Part 10

Of ivy-tressed uproarious Dionysus I begin to sing, the splendid son of Zeus and renowned Semele. Him did the fair-tressed nymphs foster, receiving him from the king and father in their bosoms, and needfully they nurtured him in the glens of Nyse. By his father's will he waxed strong in the fragrant cavern, being numbered among the Immortals. Anon when the Goddesses had bred him up to be the god of many a hymn, then went he wandering in the woodland glades, draped with ivy and laurel, and the nymphs followed with him where he led, and loud rang the wild woodland. Hail to thee, then, Dionysus of the clustered vine, and grant to us to come gladly again to the season of vintaging, yea, and afterwards for many a year to come.

XXVI. TO ARTEMIS

I sing of Artemis of the Golden Distaff, Goddess of the loud chase, a maiden revered, the slayer of stags, the archer, very sister of Apollo of the golden blade. She through the shadowy hills and the windy headlands rejoicing in the chase draws her golden bow, sending forth shafts of sorrow. Then tremble the crests of the lofty mountains, and terribly the dark woodland rings with din of beasts, and the earth shudders, and the teeming sea. Meanwhile she of the stout heart turns about on every side slaying the race of wild beasts. Anon when the Archer Huntress hath taken her delight, and hath gladdened her heart, she slackens her bended bow, and goes to the great hall of her dear Phoebus Apollo, to the rich Delphian land; and arrays the lovely dance of Muses and Graces. There hangs she up her bended bow and her arrows, and all graciously clad about she leads the dances, first in place, while the others utter their immortal voice in hymns to fair-ankled Leto, how she bore such children pre-eminent among the Immortals in counsel and in deed. Hail, ye children of Zeus and fair-tressed Leto, anon will I be mindful of you and of another hymn.

[Apollo, Artemis and Leto in procession. Marble relief in the Louvre: lang241.jpg]

XXVII. TO ATHENE

Of fairest Athene, renowned Goddess, I begin to sing, of the Grey-eyed, the wise; her of the relentless heart, the maiden revered, the succour of cities, the strong Tritogeneia. Her did Zeus the counsellor himself beget from his holy head, all armed for war in shining golden mail, while in awe did the other Gods behold it. Quickly did the Goddess leap from the immortal head, and stood before Zeus, shaking her sharp spear, and high Olympus trembled in dread beneath the strength of the grey-eyed Maiden, while earth rang terribly around, and the sea was boiling with dark waves, and suddenly brake forth the foam. Yea, and the glorious son of Hyperion checked for long his swift steeds, till the maiden took from her immortal shoulders her divine armour, even Pallas Athene: and Zeus the counsellor rejoiced. Hail to thee, thou child of aegis-bearing Zeus, anon shall I be mindful of thee and of another lay.

XXVIII. TO HESTIA

Hestia, thou that in the lofty halls of all immortal Gods, and of all men that go on earth, hast obtained an eternal place and the foremost honour, splendid is thy glory and thy gift, for there is no banquet of mortals without thee, none where, Hestia, they be not wont first and last to make to thee oblation of sweet wine. And do thou, O slayer of Argus, son of Zeus and Maia, messenger of the blessed Gods, God of the golden wand, Giver of all things good, do thou with Hestia dwell in the fair mansions, dear each to other; with kindly heart befriend us in company with dear and honoured Hestia. [For both the twain, well skilled in all fair works of earthly men, consort with wisdom and youth.] Hail daughter of Cronos, thou and Hermes of the golden wand, anon will I be mindful of you and of another lay.

XXIX. TO EARTH, THE MOTHER OF ALL

Concerning Earth, the mother of all, shall I sing, firm Earth, eldest of Gods, that nourishes all things in the world; all things that fare on the sacred land, all things in the sea, all flying things, all are fed out of her store. Through thee, revered Goddess, are men happy in their children and fortunate in their harvest. Thine it is to give or to take life from mortal men. Happy is he whom thou honourest with favouring heart; to him all good things are present innumerable: his fertile field is laden, his meadows are rich in cattle, his house filled with all good things. Such men rule righteously in cities of fair women, great wealth and riches are theirs, their children grow glorious in fresh delights: their maidens joyfully dance and sport through the soft meadow flowers in floral revelry. Such are those that thou honourest, holy Goddess, kindly spirit. Hail, Mother of the Gods, thou wife of starry Ouranos, and freely in return for my ode give me sufficient livelihood. Anon will I be mindful of thee and of another lay.

