The Homeric Hymns (Greek: Ομηρικοὶ Ύμνοι) are a collection of 33 anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual Gods and Goddesses. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter—dactylic hexameter—as the Iliad and Odyssey, use many similar formulas and are couched in the same dialect. They were uncritically attributed to Homer himself in antiquity- from the earliest written reference to them, Thucydides -and the label has stuck.
The following Homeric Hymn is written in honour of Goddess Demeter. It describes the abduction of Her daughter, Persephone, by Hades, and Demeter's quest to find Her again. It is one of the most beautiful Homeric Hymns and one of the longest ones. Below the video there is a translation of the Hymn in English by Gregory Nagy ,as well as the original lyrics in Ancient Greek.
Composer and Performer: Hephaestion Vaxevaneris
Lyrics in English
I begin to sing of Demeter, the Holy Goddess with the beautiful hair.
And Her daughter [Persephone] too. The One with the delicate ankles, whom Hādēs seized. She was given away by Zeus, the Loud-Thunderer, the One Who sees far and wide.
Demeter did not take part in this, She of the golden double-axe, She who glories in the harvest.
She [Persephone] was having a good time, along with the daughters of Okeanos, who wear their waistbands slung low.
She was picking flowers: roses, crocus, and beautiful violets.
Up and down the soft meadow. Iris blossoms too She picked, and hyacinth.
And the narcissus, which was grown as a lure for the flower-faced girl
by Gaia [Earth]. All according to the plans of Zeus. She [Gaia] was doing a favor for the One Who Receives Many Guests [Hādēs].
It [the narcissus] was a wondrous thing in its splendor. To look at it gives a sense of holy awe to the immortal gods as well as mortal humans.
It has a hundred heads growing from the root up.
Its sweet fragrance spread over the wide skies up above.
And the earth below smiled back in all its radiance. So too the churning mass of the salty sea.
She [Persephone] was filled with a sense of wonder, and She reached out with both hands to take hold of the pretty plaything.
And the earth, full of roads leading every which way, opened up under Her.
It happened on the Plain of Nysa. There it was that the Lord Who Receives Many Guests made His lunge.
He was riding on a chariot drawn by immortal horses. The Son of Kronos. The One Known By Many Names.
He seized Her against Her will, put Her on His golden chariot,
And drove away as She wept. She cried with a piercing voice,
calling upon Her Father [Zeus], the Son of Kronos, the Highest and the Best.
But not one of the Immortal Ones, or of human mortals,
heard Her voice. Not even the olive trees which bear their splendid harvest.
Except for the Daughter of Persaios, the One Who Keeps in Mind the Vigor of Nature.
She heard it from Her cave. She is Hekatē, with the splendid headband.
And the Lord Helios [Sun] heard it too, the magnificent Son of Hyperion.
They heard the daughter calling upon Her father, the Son of Kronos.
But He, all by Himself, was seated far apart from the Gods, inside a temple, the precinct of many prayers.
He was receiving beautiful sacrificial rites from mortal humans.
She was being taken, against Her will, at the behest of Zeus,
by Her father’s brother, the One Who Makes Many Sēmata, the One Who Receives Many Guests,
the Son of Kronos, the One With Many Names. On the chariot drawn by immortal horses.
So long as the earth and the star-filled sky were still within the Goddess' [Persephone’s] view, as also the fish-swarming sea [pontos], with its strong currents,
as also the rays of the sun, She still had hope that She would yet see Her dear mother and that special group, the Immortal Gods.
For that long a time Her great noos was soothed by hope, distressed as She was.
The peaks of mountains resounded, as did the depths of the sea [pontos],
with her Immortal voice. And the Lady Mother [Demeter] heard Her.
And a sharp akhos seized Her heart. The headband on Her hair
She tore off with Her own immortal hands and threw a dark cloak over Her shoulders.
She sped off like a bird, soaring over land and sea, looking and looking. But no one was willing to tell Her the truth [etētuma],
not one of the Gods, not one of the mortal humans,
not one of the birds, messengers of the truth [etētuma].
Thereafter, for nine days did the Lady Demeter
wander all over the earth, holding torches ablaze in Her hands.
Not once did She take of ambrosia and nectar, sweet to drink,
in Her grief, nor did she bathe Her skin in water.
But when the tenth bright dawn came upon Her,
Hekatē came to Her, holding a light ablaze in Her hands.
She came with a message, and She spoke up, saying to Her:
“Lady Demeter, Bringer of hōrai, Giver of splendid gifts,
which one of the Gods who dwell in the sky or which one of mortal humans seized Persephone and brought grief to your philos thūmos?
I heard the sounds, but I did not see with my eyes who it was. So I quickly came to tell you everything, without error.”
So spoke Hekatē. But She was not answered by the Daughter [Demeter] of Rhea with the beautiful hair. Instead, She [Demeter] joined her [Hekatē] and quickly set out with Her, holding torches ablaze in Her hands.
They came to Hēlios, the Seeing-Eye of Gods and men.
They stood in front of His chariot-team, and the resplendent Goddess asked this question:
“Helios! Show me respect [aidōs], God to Goddess, if ever I have pleased your heart and and thūmos in word or deed.
It is about the girl born to me, a sweet young seedling, renowned for Her beauty,
whose piercing cry I heard resounding through the boundless aether,
as if She were being forced, though I did not see it with my eyes.
I turn to You as One Who ranges over all the earth and sea [pontos] as You look down from the bright aether with Your sunbeams:
tell me without error whether You have by any chance seen my beloved child,
and who has taken Her away from me by force, against Her will,
and then gone away? Tell me which one of the Gods or mortal humans did it.”
So She spoke. And the son of Hyperion answered Her with these words:
“Daughter of Rhea with the beautiful hair, Queen Demeter!
You shall know the answer, for I greatly respect You and feel sorry for You as You grieve over Your child, the One with the delicate ankles.
No one else among all the Immortals is responsible except the Cloud-Gatherer Zeus Himself, who gave Her to Hādēs as His beautiful wife.
So He gave Her to His own brother. And He [Hādēs], heading for the misty realms of darkness, seized Her as He drove His chariot and as She screamed out loud.
But I urge You, Goddess: stop Your loud cry of lamentation: You should not have an anger without bounds, all in vain. It is not unseemly to have, of all the Immortals, such a son-in-law as Hādēs, the One Who Makes Many Sēmata.
He is the brother [of Zeus], whose seed is from the same place. And as for tīmē,
He has His share, going back to the very beginning, when the three-way division of inheritance was made.
He dwells with those whose king he was destined by lot to be.”
So saying, He shouted to His horses, and they responded to His command as they swiftly drew the speeding chariot, like long-winged birds.
And She [Demeter] was visited by grief [akhos] that was even more terrifying than before: it makes you think of the Hound of Hādēs.
In Her anger at the One Who Is Known for His Dark Clouds, the Son of Kronos, She shunned the company of Gods and lofty Olympus.
She went away, visiting the cities of humans, with all their fertile landholdings,
shading over Her appearance, for a long time. And not one of men,
looking at Her, could recognize Her. Not one of women, either, who are accustomed to wear their waistbands low-slung.
Until, one day, She came to the house of bright-minded Keleos,
who was at that time ruler of Eleusis, fragrant with incense.
She sat down near the road, sad in her philon heart, at the well called Parthenion [the Virgin's Place], where the people of the polis used to draw water.
She sat in the shade, under the thick growth of an olive tree,
looking like an old woman who had lived through many years and who is deprived of giving childbirth and of the gifts of Aphrodite, lover of garlands in the hair.
She was like those nursemaids who belong to kings, administrators of themistes, and who are guardians of children in echoing palaces.
She was seen by the daughters of Keleos, son of Eleusinos,
who were coming to get water, easy to draw [from the well], in order to carry it in bronze water-jars to the phila home of their father.
