Homeric Hymn 7: To Dionysus

About the Poem

The seventh Homeric Hymn, 59 hexameter lines, narrates one of the most dramatically satisfying myths in Greek religion: Dionysus is captured at sea by Tyrsenian (Etruscan or Lydian) pirates who plan to sell him as a slave, not knowing he is a god. Aboard the ship, miraculous vines sprout from the mast, ivy fills the ship with fragrance, a lion and bear appear — and the pirates leap overboard in terror and are transformed into the dolphins that still play around ships at sea.

The myth is also known from the Homeric Hymn 26, from Ovid (Metamorphoses III), and from a famous red-figure cup by Exekias (Munich 2044, c. 530 BCE) which depicts Dionysus alone in the vine-laden ship with seven dolphins.

The Poem (complete)

Opening (lines 1–6)

Greek

Ἀμφὶ Διώνυσον Σεμέλης ἐρικυδέος υἱόν μνήσομαι, ὡς ἔφαν ἄκρῃ ἐπὶ θῖν’ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο ἀνδράσιν Τυρσηνοῖσιν ἐείσατο νηΐ τ’ ἐπ’ ἔσσης, νεηνίῃ εἴκελος ἀνδρί· κόμαι δέ οἱ καλαὶ ἔρεοντο κυάνεαι, φᾶρος δὲ περὶ στιβαροῖσιν ἔκειτο ὤμοισι…

English (Evelyn-White, 1914 — public domain)

I will tell of Dionysus, the son of glorious Semele, how he appeared on a jutting headland by the shore of the fruitless sea, seeming like a stripling in the first flush of manhood; his rich, dark hair was waving about him, and on his strong shoulders he wore a purple robe.

The Miracle Begins (lines 34–53)

Greek

ἔνθα κατ’ αἶψα ἑὴν ἀρετὴν δεῖξεν Διόνυσος· μεσσοῦ γὰρ κατὰ νηὸς ὀδώδει θεσπεσίοιο οἴνου εὐώδεος ἄνθος, ὀδμὴ δ’ ἀμβρόσιος ἤει· ναύτας δ’ ἄμβλησις εἷλεν θαῦμα δέ μιν ἔσχεν ἰδόντα· αὐτίκα δ’ ἄκρῃ νηὸς ἐπέτρεχε δεξιτεροῖο κλίμακα ἔς· ἐπὶ δ’ εὐρεῖαν λάχνην χύτο… ἐξ αὐτοῦ δ’ ἐρρίζωτο πολυστάφυλος βότρυς· ἄνω δ’ ἐπέχεεν σταφυλήν, λάθρη δέ μιν ἀμφὶς εἱλύσσεν, κατὰ δ’ ἱστοῦ ἑλίσσετο ἄνθεσιν ἄλγος.

English (Evelyn-White)

Presently [Dionysus] showed them his true nature. First of all sweet, fragrant wine ran streaming throughout all the black ship and a heavenly smell arose, so that all the seamen were seized with amazement when they saw it. And all at once a vine spread out both ways along the top of the sail with many clusters hanging down from it, and a dark ivy-plant twined about the mast, blossoming with flowers, and with rich berries growing on it…

The Transformation (lines 50–58)

Greek

τοὶ δ’ ἐφοβεῦντο μάλιστα, ἐκ νηὸς δ’ ἅλλοντο ἐς πόντον θεῖον δελφῖνας δ’ ἐγένοντο· … κήτεσσι δ’ ἔοικαν.

English (Evelyn-White)

[The sailors] were seized with terror and leapt out of the ship into the sea one and all, and became dolphins. But on the helmsman [the god] had mercy and kept him back and made him altogether happy, saying: “Take courage, good …; you have found favour with my heart. I am loud-crying Dionysus…”

Closing (lines 56–59)

Greek

χαῖρε Διώνυσε εἰραφιῶτα, οὐδ’ ἔστιν ὅπως σε ἀπεύξομαι, ἀλλ’ ἐπίκαλοῦ ἀμφί τε θυμόν, ἵν’ ἡμεῖς ἐς ὥρας καλὰς ἐλεύθε·

English (Evelyn-White)

Hail, Dionysus, god of abundant clusters! Grant that we who sing of you come again rejoicing in the season.

The Exekias Cup

The myth was painted c. 530 BCE on a red-figure kylix (wine cup) by the Athenian potter-painter Exekias — one of the most celebrated images in Greek art. It shows Dionysus alone in a ship, the mast entwined with a vine, surrounded by seven leaping dolphins. The cup can be viewed online via the Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich.

Sources & Citations

• Greek text: Perseus — Homeric Hymn to Dionysus (Hymn 7)
• English translation (PD): Evelyn-White, Loeb 1914 — sacred-texts.com / Perseus
• Exekias kylix: Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich 2044 — online record / Google Arts & Culture
• Wikipedia: Homeric Hymn to Dionysus