XXX. TO HELIOS

Begin, O Muse Calliope, to sing of Helios the child of Zeus, the splendid Helios whom dark-eyed Euryphaessa bore to the son of Earth and starry Heaven. For Hyperion wedded Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bore him goodly children, the rosy-armed Dawn, and fair-tressed Selene, and the tireless Helios, like unto the Immortals, who from his chariot shines on mortals and on deathless Gods, and dread is the glance of his eyes from his golden helm, and bright rays shine forth from him splendidly, and round his temples the shining locks flowing down from his head frame round his far-seen face, and a goodly garment wrought delicately shines about his body in the breath of the winds, and stallions speed beneath him when he, charioting his horses and golden-yoked car, drives down through heaven to ocean. Hail, Prince, and of thy grace grant me livelihood enough; beginning from thee I shall sing the race of heroes half divine, whose deeds the Goddesses have revealed to mortals.

XXXI. TO THE MOON

Ye Muses, sing of the fair-faced, wide-winged Moon; ye sweet-voiced daughters of Zeus son of Cronos, accomplished in song! The heavenly gleam from her immortal head circles the earth, and all beauty arises under her glowing light, and the lampless air beams from her golden crown, and the rays dwell lingering when she has bathed her fair body in the ocean stream, and clad her in shining raiment, divine Selene, yoking her strong-necked glittering steeds. Then forward with speed she drives her deep-maned horses in the evening of the mid-month when her mighty orb is full; then her beams are brightest in the sky as she waxes, a token and a signal to mortal men. With her once was Cronion wedded in love, and she conceived, and brought forth Pandia the maiden, pre-eminent in beauty among the immortal Gods. Hail, Queen, white-armed Goddess, divine Selene, gentle of heart and fair of tress. Beginning from thee shall I sing the renown of heroes half divine whose deeds do minstrels chant from their charmed lips; these ministers of the Muses.

XXXII. TO THE DIOSCOURI

Sing, fair-glancing Muses, of the sons of Zeus, the Tyndaridae, glorious children of fair-ankled Leda, Castor the tamer of steeds and faultless Polydeuces. These, after wedlock with Cronion of the dark clouds, she bore beneath the crests of Taygetus, that mighty hill, to be the saviours of earthly men, and of swift ships when the wintry breezes rush along the pitiless sea. Then men from their ships call in prayer with sacrifice of white lambs when they mount the vessel's deck. But the strong wind and the wave of the sea drive down their ship beneath the water; when suddenly appear the sons of Zeus rushing through the air with tawny wings, and straightway have they stilled the tempests of evil winds, and have lulled the waves in the gulfs of the white salt sea: glad signs are they to mariners, an ending of their labour: and men see it and are glad, and cease from weary toil. Hail ye, Tyndaridae, ye knights of swift steeds, anon will I be mindful of you and of another lay.

[The Dioscuri coming to the feast of the Theoxenia. From a Vase in the British Museum (Sixth Century B.C.): lang252.jpg]

XXXIII. TO DIONYSUS

Some say that Semele bare thee to Zeus the lord of thunder in Dracanon, and some in windy Icarus, and some in Naxos, thou seed of Zeus, Eiraphiotes; and others by the deep-swelling river Alpheius, and others, O Prince, say that thou wert born in Thebes. Falsely speak they all: for the Father of Gods and men begat thee far away from men, while white-armed Hera knew it not. There is a hill called Nyse, a lofty hill, flowering into woodland, far away from Phoenicia, near the streams of AEgyptus. . . .

"And to thee will they raise many statues in the temples: as these thy deeds are three, so men will sacrifice to thee hecatombs every three years." {254}

So spake Zeus the counsellor, and nodded with his head. Be gracious, Eiraphiotes, thou wild lover, from thee, beginning and ending with thee, we minstrels sing: in nowise is it possible for him who forgets thee to be mindful of sacred song. Hail to thee, Dionysus Eiraphiotes, with thy mother Semele, whom men call Thyone.

FOOTNOTES

{4} Baumeister, p. 94, and note on Hymn to Hermes, 51, citing Antigonus Carystius. See, too, Gemoll, _Die Homerischen Hymnen_, p. 105.

{13} _Journal of Hellenic Society_, vol. xiv. pp. 1-29. Mr. Verrall's whole paper ought to be read, as a summary cannot be adequate.

{16a} Henderson, "The Casket Letters," p. 67.

{16b} Baumeister, "Hymni Homerici," 1860, p. 108 _et seq_.

{18} _Die Homerischen Hymnen_, p. 116 (1886).

{23a} _Journal Anthrop. Inst_., Feb. 1892, p. 290.

{23b} (_Op. cit_., p. 296.) See "Are Savage Gods Borrowed from Missionaries?" (_Nineteenth Century_, January 1899).