There were four of them, looking like goddesses with their bloom of adolescence:
Kallidikē, Kleisidikē, and lovely Dēmō.
And then there was Kallithoē, who was the eldest of them all.
They did not recognize Her [Demeter]. Gods are hard for mortals to see.
They [the daughters] stood near Her and spoke these winged words:
“Who are you, and where are you from, old woman, old among old humans?
Why has your path taken you far away from the polis? Why have you not drawn near to the palace?
There, throughout the shaded chambers, are women who are as old as you are, and younger ones too,
who would welcome you in word and in deed.”
So she spoke.And the Lady Goddess spoke with the following words:
“Phila children! Whoever women you are among the female kind of humans,
I wish you kharis [‘I wish you pleasure and happiness from our relationship, starting now’]. I shall tell you. It is not unseemly,
since you ask, for me to tell you alēthea.
Dōsō is my name. It was given to me by my honored mother.
But that was then. I am from Crete, having traveled over the wide stretches of sea against my will. Without my consent, by force,by duress, I was abducted by pirates. After a while,
sailing with their swift ship, they landed at the harbor of Thorikos. There the ship was boarded by women of the mainland, many of them. They [the pirates] started preparing dinner next to the prow of the beached ship.
But my thūmos did not yearn for food, that delight of the mind.
I stole away and set out to travel over the dark earth of the mainland, fleeing my arrogant captors. This way, I stopped them
from drawing any benefit from my worth without having paid the price.
That is how I got here, in the course of all my wanderings. And I do not know what this land is and who live here.
But I pray to all the Gods who abide on Olympus that you be granted vigorous husbands and that you be able to bear children,
To be honest about it, what I want is for you to name for me a house to go to, the house of someone, man or woman, who has phila children to be taken care of.
I want to work for them, honestly. The kind of work that is cut out for a female who has outlived others her own age.
I could take some newborn baby in my arms, and nourish him well. I could watch over his house.
I would make his bed in the inner recesses of well-built chambers,
the royal bed. And I could see to a woman’s tasks.”
So spoke the Goddess. And She was answered straightaway by the unwed maiden, Kallidikē, the most beautiful of the daughters of Keleos:
“Old Mother, we humans endure the gifts the Gods give us, even
when we are grieving over what has to be.
They [the Gods] are, after all, far better than we are.
What I now say will be clear advice, and I will name for you
the men who have the great control, divinely given, of tīmē here:
the men who stand at the forefront of the dēmos and who protect the citadel of the polis with their wise counsel and their straight dikai.
And then there are the wives too: of sound-minded Triptolemos, of Dioklos, of Polyxenos, of faultless Eumolpos as well,
of Dolikhos, and of our splendid father [Keleos]. The wives of all of these manage the palace.
Of these women, not a single one of them, when they first look at you, would deprive you of tīmē, the way you look, and turn you away from the palace.
Rather, they will receive you. For, right now, you look like the Gods.
If you wish, wait for us, while we go to the palace of our father
and tell our mother, Metaneira with the low-slung waistband,
all these things from beginning to end, in the hope that she will tell you to come to our house and not to seek out the houses of others.
She has a treasured son, growing up in the well-built palace.
He was born late, after many a prayer for the birth of a son: a great joy to his parents.
If you nourish him to grow till he reaches the crossing-point of life, coming of age,
I can predict that you will be the envy of any woman who lays eyes on you.
That is how much compensation she [Metaneira] would give you in return for raising him.”
So she [Kallidikē] spoke. And she [Demeter] nodded her assent. So they, filling their splendid jars with water, carried it off, looking magnificent.
Swiftly they came to the great palace of their father, and quickly they told their mother what they saw and heard.And she told them
quickly to go and invite her [Demeter] for whatever wages, no limits, and they, much as deer or heifers in the hōrā of spring
prance along the meadow, satiating their dispositions as they graze on the grass,
so also they, hitching up the folds of their lovely dresses, dashed along the rutted roadway, their hair flowing over their shoulders, looking like crocus blossoms.
They found the illustrious goddess sitting near the road, just the way they had left her. Then they led her to the phila palace of their father.
She was walking behind them, sad in her philon heart.
She was wearing a veil on her head, and a long dark robe [peplos] trailed around the delicate feet of the goddess.
Straightaway they came to the palace of sky-nurtured16 Keleos.
They went through the hall, heading for the place where their mistress, their mother, was sitting near the threshold of a well-built chamber, holding in her lap her son, a young seedling. And they ran over to her side.
She [Demeter] in the meantime went over to the threshold and stood on it, with feet firmly planted, and her head
reached all the way to the ceiling. And she filled the whole indoors with a divine light.
She [Metaneira] was seized by a sense of aidōs, by a holy wonder, by a blanching fear.
She [Metaneira] yielded to Her [Demeter] the chair on which she was sitting, and she told Her to sit down.
But Demeter, the Bringer of hōrai, the Giver of splendid gifts,
refused to sit down on the splendid chair, but She stood there silent, with Her beautiful eyes downcast,
until Iambē, the one who knows what is worth caring about [kednon] and what is not, set down for Her a well-built stool, on top of which she threw a splendid fleece.
On this She [Demeter] sat down, holding with Her hands a veil before her face.
For a long time She sat on the stool, without uttering a sound, in Her sadness.
And She made no approach, either by word or by gesture, to anyone.Unsmiling, not partaking of food or drink,
She sat there, wasting away with yearning for Her daughter with the low-slung waistband,
until Iambē, the one who knows what is dear and what is not, started making fun.
Making many jokes, she turned the Holy Lady’s disposition in another direction,
making Her smile and laugh and have a merry thūmos.
Ever since, she [Iambē] has been pleasing Her [Demeter] with the Sacred Rites.
Then Metaneira offered Her [Demeter] a cup, having filled it with honey-sweet wine.
But she refused, saying that it was divinely ordained that she not
drink red wine. Then She [Demeter] ordered her [Metaneira] to mix some barley and water
with delicate pennyroyal, and to give Her [Demeter] that potion to drink.
So she [Metaneira] made the kukeōn and offered it to the Goddess, just as She had ordered.
The Lady known far and wide as Dēō accepted it, for the sake of the hosia.
Then well-girded Metaneira spoke up in their midst:
“Woman, I wish you kharis ['I wish you pleasure and happiness from our relationship, starting now']. I speak this way because I think you are descended not from base parents,
but from noble ones. You have the look of aidōs in your eyes,
and the look of kharis, just as if you were descended from kings, who uphold the themistes.
We humans endure the gifts the Gods give us, even when we are grieving over what has to be.
The yoke has been placed on our neck.
But now that you have come here, there will be as many things that they give to you as they give to me.
Take this little boy of mine and nourish him. He is late-born, and it was beyond my expectations
that the Immortals could have given him to me. I prayed many times to have him.
If you nourish him to grow till he reaches the crossing-point of life, coming of age,
I can predict that you will be the envy of any woman who lays eyes on you.
That is how much compensation I [Metaneira] would give you in return for raising him.”
Then Demeter, with the beautiful garlands in Her hair, addressed her:
“Woman, I wish you kharis back, and then some. May the Gods give you good things.
With positive intentions, I will take your little boy as you tell me to.
I will nourish him, and I do not expect that, through the inadvertence of her nursemaid, he would perish from a pestilence or from the Undercutter.
I know an antidote that is far more powerful than the Woodcutter;I know a genuine remedy for the painful pestilence.”
Having so spoken, She took the child to Her fragrant bosom,
in Her immortal hands. And the mother [Metaneira] rejoiced in her mind.
And so it came to pass that the splendid son of bright-minded Keleos, Dēmophōn, who was born to the one with the beautiful waist, Metaneira, was nourished in the palace, and he shot up [anedrame] equal to a superhuman force [daimōn],
not eating grain, not sucking from the breast.
