Homeric Hymn 25: To the Muses and Apollo
A 7-line hymn declaring that singers, lyre-players, and just kings all draw their gifts from the Muses, Apollo, and Zeus — a compact theology of poetry, music, and kingship.
About the Poem
The twenty-fifth Homeric Hymn is a complete 7-line invocation to the Muses and Apollo — a hymn about the divine sources of poetry itself. It makes a tripartite claim: from the Muses come singers and lyre-players (the arts of music and poetry); from Zeus come kings (the art of governance). “Happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his lips.”
This hymn is practically a compressed version of the famous Hesiodic passage in the Theogony (lines 80–103) where Hesiod describes the Muses’ gifts to kings and poets. It reflects the archaic Greek belief that poetic inspiration is divine — not merely a metaphor but a literal theological claim: the Muses possess the poet, and the words that flow from his lips are divine speech.
Complete Text
Greek (Homeric)
Μουσάων ἄρχομαι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Διός· ἐκ γὰρ Μουσάων καὶ Ἑκατηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος ἄνδρες ἀοιδοὶ ἔασιν ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ κιθαρισταί· ἐκ δὲ Διὸς βασιλῆες. ὃ δ’ ὄλβιος, ὅν τε Μοῦσαι φίλωνται· γλυκερή οἱ ἀπὸ στόματος ῥέει αὐδή. χαίρετε τέκνα Διός, καὶ ἐμὴν τιμήσατε ἀοιδήν· αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ ὑμέων καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ’ ἀοιδῆς.
(Full Greek text at Perseus Digital Library, link below.)
English (Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914 — public domain)
[1] I will begin with the Muses and Apollo and Zeus. For it is through the Muses and Apollo that there are singers upon the earth and players upon the lyre; but kings are from Zeus.
Happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his lips.
Hail, children of Zeus! Give honour to my song! And now I will remember you and another song also.
The Divine Triad of Poetry
The opening formula “I will begin with the Muses and Apollo and Zeus” (Μουσάων ἄρχομαι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ Διός) is one of the most economical statements of Greek poetic theology. Each deity contributes a distinct function:
- The Muses (daughters of Zeus and Memory/Mnemosyne) provide inspiration — the divine breath that fills the poet with knowledge of past events and beautiful words
- Apollo provides artistry — the god of the lyre who governs the formal, musical aspect of poetry
- Zeus provides authority — the ultimate source of all order, from whom kings derive their legitimacy
The claim that “happy is he whom the Muses love” (ὃ δ’ ὄλβιος, ὅν τε Μοῦσαι φίλωνται) echoes Hesiod’s Theogony (94–97): “From the Muses and far-shooting Apollo come singers and players on the lyre upon the earth; but from Zeus come kings.”
Citations
- Evelyn-White, H. G. (trans.). Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica. Loeb Classical Library 57. Harvard University Press, 1914. Public domain. https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns3.html
- Hesiod, Theogony 80–103 (the Muses’ gifts to kings and poets — parallel passage). Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+80
- Murray, Penelope. “Poetic Inspiration in Early Greece.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 101 (1981): 87–100.
- Perseus Digital Library, Homeric Hymns (Greek text): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137:hymn=25