{24} Hartland, "Folk-Lore," ix. 4, 312; x. I, p. 51.

{30} Winslow, 1622.

{34} For authorities, see Mr Howitt in the _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, and my "Making of Religion." Also _Folk Lore_, December-March, 1898-99.

{37a} Manning, "Notes on the Aborigines of New Holland." Read before Royal Society of New South Wales, 1882. Notes taken down in 1845. Compare Mrs. Langloh Parker, _More Australian Legendary Tales_, "The Legend of the Flowers."

{37b} Spencer and Gillen, "Natives of Central Australia," p. 651, _s.v_.

{39} For the use of Hermes's tortoise-shell as a musical instrument _without strings_, in early Anahuac, see Prof. Morse, in Appleton's _Popular Science Monthly_, March 1899.

{41} Gemoll.

{44} "Golden Bough," i. 279. Mannhardt, _Antike-Wald-und Feldkulte_, p. 274.

{45} Howitt, _Journal Anthtop. Inst_., xvi. p. 54.

{46a} The Kurnai hold this belief.

{46b} Brough Smyth, vol. i. p. 426

{46c} _Journal Anthrop. Inst_., xvi. pp. 330-331.

{59} The most minute study of Lobeck's _Aglaophamus_ can tell us no more than this; the curious may consult a useful short manual, _Eleusis, Ses Mysteres, Ses Ruines, et son Musee_, by M. Demetrios Philios. Athens, 1896. M. Philios is the Director of the Eleusinian Excavations.

{61} "Golden Bough," ii. 292.

{62} "Golden Bough," ii. 369.

{64a} "Golden Bough," ii. 44.

{64b} Ibid., 46.

{65} Mrs. Langloh Parker, "More Australian Legends," pp. 93-99.

{66} The anthropomorphic view of the Genius of the grain as a woman existed in Peru, as I have remarked in "Myth, Ritual, and Religion," i. 213. See, too, "Golden Bough," i. p. 351; Mr. Frazer also notes the Corn Mother of Germany, and the Harvest Maiden of Balquhidder.

{67} "Golden Bough," p. 351, citing from Mannhardt a Spanish tract of 1649.

{68} Howitt, on Mysteries of the Coast Murring (_Journal Anthrop. Instit_., vol. xiv.).

{69} De Smet, "Oregon Mission," p. 359. Tanner's "Narrative" (1830), pp. 192-193.

{72} Pater, "Greek Studies," p. 90.

{74a} "Africana," i. 130.

{74b} _Journal Anthrop. Instit_. (1884), xiii. pp. 444, 450.

{74c} _Op. cit_., xiv. pp. 310, 316.

{75} "New South Wales," by Barren Field, pp. 69, 122 (1825).

{76a} Aristophanes, _Ranae_, 445 _et seq_.; Origen. _c. Cels_., iii. 59; Andocides, _Myst_., 31; Euripides, _Bacch_, 72 _et seq_. See Wobbermin, _Religionsgeschitliche Studien_, pp. 36-44.

{76b} Wobbermin, _op. cit_., p. 38.

{77} Wobbermin, _op. cit_., p. 34.

{78} Hatch, "Hibbert Lectures," pp. 284, 285.

{82} _Recherches sur l'Origine et la Nature des Mysteres d'Eleusis_. Klinikseck. Paris, 1895.

{84} Herodotus, ii. 171.

{85a} Spencer and Gillen, "Natives of Central Australia," p. 399. The myth is not very quotable.

{85b} Foucart, p. 19, quoting _Philosophoumena_, v. 7. M. Foucart, of course, did not know the Arunta parallel.

{85c} _Journal Anthrop. Inst_. (1884), pp. 194, 195, "Ngarego and Wolgal Tribes of New South Wales."

{85d} Ibid. (1885), p. 313.

{86a} For ample information on this head see Mr. Clodd's "Tom-Tit-Tot," and my "Custom and Myth" ("Cupid, Psyche, and the Sun Frog").

{86b} _Panegyr_., 28.

{87a} Clem. Alex. _Protrept_., ii. 77 _et seq_.

{87b} Harpocration, _s. v_. [Greek text].

{87c} _Cf_. [Greek text]. Hippon, 90, and Theophrastus, Charact. 6, and Synesius, 213, c. Liddell and Scott, _s.v_. [Greek text].

{88a} "Sand and Spinifex," 1899.

{88b} Foucart, pp. 45, 46

{88c} Hymn, Orph., 41, 5-9.

{89a} Heriot, 1586.

{89b} Foucart, pp. 56-59.

{90} Foucart, p. 64.