But Demeter used to anoint him with ambrosia, as if he had been born of the Goddess,
and She would breathe down Her sweet breath on him as She held him to Her bosom.
At nights She would conceal him within the power source [menos] of fire, as if he were a smoldering log,
and his dear parents were kept unaware. But they marveled
at how full in bloom he came to be, and to look at him was like looking at the Gods.
Now Demeter would have made him ageless and immortal
if it had not been for the heedlessness of well-girded Metaneira,
who went spying one night, leaving her own fragrant bedchamber,
and caught sight of it [what Demeter was doing]. She let out a shriek and struck her two thighs, afraid for her child. She had made a big mistake in her thūmos.
Weeping, she spoke these winged words:
“My child! Demophon! The stranger, this woman, is making you disappear in a mass of flames! This is making me weep in lamentation [goos]. This is giving me baneful anguish!”
So she spoke, weeping. And the resplendent Goddess heard her.
Demeter, She of the beautiful garlands in the hair, became angry at her [Metaneira].
She [Demeter] took her [Metaneira’s] philos little boy, who had been born to her mother in the palace, beyond her expectations,
She took him in Her immortal hands and put him down on the floor, away from her.
She had taken him out of the fire, very angry in Her thūmos,
and straightaway She spoke to well-girded Metaneira:
“Ignorant humans! Heedless, unable to recognize in advance
the difference between future good fortune [aisa] and future bad.
In your heedlessness, you have made a big mistake, a mistake without remedy.
I [= Demeter] swear by the implacable water of the Styx, the witness of oaths that Gods make, as I say this:
immortal and ageless for all days would I have made your dear [philos] little boy, and I would have given him honor [tīmē] that is unwilting [a-phthi-tos].
But now there is no way for him to avoid death and doom.
Still, he will have an honor [tīmē] that is unwilting [a-phthi-tos], for all time, because on my knees he had once sat and slept in my arms.
At the right season [hōrā], every year, the sons of the Eleusinians will have a war, a terrible battle among each other.
They will do so for all days to come.
I am Demeter, the Holder of tīmai. I am the greatest boon and joy for Immortals and mortals alike.
But come! Let a great temple, with a great altar at its base,
be built by the entire dēmos. Make it at the foot of the acropolis and its steep walls.
Make it loom over the well of Kallikhoron, on a prominent hill.
And I will myself instruct you in the sacred rites so that, in the future, you may perform the rituals in the proper way and thus be pleasing to my noos.”
So saying, the Goddess changed Her size and appearance,
shedding Her old age, and She was totally enveloped in beauty.
And a lovely fragrance wafted from Her perfumed robes.
The radiance of Her immortal complexion shone forth from the Goddess. Her golden hair streamed down Her shoulder.
The well-built palace was filled with light, as if from a flash of lightning.
She went out of the palace, and straightaway her [Metaneira’s] knees buckled.
For a long time she [Metaneira] was speechless. She did not even think of her treasured little boy, to pick him up from the floor.
But his sisters heard his plaintive wailing, and they quickly ran downstairs from their well-cushioned bedrooms.
One of them picked up the child in her arms, clasping him to her bosom.
Another one rekindled the fire. Still another one rushed, with her delicate feet, to prop up her mother as she was staggering out of the fragrant room.
They all bunched around the little boy, washing him as he gasped and spluttered.
They all kept hugging him, but his thūmos could not be comforted.
He was now being held by nursemaids who were far inferior.
All night they prayed to the illustrious Goddess, trembling with fear. And when the bright dawn came, they told Keleos, who rules far and wide, exactly what happened, and what the Goddess Demeter, the One with the beautiful garlands in the hair, instructed them to do.
Then he [Keleos] assembled the masses of the people, from this end of the public place to the other, and he gave out the order to build, for Demeter with the beautiful hair, a splendid temple,
and an altar too, on top of the prominent hill.
And they obeyed straightaway, hearing his voice.
They built it as he ordered. And the temple grew bigger and bigger, taking shape through the dispensation of the superhuman force [daimōn].
When the people had finished their work and paused from their labor, they all went home. But golden-haired Demeter
sat down and stayed there [in the temple], shunning the company of all the Blessed Ones [the Gods].
She was wasting away with yearning for Her daughter with the low-slung waistband.
She made that year the most terrible one for mortals, all over the Earth, the nurturer of many.
It was so terrible, it makes you think of the Hound of Hādēs. The Earth did not send up any seed. Demeter, She with the beautiful garlands in her hair, kept them [the seeds] covered underground.
Many a curved plow was dragged along the fields by many an ox—all in vain.
Many a bright grain of wheat fell into the earth— all for naught.
At this moment, She [Demeter] could have destroyed the entire population of meropes humans with harsh hunger, thus depriving of their tīmē
the dwellers of the Olympian abodes— [the tīmē of] sacrificial portions of meat for eating or for burning,
if Zeus had not noticed with His noos, taking note in His thūmos.
First, He sent Iris, with the golden wings, to summon
Demeter with the splendid hair, with a beauty that is much loved.
That is what he told her to do. And She obeyed Zeus, the One with the Dark Clouds, the Son of Kronos,
and She ran the space between sky and earth quickly with Her feet.
She arrived at the city of Eleusis, fragrant with incense,
and She found in the temple Demeter, the One with the dark robe.
Addressing Her, She spoke winged words:
“Demeter! Zeus, the One Who has Unwilting [a-phthi-ta] Knowledge, summons You
to come to that special group, the company of the Immortal Gods.
So then, come! May what my words say, which come from Zeus, not fail to be turned into action that is completed.”
So She spoke, making an entreaty. But Her [Demeter’s] thūmos was not persuaded.
After that, the Father sent out all the other Blessed and Immortal Gods.
They came one by one,They kept calling out to Her, offering many beautiful gifts,
all sorts of tīmai that She could choose for Herself if She joined the company of the Immortal Gods.
But no one could persuade Her in Her thinking or in Her intention [noēma],
angry as She was in Her thūmos, and She harshly said no to Their words.
She said that She would never go to fragrant Olympus,
that She would never send up the harvest of the earth,
until She saw with Her own eyes Her Daughter, the One with the beautiful looks.
But when the Loud-Thunderer, the One Who Sees Far and Wide, heard this,
He sent to Erebos [Hādēs] the One With the Golden Wand, the Argos-Killer [Hermes], so that He may persuade Hādēs, with gentle words,
that He allow Holy Persephone to leave the misty realms of darkness
and be brought up to the light in order to join the daimones [the Gods in Olympus], so that Her mother may
see Her with Her own eyes and then let go of Her anger.
Hermes did not disobey, but straightaway He headed down beneath the depths of the earth, rushing full speed, leaving behind the abode
of Olympus.
And he found the Lord inside His palace,
seated on a funeral couch, along with His duly acquired bedmate,
the One who was much under duress, yearning for Her mother, and suffering from the unbearable things
inflicted on Her by the will of the Blessed Ones.
Going near Him [Hādēs] and stopping, the powerful Argos-Killer said to Him:
“Hādēs! Dark-haired one! King of the dead!
Zeus the Father orders that I have splendid Persephone
brought back up to light from Erebos back to Him and his company, so that Her Mother may see Her with Her own eyes and let go of Her wrath and terrifying anger
against the immortals. For She [Demeter] is performing a mighty deed,
to destroy the tribes of earth-born humans, causing them to be without menos,
by hiding the Seed underground—and She is destroying the tīmai
of the immortal Gods. She has a terrifying anger, and She refuses to keep company with the Gods. Instead, far removed, She is seated inside a temple fragrant with incense. She has taken charge of the rocky citadel of Eleusis.”
