dionysiac
element was introduced at Eleusis at about that period. Further, the
insignificance of Triptolemus and Eumolpus point to considerable
antiquity, and the digamma is still active. All these considerations
point to the seventh century as the probable date of the hymn.
The _Hymn to Apollo_ consists of two parts, which beyond any doubt were
originally distinct, a Delian hymn and a Pythian hymn. The Delian hymn
describes how Leto, in travail with Apollo, sought out a place in which
to bear her son, and how Apollo, born in Delos, at once claimed for
himself the lyre, the bow, and prophecy. This part of the existing hymn
ends with an encomium of the Delian festival of Apollo and of the
Delian choirs. The second part celebrates the founding of Pytho
(Delphi) as the oracular seat of Apollo. After various wanderings the
god comes to Telphus, near Haliartus, but is dissuaded by the nymph of
the place from settling there and urged to go on to Pytho where, after
slaying the she-dragon who nursed Typhaon, he builds his temple. After
the punishment of Telphusa for her deceit in giving him no warning of
the dragoness at Pytho, Apollo, in the form of a dolphin, brings
certain Cretan shipmen to Delphi to be his priests; and the hymn ends
with a charge to these men to behave orderly and righteously.
The Delian part is exclusively Ionian and insular both in style and
sympathy; Delos and no other is Apollo’s chosen seat: but the second
part is as definitely continental; Delos is ignored and Delphi alone is
the important centre of Apollo’s worship. From this it is clear that
the two parts need not be of one date—The first, indeed, is ascribed
(Scholiast on Pindar _Nem_. ii, 2) to Cynaethus of Chios (_fl_. 504
B.C.), a date which is obviously far too low; general considerations
point rather to the eighth century. The second part is not later than
600 B.C.; for (1) the chariot-races at Pytho, which commenced in 586
B.C., are unknown to the writer of the hymn, (2) the temple built by
Trophonius and Agamedes for Apollo (ll. 294-299) seems to have been
still standing when the hymn was written, and this temple was burned in
548. We may at least be sure that the first part is a Chian work, and
that the second was composed by a continental poet familiar with
Delphi.
The _Hymn to Hermes_ differs from others in its burlesque, quasi-comic
character, and it is also the best-known of the Hymns to English
readers in consequence of Shelley’s translation.
After a brief narrative of the birth of Hermes, the author goes on to
show how he won a place among the gods. First the new-born child found
a tortoise and from its shell contrived the lyre; next, with much
cunning circumstance, he stole Apollo’s cattle and, when charged with
the theft by Apollo, forced that god to appear in undignified guise
before the tribunal of Zeus. Zeus seeks to reconcile the pair, and
Hermes by the gift of the lyre wins Apollo’s friendship and purchases
various prerogatives, a share in divination, the lordship of herds and
animals, and the office of messenger from the gods to Hades.
The Hymn is hard to date. Hermes’ lyre has seven strings and the
invention of the seven-stringed lyre is ascribed to Terpander (_flor_.
676 B.C.). The hymn must therefore be later than that date, though
Terpander, according to Weir Smyth 1116, may have only modified the
scale of the lyre; yet while the burlesque character precludes an early
date, this feature is far removed, as Allen and Sikes remark, from the
silliness of the _Battle of the Frogs and Mice_, so that a date in the
earlier part of the sixth century is most probable.
The _Hymn to Aphrodite_ is not the least remarkable, from a literary
point of view, of the whole collection, exhibiting as it does in a
masterly manner a divine being as the unwilling victim of an
irresistible force. It tells how all creatures, and even the gods
themselves, are subject to the will of Aphrodite, saving only Artemis,
Athena, and Hestia; how Zeus to humble her pride of power caused her to
love a mortal, Anchises; and how the goddess visited the hero upon Mt.
Ida. A comparison of this work with the Lay of Demodocus (_Odyssey_
viii, 266 ff.), which is superficially similar, will show how far
superior is the former in which the goddess is but a victim to forces
stronger than herself. The lines (247-255) in which Aphrodite tells of
her humiliation and grief are specially noteworthy.
There are only general indications of date. The influence of Hesiod is
clear, and the hymn has almost certainly been used by the author of the
_Hymn to Demeter_, so that the date must lie between these two periods,
and the seventh century seems to be the latest date possible.
The _Hymn to Dionysus_ relates how the god was seized by pirates and
how with many manifestations of power he avenged himself on them by
turning them into dolphins. The date is widely disputed, for while
Ludwich believes it to be a work of the fourth or third century, Allen
and Sikes consider a sixth or seventh century date to be possible. The
story is figured in a different form on the reliefs from the choragic
monument of Lysicrates, now in the British Museum 1117.
Very different in character is the _Hymn to Ares_, which is Orphic in
character. The writer, after lauding the god by detailing his
attributes, prays to be delivered from feebleness and weakness of soul,
as also from impulses to wanton and brutal violence.
The only other considerable hymn is that to _Pan_, which describes how
he roams hunting among the mountains and thickets and streams, how he
makes music at dusk while returning from the chase, and how he joins in
dancing with the nymphs who sing the story of his birth. This, beyond
most works of Greek literature, is remarkable for its fresh and
spontaneous love of wild natural scenes.
The remaining hymns are mostly of the briefest compass, merely hailing
the god to be celebrated and mentioning his chief attributes. The Hymns
to _Hermes_ (xviii), to the _Dioscuri_ (xvii), and to _Demeter_ (xiii)
are mere abstracts of the longer hymns iv, xxxiii, and ii.