{91a} Basil Thomson, "The Kalou-Vu" (_Journal Anthrop. Inst_., May 1895, pp. 349-356). Mr. Thomson was struck by the Greek analogies, but he did not know, or does not allude to, Plutarch and the Golden Scroll.

{91b} Fragments, V. p. 9, Didot; Foucart, p. 56, note.

{95a} Herodotus, Alilat, i. 131, iii. 8.

{95b} "Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia," 1895, vol. i. pp. 91, 92.

{104} Callim., H. Apoll. 30.

[Greek verse]

{115} The Greek is corrupt, especially in line 213.

{121} This action was practised by the Zulus in divination, and, curiously, by a Highlander of the last century, appealing to the dead Lovat not to see him wronged.

{124} A folk-etymology from [Greek text] = to rot.

{127} A similar portent is of recent belief in Maori tradition.

{133} See Essay on this Hymn.

{136} In our illustration both the lyre with a tortoise shell for sounding-board, and the cithara, with no such sounding-board, are represented. Is it possible that "the tuneful shell" was primarily used _without_ chords, as an instrument for drumming upon? The drum, variously made, is the primitive musical instrument, and it is doubted whether any stringed instrument existed among native American races. But drawings in ancient Aztec MSS. (as Mr. Morse has recently observed) show the musician using a kind of drum made of a tortoise-shell, and some students have (probably with too much fancy) recognised a figure with a tortoise-shell fitted with chords, in Aztec MSS. It is possible enough that the early Greeks used the shell as a sort of drum, before some inventor (Hermes, in the Hymn) added chords and developed a stringed instrument. _Cf_. p. 39.

{138} Such sandals are used to hide their tracks by Avengers of Blood among the tribes of Central Australia.

{140} This piece of wood is that in which the other is twirled to make fire by friction.

{141a} Otherwise written and interpreted, "as even now the skins are there," that is, are exhibited as relics.

{141b} "Der Zweite Halbvers is mir absolut unverstandlich!"--_Gemoll_.

{144} This is not likely to be the sense, but sense the text gives none. Allen, _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xvii. II.

{153} "As if one walked with trees instead of feet."--_Allen_.

{156} The passage which follows (409-414) is too corrupt to admit of any but conjectural rendering. Probably Apollo twisted bands, which fell off Hermes, turned to growing willows, and made a bower over the kine. See Mr. Allen, _op. cit_.

{162a} This passage is a playing field of conjecture; some taking [Greek text] = Mediator, or Go-between: some as = pactum, "covenant."

{162b} There seems to be a reference to the _caduceus_ of Hermes, which some have compared to the forked Divining Rod. The whole is corrupt and obscure. To myself it seems that, when he gave the lyre (463-495), Hermes was hinting at his wish to receive in exchange the gift of prophecy. If so, these passages are all disjointed, and 521, with what follows, should come after 495, where Hermes makes the gift of the lyre.

{164} It appears from Philochorus that the prophetic lots were called _thriae_. They are then personified, as the prophetic Sisters, the Thriae. The white flour on their locks may be the grey hair of old age: we know, however, a practice of divining with grain among an early agricultural people, the Hurons.

{168} Hestia, deity of the sacred hearth, is, in a sense, the Cinderella of the Gods, the youngest daughter, tending the holy fire. The legend of her being youngest yet eldest daughter of Cronos may have some reference to this position. "The hearth-place shall belong to the youngest son or daughter," in Kent. See "Costumal of the Thirteenth Century," with much learning on the subject, in Mr. Elton's "Origins of English History," especially p. 190.

{170} Shielings are places of summer abode in pastoral regions.

{180} Reading [Greek text], Mr. Edgar renders "no longer will my mouth ope to tell," &c.

{194} [Greek text] seems to answer to _fauteuil_, [Greek text] to [Greek text].

{196} M. Lefebure suggests to me that this is a trace of Phoenician influence: compare Moloch's sacrifices of children, and "passing through the fire." Such rites, however, are frequent in Japan, Bulgaria, India, Polynesia, and so on. See "The Fire Walk" in my "Modern Mythology."

{204} An universally diffused belief declares that whosoever tastes the food of the dead may never return to earth.

{205} The lines in brackets merely state the probable meaning of a dilapidated passage.

{214} This appears to answer to the difficult passage about the bonds of Apollo falling from the limbs of Hermes (_Hermes_, 404, 405). Loosing spells were known to the Vikings, and the miracle occurs among those of Jesuits persecuted under Queen Elizabeth.

{254} There is a gap in the text. Three deeds of Dionysus must have been narrated, then follows the comment of Zeus.