So He spoke. Hādēs, King of the Dead, smiled with His brows, and He did not disobey the order of Zeus the King.
Swiftly He gave an order to bright-minded Persephone.
“Go, Persephone, to Your mother, the One With the Dark Robe.
Have a kindly disposition and thūmos in your breast.
Do not be too upset, excessively so.
I will not be an unseemly husband to You, in the company of the Immortals.
I am the Brother of Zeus the Father. If You are here,
You will be Queen of everything that lives and moves about,
and You will have the greatest tīmai in the company of the Immortals.
Those who violate dikē will get punishment for all days to come
those who do not supplicate Your menos with sacrifice, performing the rituals in a reverent way, executing perfectly the offerings that are due.”
So He spoke. And high-minded Persephone rejoiced.
Swiftly She set out, with joy. But He [Hādēs] gave Her, stealthily, the honey-sweet berry of the pomegranate to eat, peering around Him. He did not want Her to stay for all time over there, at the side of Her honorable Mother, the One With the Dark Robe.
The immortal horses were harnessed to the golden chariot
by Hādēs, The One Who Makes many Sēmata.
She got up on the chariot, and next to Her was the powerful Argos-Killer, who took reins and whip into his philai hands
and shot out of the palace [of Hādēs]. And the horses sped away eagerly.
Swiftly They made their way along the long journey. Neither the sea nor the water of the rivers nor the grassy valleys
nor the mountain peaks could hold up the onrush of the immortal horses.
High over the peaks They went, slicing through the vast air.
He came to a halt at the place where Demeter, with the beautiful garlands in the hair, was staying, at the forefront of the temple fragrant with incense. When She [Demeter] saw Them,
She rushed forth like a maenad down a wooded mountainslope.
{387-400}
But when the earth starts blossoming with fragrant flowers of springtime,
flowers of every sort, then it is that You must come up from the misty realms of darkness,
once again, a great thing of wonder to Gods and mortal humans alike.
But what kind of ruse was used to deceive you by the Powerful One, the One Who Receives Many Guests?”
She [Demeter] was answered by Persephone, the Most Beautiful:
“So then, Mother, I shall tell You everything, without error.
When the Messenger came to me, the swift Argos-Killer,
with the news from my Father, the Son of Kronos, and from the other Dwellers in the sky,
that I should come from Erebos, so that You may see me with Your own eyes
and let go of Your wrath and terrifying mēnis against the Immortals, then I sprang up for joy, but He, stealthily,
put into my hand the berry of the pomegranate, that honey-sweet food, and He compelled me by biē to eat of it.
As for how it was that He [Hādēs] snatched me away, through the mētis of the Son of Kronos,
my Father, and how He took me down beneath the depths of the earth,
I will tell you and relate in order, as you ask.
We were, all of us, going along the lovely meadow, I and Leukippē, Phainō, Elektra, Ianthē, Melitē, Iakhē, Rhodeia, Kallirrhoē,
Mēlobosis, Tykhē, and flower-faced Okyrrhoē, Khrysēis, Ianeira, Akastē, Admētē, Rhodopē, Ploutō, and lovely Kalypsō, Styx, Ourania, and lovely Galaxaura.
Also Pallas [Athena], the One Who Rouses to Battle, and Artemis, Who Delights In Arrows.
We were playing and gathering lovely flowers in our hands,
an assortment of delicate crocus, iris, and hyacinth, rosebuds and lilies, a wonder to behold, and the narcissus, which is grown, like the crocus, by the wide earth.
I was joyfully gathering the flowers, and then the earth beneath me gave way, and there it was that He sprang out, the Powerful Lord Who Receives Many Guests.
He took me away under the earth in His golden chariot.
It was very much against my will. I cried with a piercing voice .
These things, grieving, I tell you, and they are all true.”
In this way did the two of Them spend the whole day, having a like-minded thūmos,
and they gladdened greatly each other's heart and thūmos,
hugging each other, and their thūmos ceased having akhos.
They received joy from each other, and gave it.
Then Hekatē approached them, The One With the Splendid Headband.
And She welcomed back the Daughter of Holy Demeter with many embraces.
And from that day forward, the Lady [Hekatē] became Her [Persephone’s] attendant and substitute Queen.
Then the Loud-Thundering Zeus, Who Sees Far and Wide, sent to Them a Messenger,
Rhea with the Beautiful Hair, to bring Demeter, The One with the Dark Robe,
to join the company of the special group of Gods. And He promised tīmai
that He would give to Her [Demeter], which She could receive in the company of the Immortal Gods.
He [Zeus] assented that Her daughter, every time the season came round,
would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath,
and the other two thirds in the company of Her mother and the other Immortals.
So He spoke, and the Goddess [Rhea] did not disobey the messages of Zeus.
Swiftly She darted off from the peaks of Olympus
and arrived at the Rarian Field, the life-bringing fertile spot of land,
in former times, at least. But, at this time, it was no longer life-bringing, but it stood idle
and completely without green growth. The bright grain of wheat had stayed hidden underneath, through the mental power of Demeter, The One With The Beautiful Ankles. But, from this point on, it began straightaway to flourish with long ears of grain
as the springtime was increasing its power. On the field, the fertile furrows began to be overflow with cut-down ears of grain lying on the ground, while the rest of what was cut down was already bound into sheaves.
This happened the moment She [Rhea] arrived from the boundless Aether.
They [Demeter and Rhea] were glad to see each other, and They rejoiced in Their thūmos.
Then Rhea, The One With The Splendid Headband, addressed Her [Demeter]:
“Come, Child, Zeus the Loud-Thunderer, The One Who Sees Far and Wide, is summoning You
to come to the company of that special group of Gods. And he promised tīmai that He would give You, which You could receive in the company of the Immortal Gods.
He [Zeus] assented that Your Daughter, every time the season comes round,
would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath,
and the other two thirds in Your company and that of the other Immortals.
He has assented to all this with the nod of His head.
So come, my Child! Obey! Do not be too stubborn in Your anger at the dark-clouded Son of Kronos.
Straightaway make the harvest grow, that life-bringer for humans.”
So She spoke, and Demeter, She With The Beautiful Garlands in Her Hair, did not disobey.
Straightaway She sent up the harvest from the land with its rich clods of earth.
And all the wide earth with leaves and blossoms was laden. Then She went to the kings, administrators of themistes,
and She showed them—to Triptolemos, to Diokles, driver of horses, to powerful Eumolpos and to Keleos, leader of the people
She revealed to them the way to perform the sacred rites, and She pointed out the ritual to all of them
the holy ritual, which it is not at all possible to ignore, to find out about, or to speak out. The great awe of the Gods holds back any speaking out.
Blessed [olbios] is he among earthbound mortals who has seen these things.
But whoever is uninitiated in the rites, whoever takes no part in them, will never get a share of those sorts of things [that the initiated get], once they die, down below in the dank realms of mist.
But when the resplendent Goddess finished all Her instructions,
They [Demeter and Persephone] went to Olympus, to join the company of the other Gods.
And there They abide at the side of Zeus, Who Delights in the Thunderbolt.
Holy They are, and revered. Blessed is he whom They,
being kind, decide to love among earth-bound mortals.
Straightaway They send to such a man, to reside at his hearth, in his great palace,
Ploutos [Wealth personified], Who Gives Riches to mortal humans.
But come, You Goddesses, who have charge of the city of Eleusis, fragrant with incense. and of Paros the island and rocky Antron.
Come, O Lady resplendent with gifts, Queen Dēō [Demeter], Bringer of Hōrai, both You and Your Daughter, The Most Beautiful Persephone.
Think kindly and grant, in return for this song, a rich means of livelihood that suits the thūmos.
And I will keep You in mind throughout the rest of my song.
The well-built palace was filled with light, as if from a flash of lightning.
