Homeric Hymn 27: To Artemis

About the Poem

The twenty-seventh Homeric Hymn is a complete 22-line hymn to Artemis — the most substantial of the three hymns to the goddess (alongside Hymns 9 and the brief reference in Hymn 3). It presents a full theological portrait: Artemis hunting in the mountains, her golden bow making the peaks tremble and the sea surge; then, satisfied with the chase, arriving at Delphi to hang up her bow and arrows, and leading the Muses and Graces in dance while the gods celebrate Leto for bearing such magnificent children.

The transition from wild huntress to graceful dancer in this hymn is theologically significant: it shows Artemis as a deity of both extremes — the untamed wilderness and the ordered festival dance — united in the same divine person.

Complete Text

Greek (Homeric — opening)

Ἄρτεμιν ὕμνει Μοῦσα, κασιγνήτην Ἑκάτοιο, παρθένον ἰοχέαιραν, ὁμότροφον Ἀπόλλωνος, ἣ τόξον κατέχουσα χρύσεον ὄρεα σκιόεντα καὶ ἀνεμόεντα κορυφὰς ἀγρεύεσθαι θυμῷ, τεῖνεν ἐπὶ σκύμνοισι, στονοεῖ δὲ τ’ ἀκωκαί…

(Full Greek text at Perseus Digital Library, link below.)

English (Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914 — public domain)

[1] I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earthquakes and the sea also where fishes shoal.

But the goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart, this huntress who delights in arrows slackens her supple bow and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo, to the rich land of Delphi, there to order the lovely dance of the Muses and Graces.

There she hangs up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they utter their heavenly voice, singing how neat-ankled Leto bare children supreme among the immortals both in thought and in deed.

Hail to you, children of Zeus and rich-haired Leto! And now I will remember you and another song also.

Artemis at Delphi

The image of Artemis hanging up her bow at Apollo’s temple in Delphi and leading the divine dance is unique to this hymn among surviving texts — though it reflects a broader understanding of the divine twins as inseparable. Artemis as dance-leader (χοροηγός) at Delphi appears in some cult contexts, and the shared sanctuary of the twins is attested at several sites.

The Muses and Graces as fellow dancers represent the complete divine community of beauty, song, and order that assembles at Delphi — the center of the Greek world where all forms of divine artistry converge.

The final tribute to Leto — “singing how neat-ankled Leto bare children supreme among the immortals” — reflects the archaic religious tradition of honoring the mother of divine children, and Leto’s own cult, which was especially strong in Lycia (southern Turkey) and Delos.

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
• Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis (III) — the most elaborate Greek literary treatment of Artemis. Perseus Digital Library. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0228:text=Hymn+3
• Cole, Susan Guettel. “Domesticating Artemis.” In The Sacred and the Feminine in Ancient Greece. Ed. S. Blundell and M. Williamson. London: Routledge, 1998.
• See also Homeric Hymn 9 (short hymn to Artemis).
• Perseus Digital Library, Homeric Hymns (Greek text): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0137:hymn=27