She went out of the palace, and straightaway her [Metaneira’s] knees buckled.
For a long time she [Metaneira] was speechless. She did not even think of her treasured little boy, to pick him up from the floor.
But his sisters heard his plaintive wailing, and they quickly ran downstairs from their well-cushioned bedrooms.
One of them picked up the child in her arms, clasping him to her bosom.
Another one rekindled the fire. Still another one rushed, with her delicate feet, to prop up her mother as she was staggering out of the fragrant room.
They all bunched around the little boy, washing him as he gasped and spluttered.
They all kept hugging him, but his thūmos could not be comforted.
He was now being held by nursemaids who were far inferior.
All night they prayed to the illustrious Goddess, trembling with fear. And when the bright dawn came, they told Keleos, who rules far and wide, exactly what happened, and what the Goddess Demeter, the One with the beautiful garlands in the hair, instructed them to do.
Then he [Keleos] assembled the masses of the people, from this end of the public place to the other, and he gave out the order to build, for Demeter with the beautiful hair, a splendid temple,
and an altar too, on top of the prominent hill.
And they obeyed straightaway, hearing his voice.
They built it as he ordered. And the temple grew bigger and bigger, taking shape through the dispensation of the superhuman force [daimōn].
When the people had finished their work and paused from their labor, they all went home. But golden-haired Demeter
sat down and stayed there [in the temple], shunning the company of all the Blessed Ones [the Gods].
She was wasting away with yearning for Her daughter with the low-slung waistband.
She made that year the most terrible one for mortals, all over the Earth, the nurturer of many.
It was so terrible, it makes you think of the Hound of Hādēs. The Earth did not send up any seed. Demeter, She with the beautiful garlands in her hair, kept them [the seeds] covered underground.
Many a curved plow was dragged along the fields by many an ox—all in vain.
Many a bright grain of wheat fell into the earth— all for naught.
At this moment, She [Demeter] could have destroyed the entire population of meropes humans with harsh hunger, thus depriving of their tīmē
the dwellers of the Olympian abodes— [the tīmē of] sacrificial portions of meat for eating or for burning,
if Zeus had not noticed with His noos, taking note in His thūmos.
First, He sent Iris, with the golden wings, to summon
Demeter with the splendid hair, with a beauty that is much loved.
That is what he told her to do. And She obeyed Zeus, the One with the Dark Clouds, the Son of Kronos,
and She ran the space between sky and earth quickly with Her feet.
She arrived at the city of Eleusis, fragrant with incense,
and She found in the temple Demeter, the One with the dark robe.
Addressing Her, She spoke winged words:
“Demeter! Zeus, the One Who has Unwilting [a-phthi-ta] Knowledge, summons You
to come to that special group, the company of the Immortal Gods.
So then, come! May what my words say, which come from Zeus, not fail to be turned into action that is completed.”
So She spoke, making an entreaty. But Her [Demeter’s] thūmos was not persuaded.
After that, the Father sent out all the other Blessed and Immortal Gods.
They came one by one,They kept calling out to Her, offering many beautiful gifts,
all sorts of tīmai that She could choose for Herself if She joined the company of the Immortal Gods.
But no one could persuade Her in Her thinking or in Her intention [noēma],
angry as She was in Her thūmos, and She harshly said no to Their words.
She said that She would never go to fragrant Olympus,
that She would never send up the harvest of the earth,
until She saw with Her own eyes Her Daughter, the One with the beautiful looks.
But when the Loud-Thunderer, the One Who Sees Far and Wide, heard this,
He sent to Erebos [Hādēs] the One With the Golden Wand, the Argos-Killer [Hermes], so that He may persuade Hādēs, with gentle words,
that He allow Holy Persephone to leave the misty realms of darkness
and be brought up to the light in order to join the daimones [the Gods in Olympus], so that Her mother may
see Her with Her own eyes and then let go of Her anger.
Hermes did not disobey, but straightaway He headed down beneath the depths of the earth, rushing full speed, leaving behind the abode
of Olympus.
And he found the Lord inside His palace,
seated on a funeral couch, along with His duly acquired bedmate,
the One who was much under duress, yearning for Her mother, and suffering from the unbearable things
inflicted on Her by the will of the Blessed Ones.
Going near Him [Hādēs] and stopping, the powerful Argos-Killer said to Him:
“Hādēs! Dark-haired one! King of the dead!
Zeus the Father orders that I have splendid Persephone
brought back up to light from Erebos back to Him and his company, so that Her Mother may see Her with Her own eyes and let go of Her wrath and terrifying anger
against the immortals. For She [Demeter] is performing a mighty deed,
to destroy the tribes of earth-born humans, causing them to be without menos,
by hiding the Seed underground—and She is destroying the tīmai
of the immortal Gods. She has a terrifying anger, and She refuses to keep company with the Gods. Instead, far removed, She is seated inside a temple fragrant with incense. She has taken charge of the rocky citadel of Eleusis.”
So He spoke. Hādēs, King of the Dead, smiled with His brows, and He did not disobey the order of Zeus the King.
Swiftly He gave an order to bright-minded Persephone.
“Go, Persephone, to Your mother, the One With the Dark Robe.
Have a kindly disposition and thūmos in your breast.
Do not be too upset, excessively so.
I will not be an unseemly husband to You, in the company of the Immortals.
I am the Brother of Zeus the Father. If You are here,
You will be Queen of everything that lives and moves about,
and You will have the greatest tīmai in the company of the Immortals.
Those who violate dikē will get punishment for all days to come
those who do not supplicate Your menos with sacrifice, performing the rituals in a reverent way, executing perfectly the offerings that are due.”
So He spoke. And high-minded Persephone rejoiced.
Swiftly She set out, with joy. But He [Hādēs] gave Her, stealthily, the honey-sweet berry of the pomegranate to eat, peering around Him. He did not want Her to stay for all time over there, at the side of Her honorable Mother, the One With the Dark Robe.
The immortal horses were harnessed to the golden chariot
by Hādēs, The One Who Makes many Sēmata.
She got up on the chariot, and next to Her was the powerful Argos-Killer, who took reins and whip into his philai hands
and shot out of the palace [of Hādēs]. And the horses sped away eagerly.
Swiftly They made their way along the long journey. Neither the sea nor the water of the rivers nor the grassy valleys
nor the mountain peaks could hold up the onrush of the immortal horses.
High over the peaks They went, slicing through the vast air.
He came to a halt at the place where Demeter, with the beautiful garlands in the hair, was staying, at the forefront of the temple fragrant with incense. When She [Demeter] saw Them,
She rushed forth like a maenad down a wooded mountainslope.
{387-400}
But when the earth starts blossoming with fragrant flowers of springtime,
flowers of every sort, then it is that You must come up from the misty realms of darkness,
once again, a great thing of wonder to Gods and mortal humans alike.
But what kind of ruse was used to deceive you by the Powerful One, the One Who Receives Many Guests?”
She [Demeter] was answered by Persephone, the Most Beautiful:
“So then, Mother, I shall tell You everything, without error.
When the Messenger came to me, the swift Argos-Killer,
with the news from my Father, the Son of Kronos, and from the other Dwellers in the sky,
that I should come from Erebos, so that You may see me with Your own eyes
and let go of Your wrath and terrifying mēnis against the Immortals, then I sprang up for joy, but He, stealthily,
put into my hand the berry of the pomegranate, that honey-sweet food, and He compelled me by biē to eat of it.
As for how it was that He [Hādēs] snatched me away, through the mētis of the Son of Kronos,
my Father, and how He took me down beneath the depths of the earth,
I will tell you and relate in order, as you ask.
We were, all of us, going along the lovely meadow, I and Leukippē, Phainō, Elektra, Ianthē, Melitē, Iakhē, Rhodeia, Kallirrhoē,
Mēlobosis, Tykhē, and flower-faced Okyrrhoē, Khrysēis, Ianeira, Akastē, Admētē, Rhodopē, Ploutō, and lovely Kalypsō, Styx, Ourania, and lovely Galaxaura.
Also Pallas [Athena], the One Who Rouses to Battle, and Artemis, Who Delights In Arrows.
We were playing and gathering lovely flowers in our hands,
an assortment of delicate crocus, iris, and hyacinth, rosebuds and lilies, a wonder to behold, and the narcissus, which is grown, like the crocus, by the wide earth.
I was joyfully gathering the flowers, and then the earth beneath me gave way, and there it was that He sprang out, the Powerful Lord Who Receives Many Guests.
He took me away under the earth in His golden chariot.
It was very much against my will. I cried with a piercing voice .
These things, grieving, I tell you, and they are all true.”
In this way did the two of Them spend the whole day, having a like-minded thūmos,
and they gladdened greatly each other's heart and thūmos,
hugging each other, and their thūmos ceased having akhos.
They received joy from each other, and gave it.
Then Hekatē approached them, The One With the Splendid Headband.
And She welcomed back the Daughter of Holy Demeter with many embraces.
And from that day forward, the Lady [Hekatē] became Her [Persephone’s] attendant and substitute Queen.
Then the Loud-Thundering Zeus, Who Sees Far and Wide, sent to Them a Messenger,
Rhea with the Beautiful Hair, to bring Demeter, The One with the Dark Robe,
to join the company of the special group of Gods. And He promised tīmai
that He would give to Her [Demeter], which She could receive in the company of the Immortal Gods.
He [Zeus] assented that Her daughter, every time the season came round,
would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath,
and the other two thirds in the company of Her mother and the other Immortals.
So He spoke, and the Goddess [Rhea] did not disobey the messages of Zeus.
Swiftly She darted off from the peaks of Olympus
and arrived at the Rarian Field, the life-bringing fertile spot of land,
in former times, at least. But, at this time, it was no longer life-bringing, but it stood idle
and completely without green growth. The bright grain of wheat had stayed hidden underneath, through the mental power of Demeter, The One With The Beautiful Ankles. But, from this point on, it began straightaway to flourish with long ears of grain
as the springtime was increasing its power. On the field, the fertile furrows began to be overflow with cut-down ears of grain lying on the ground, while the rest of what was cut down was already bound into sheaves.
This happened the moment She [Rhea] arrived from the boundless Aether.
They [Demeter and Rhea] were glad to see each other, and They rejoiced in Their thūmos.
Then Rhea, The One With The Splendid Headband, addressed Her [Demeter]:
“Come, Child, Zeus the Loud-Thunderer, The One Who Sees Far and Wide, is summoning You
to come to the company of that special group of Gods. And he promised tīmai that He would give You, which You could receive in the company of the Immortal Gods.
He [Zeus] assented that Your Daughter, every time the season comes round,
would spend a third portion of the year in the realms of dark mist underneath,
and the other two thirds in Your company and that of the other Immortals.
He has assented to all this with the nod of His head.
So come, my Child! Obey! Do not be too stubborn in Your anger at the dark-clouded Son of Kronos.
Straightaway make the harvest grow, that life-bringer for humans.”
So She spoke, and Demeter, She With The Beautiful Garlands in Her Hair, did not disobey.
Straightaway She sent up the harvest from the land with its rich clods of earth.
And all the wide earth with leaves and blossoms was laden. Then She went to the kings, administrators of themistes,
and She showed them—to Triptolemos, to Diokles, driver of horses, to powerful Eumolpos and to Keleos, leader of the people
She revealed to them the way to perform the sacred rites, and She pointed out the ritual to all of them
the holy ritual, which it is not at all possible to ignore, to find out about, or to speak out. The great awe of the Gods holds back any speaking out.
Blessed [olbios] is he among earthbound mortals who has seen these things.
But whoever is uninitiated in the rites, whoever takes no part in them, will never get a share of those sorts of things [that the initiated get], once they die, down below in the dank realms of mist.
But when the resplendent Goddess finished all Her instructions,
They [Demeter and Persephone] went to Olympus, to join the company of the other Gods.
And there They abide at the side of Zeus, Who Delights in the Thunderbolt.
Holy They are, and revered. Blessed is he whom They,
being kind, decide to love among earth-bound mortals.
Straightaway They send to such a man, to reside at his hearth, in his great palace,
Ploutos [Wealth personified], Who Gives Riches to mortal humans.
But come, You Goddesses, who have charge of the city of Eleusis, fragrant with incense. and of Paros the island and rocky Antron.
Come, O Lady resplendent with gifts, Queen Dēō [Demeter], Bringer of Hōrai, both You and Your Daughter, The Most Beautiful Persephone.
Think kindly and grant, in return for this song, a rich means of livelihood that suits the thūmos.
And I will keep You in mind throughout the rest of my song.
Lyrics in Ancient Greek
Δήμητρ’ ἠΰκομον σεμνὴν θεὰν ἄρχομ’ ἀείδειν,
αὐτὴν ἠδὲ θύγατρα τανύσφυρον ἣν Ἀϊδωνεὺς
ἥρπαξεν, δῶκεν δὲ βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα Ζεύς,
νόσφιν Δήμητρος χρυσαόρου ἀγλαοκάρπου
παίζουσαν κούρῃσι σὺν Ὠκεανοῦ βαθυκόλποις, 5
ἄνθεά τ’ αἰνυμένην, ῥόδα καὶ κρόκον ἠδ’ ἴα καλὰ
λειμῶν’ ἂμ μαλακὸν καὶ ἀγαλλίδας ἠδ’ ὑάκινθον
νάρκισσόν θ’, ὃν φῦσε δόλον καλυκώπιδι κούρῃ
Γαῖα Διὸς βουλῇσι χαριζομένη πολυδέκτῃ
θαυμαστὸν γανόωντα, σέβας τότε πᾶσιν ἰδέσθαι 10
ἀθανάτοις τε θεοῖς ἠδὲ θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις·
τοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ ῥίζης ἑκατὸν κάρα ἐξεπεφύκει,
κὦζ’ ἥδιστ’ ὀδμή, πᾶς τ’ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθε
γαῖά τε πᾶσ’ ἐγελάσσε καὶ ἁλμυρὸν οἶδμα θαλάσσης.
ἡ δ’ ἄρα θαμβήσασ’ ὠρέξατο χερσὶν ἅμ' ἄμφω 15
καλὸν ἄθυρμα λαβεῖν· χάνε δὲ χθὼν εὐρυάγυια
Νύσιον ἂμ πεδίον τῇ ὄρουσεν ἄναξ Πολυδέγμων
ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι Κρόνου πολυώνυμος υἱός.
ἁρπάξας δ’ ἀέκουσαν ἐπὶ χρυσέοισιν ὄχοισιν
ἦγ’ ὀλοφυρομένην· ἰάχησε δ’ ἄρ’ ὄρθια φωνῇ 20
κεκλομένη πατέρα Κρονίδην ὕπατον καὶ ἄριστον.
οὐδέ τις ἀθανάτων οὐδὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἤκουσεν φωνῆς, οὐδ’ ἀγλαόκαρποι ἐλαῖαι,
εἰ μὴ Περσαίου θυγάτηρ ἀταλὰ φρονέουσα
ἄϊεν ἐξ ἄντρου Ἑκάτη λιπαροκρήδεμνος, 25
Ἠέλιός τε ἄναξ Ὑπερίονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
κούρης κεκλομένης πατέρα Κρονίδην· ὁ δὲ νόσφιν
ἧστο θεῶν ἀπάνευθε πολυλλίστῳ ἐνὶ νηῷ
δέγμενος ἱερὰ καλὰ παρὰ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
τὴν δ’ ἀεκαζομένην ἦγεν Διὸς ἐννεσίῃσι 30
πατροκασίγνητος πολυσημάντωρ πολυδέγμων
ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι Κρόνου πολυώνυμος υἱός.
ὄφρα μὲν οὖν γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα
λεῦσσε θεὰ καὶ πόντον ἀγάρροον ἰχθυόεντα
αὐγάς τ’ ἠελίου, ἔτι δ’ ἤλπετο μητέρα κεδνὴν 35
ὄψεσθαι καὶ φῦλα θεῶν αἰειγενετάων,
τόφρα οἱ ἐλπὶς ἔθελγε μέγαν νόον ἀχνυμένης περ·
ἤχησαν δ’ ὀρέων κορυφαὶ καὶ βένθεα πόντου
φωνῇ ὑπ’ ἀθανάτῃ, τῆς δ’ ἔκλυε πότνια μήτηρ.
ὀξὺ δέ μιν κραδίην ἄχος ἔλλαβεν, ἀμφὶ δὲ χαίταις 40
ἀμβροσίαις κρήδεμνα δαΐζετο χερσὶ φίλῃσι,
κυάνεον δὲ κάλυμμα κατ’ ἀμφοτέρων βάλετ’ ὤμων,
σεύατο δ’ ὥστ’ οἰωνὸς ἐπὶ τραφερήν τε καὶ ὑγρὴν
μαιομένη· τῇ δ’ οὔ τις ἐτήτυμα μυθήσασθαι
ἤθελεν οὔτε θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, 45
οὔτ’ οἰωνῶν τις τῇ ἐτήτυμος ἄγγελος ἦλθεν.
ἐννῆμαρ μὲν ἔπειτα κατὰ χθόνα πότνια Δηὼ
στρωφᾶτ’ αἰθομένας δαΐδας μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχουσα,
οὐδέ ποτ’ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἡδυπότοιο
πάσσατ’ ἀκηχεμένη, οὐδὲ χρόα βάλλετο λουτροῖς. 50
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δὴ δεκάτη οἱ ἐπήλυθε φαινολὶς Ἠὼς
ἤντετό οἱ Ἑκάτη, σέλας ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔχουσα,
καί ῥά οἱ ἀγγελέουσα ἔπος φάτο φώνησέν τε·
πότνια Δημήτηρ ὡρηφόρε ἀγλαόδωρε
τίς θεῶν οὐρανίων ἠὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων 55
ἥρπασε Περσεφόνην καὶ σὸν φίλον ἤκαχε θυμόν;
φωνῆς γὰρ ἤκουσ’, ἀτὰρ οὐκ ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν,
ὅς τις ἔην· σοὶ δ’ ὦκα λέγω νημερτέα πάντα.
ὣς ἄρ’ ἔφη Ἑκάτη· τὴν δ’ οὐκ ἠμείβετο μύθῳ
Ῥείης ἠϋκόμου θυγάτηρ, ἀλλ’ ὦκα σὺν αὐτῇ 60
ἤϊξ’ αἰθομένας δαΐδας μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχουσα.
Ἠέλιον δ’ ἵκοντο, θεῶν σκοπὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν,
στὰν δ’ ἵππων προπάροιθε καὶ εἴρετο δῖα θεάων·
Ἠέλι’ αἴδεσσαί με θεὰν σύ περ, εἴ ποτε δή σευ
ἢ ἔπει ἢ ἔργῳ κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἴηνα. 65
κούρην τὴν ἔτεκον γλυκερὸν θάλος εἴδεϊ κυδρὴν
τῆς ἀδινὴν ὄπ’ ἄκουσα δι’ αἰθέρος ἀτρυγέτοιο
ὥστε βιαζομένης, ἀτὰρ οὐκ ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσιν.
ἀλλά, σὺ γὰρ δὴ πᾶσαν ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ κατὰ πόντον
αἰθέρος ἐκ δίης καταδέρκεαι ἀκτίνεσσι, 70
νημερτέως μοι ἔνισπε φίλον τέκος εἴ που ὄπωπας
ὅς τις νόσφιν ἐμεῖο λαβὼν ἀέκουσαν ἀνάγκῃ
οἴχεται ἠὲ θεῶν ἢ καὶ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Ὢς φάτο, τὴν δ’ Ὑπεριονίδης ἠμείβετο μύθῳ·
Ῥείης ἠϋκόμου θυγάτηρ Δήμητερ ἄνασσα 75
εἰδήσεις· δὴ γὰρ μέγα σ’ ἅζομαι ἠδ’ ἐλεαίρω
ἀχνυμένην περὶ παιδὶ τανυσφύρῳ· οὐδέ τις ἄλλος
αἴτιος ἀθανάτων εἰ μὴ νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς,
ὅς μιν ἔδωκ’ Ἀίδῃ θαλερὴν κεκλῆσθαι ἄκοιτιν
αὐτοκασιγνήτῳ· ὅ δ’ ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα 80
ἁρπάξας ἵπποισιν ἄγεν μεγάλα ἰάχουσαν.
ἀλλά, θεά, κατάπαυε μέγαν γόον· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
μὰψ αὔτως ἄπλητον ἔχειν χόλον· οὔ τοι ἀεικὴς
γαμβρὸς ἐν ἀθανάτοις Πολυσημάντωρ Ἀιδωνεὺς
αὐτοκασίγνητος καὶ ὁμόσπορος· ἀμφὶ δὲ τιμὴν 85
ἔλλαχεν ὡς τὰ πρῶτα διάτριχα δασμὸς ἐτύχθη·
τοῖς μεταναιετάει τῶν ἔλλαχε κοίρανος εἶναι.
Ὣς εἰπὼν ἵπποισιν ἐκέκλετο, τοὶ δ’ ὑπ’ ὀμοκλῆς
ῥίμφ’ ἔφερον θοὸν ἅρμα τανύπτεροι ὥς τ’ οἰωνοί·
τὴν δ’ ἄχος αἰνότερον καὶ κύντερον ἵκετο θυμόν ·90
χωσαμένη δ’ ἔπειτα κελαινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι
νοσφισθεῖσα θεῶν ἀγορὴν καὶ μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον
ᾤχετ’ ἐπ’ ἀνθρώπων πόλιας καὶ πίονα ἔργα
εἶδος ἀμαλδύνουσα πολὺν χρόνον· οὐδέ τις ἀνδρῶν
εἰσορόων γίγνωσκε βαθυζώνων τε γυναικῶν 95
πρίν γ’ ὅτε δὴ Κελεοῖο δαΐφρονος ἵκετο δῶμα,
ὃς τότ’ Ἐλευσῖνος θυοέσσης κοίρανος ἦεν.
ἕζετο δ’ ἐγγὺς ὁδοῖο φίλον τετιημένη ἦτορ
Παρθενίῳ φρέατι ὅθεν ὑδρεύοντο πολῖται
ἐν σκιῇ, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε πεφύκει θάμνος ἐλαίης, 100
γρηῒ παλαιγενέϊ ἐναλίγκιος, ἥτε τόκοιο
εἴργηται δώρων τε φιλοστεφάνου Ἀφροδίτης,
οἷαί τε τροφοί εἰσι θεμιστοπόλων βασιλήων
παίδων καὶ ταμίαι κατὰ δώματα ἠχήεντα.
τὴν δὲ ἴδον Κελεοῖο Ἐλευσινίδαο θύγατρες 105
ἐρχόμεναι μεθ’ ὕδωρ εὐήρυτον ὄφρα φέροιεν
κάλπισι χαλκείῃσι φίλα πρὸς δώματα πατρός,
τέσσαρες ὥστε θεαὶ κουρήϊον ἄνθος ἔχουσαι,
Καλλιδίκη καὶ Κλεισιδίκη Δημώ τ’ ἐρόεσσα
Καλλιθόη θ’, ἣ τῶν προγενεστάτη ἦεν ἁπασῶν· 110
οὐδ’ ἔγνων· χαλεποὶ δὲ θεοὶ θνητοῖσιν ὁρᾶσθαι.
ἀγχοῦ δ’ ἱστάμεναι ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων·
Τίς πόθεν ἐσσὶ γρηὺ παλαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων;
τίπτε δὲ νόσφι πόληος ἀπέστιχες οὐδὲ δόμοισι
πιλνᾷς; ἔνθα γυναῖκες ἀνὰ μέγαρα σκιόεντα 115
τηλίκαι ὡς σύ περ ὧδε καὶ ὁπλότεραι γεγάασιν,
αἵ κέ σε φίλωνται ἠμὲν ἔπει ἠδὲ καὶ ἔργῳ.
Ὣς ἔφαθ’, ἡ δ’ ἐπέεσσιν ἀμείβετο πότνα θεάων·
τέκνα φίλ’ αἵ τινές ἐστε γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων
χαίρετ’· ἐγὼ δ’ ὑμῖν μυθήσομαι· οὔ τοι ἀεικὲς 120
ὑμῖν εἰρομένῃσιν ἀληθέα μυθήσασθαι.
Δὼς ἐμοί γ’ ὄνομ’ ἐστί· τὸ γὰρ θέτο πότνια μήτηρ.
νῦν αὖτε Κρήτηθεν ἐπ’ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης
ἤλυθον οὐκ ἐθέλουσα, βίῃ δ’ ἀέκουσαν ἀνάγκῃ
ἄνδρες ληϊστῆρες ἀπήγαγον. οἱ μὲν ἔπειτα 125
νηῒ θοῇ Θόρικὸν δὲ κατέσχεθον, ἔνθα γυναῖκες
ἠπείρου ἐπέβησαν ἀολλέες ἠδὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
δεῖπνόν ἐπηρτύνοντο παρὰ πρυμνήσια νηός·
ἀλλ’ ἐμοὶ οὐ δόρποιο μελίφρονος ἤρατο θυμός,
λάθρη δ’ ὁρμηθεῖσα δι’ ἠπείροιο μελαίνης 130
φεύγον ὑπερφιάλους σημάντορας, ὄφρα κε μή με
ἀπριάτην περάσαντες ἐμῆς ἀποναίατο τιμῆς.
οὕτω δεῦρ’ ἱκόμην ἀλαλημένη, οὐδέ τι οἶδα
ἥ τις δὴ γαῖ’ ἐστὶ καὶ οἵ τινες ἐγγεγάασιν.
ἀλλ’ ὑμῖν μὲν πάντες Ὀλύμπια δώματ’ ἔχοντες135
δοῖεν κουριδίους ἄνδρας, καὶ τέκνα τεκέσθαι,
ὡς ἐθέλουσι τοκῆες· ἐμὲ δ’ αὖτ’ οἰκτείρατε, κοῦραι
[τοῦτο δέ μοι σαφέως ὑποθήκατε, ὄφρα πύθωμαι,] 137α
προφρονέως φίλα τέκνα τέων πρὸς δώμαθ’ ἵκωμαι
ἀνέρος ἠδὲ γυναικὸς ἵνα σφίσιν ἐργάζωμαι
πρόφρων οἷα γυναικὸς ἀφήλικος ἔργα τέτυκται· 140
καὶ κεν παῖδα νεογνὸν ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἔχουσα
καλὰ τιθηνοίμην καὶ δώματα τηρήσαιμι
καί κε λέχος στορέσαιμι μυχῷ θαλάμων εὐπήκτων
δεσπόσυνον καί κ’ ἔργα διδασκήσαιμι γυναικός.
Φῆ ῥα θεά· τὴν δ’ αὐτίκ’ ἀμείβετο παρθένος ἀδμής 145
Καλλιδίκη, Κελεοῖο θυγατρῶν εἶδος ἀρίστη·
Μαῖα θεῶν μὲν δῶρα καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἀνάγκῃ
τέτλαμεν ἄνθρωποι· δὴ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτεροί εἰσιν.
ταῦτα δέ τοι σαφέως ὑποθήσομαι ἠδ’ ὀνομήνω
ἀνέρας οἷσιν ἔπεστι μέγα κράτος ἐνθάδε τιμῆς, 150
δήμου τε προὔχουσιν, ἰδὲ κρήδεμνα πόληος
εἰρύαται βουλῇσι καὶ ἰθείῃσι δίκῃσιν·
ἠμὲν Τριπτολέμου πυκιμήδεος ἠδὲ Διόκλου
ἠδὲ Πολυξείνου καὶ ἀμύμονος Εὐμόλποιο
καὶ Δολίχου καὶ πατρὸς ἀγήνορος ἡμετέροιο 155
τῶν πάντων ἄλοχοι κατὰ δώματα πορσαίνουσι·
τάων οὐκ ἄν τίς σε κατὰ πρώτιστον ὀπωπὴν
εἶδος ἀτιμήσασα δόμων ἀπονοσφίσσειεν,
ἀλλά σε δέξονται· δὴ γὰρ θεοείκελός ἐσσι.
εἰ δ’ ἐθέλεις, ἐπίμεινον, ἵνα πρὸς δώματα πατρὸς 160
ἔλθωμεν καὶ μητρὶ βαθυζώνῳ Μετανείρῃ
εἴπωμεν τάδε πάντα διαμπερές, αἴ κέ σ’ ἀνώγῃ
ἡμέτερον δ’ ἰέναι μηδ’ ἄλλων δώματ’ ἐρευνᾶν.
τηλύγετος δέ οἱ υἱὸς ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ εὐπήκτῳ
ὀψίγονος τρέφεται, πολυεύχετος ἀσπάσιός τε. 165
εἰ τόν γ’ ἐκθρέψαιο καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοιτο
ῥεῖά κέ τίς σε ἰδοῦσα γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων
ζηλώσαι· τόσα κέν τοι ἀπὸ θρεπτήρια δοίη.
Ὢς ἔφαθ’· ἡ δ’ ἐπένευσε καρήατι, ταὶ δὲ φαεινὰ
πλησάμεναι ὕδατος φέρον ἄγγεα κυδιάουσαι. 170
ῥίμφα δὲ πατρὸς ἵκοντο μέγαν δόμον, ὦκα δὲ μητρὶ
ἔννεπον ὡς εἶδόν τε καὶ ἔκλυον. ἡ δὲ μάλ’ ὦκα
ἐλθούσας ἐκέλευε καλεῖν ἐπ’ ἀπείρονι μισθῷ.
αἱ δ’ ὥς τ’ ἢ ἔλαφοι ἢ πόρτιες εἴαρος ὥρῃ
ἅλλοντ’ ἂν λειμῶνα κορεσσάμεναι φρένα φορβῇ, 175
ὣς αἳ ἐπισχόμεναι ἑανῶν πτύχας ἱμεροέντων
ἤϊξαν κοίλην κατ’ ἀμαξιτόν· ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται
ὤμοις ἀΐσσοντο κροκηΐῳ ἄνθει ὁμοῖαι.
τέτμον δ’ ἐγγὺς ὁδοῦ κυδρὴν θεὰν ἔνθα πάρος περ
κάλλιπον· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα φίλα πρὸς δώματα πατρὸς 180
ἡγεῦνθ’, ἡ δ’ ἄρ’ ὄπισθε φίλον τετιημένη ἦτορ
στεῖχε κατὰ κρῆθεν κεκαλυμμένη· ἀμφὶ δὲ πέπλος
κυάνεος ῥαδινοῖσι θεᾶς ἐλελίζετο ποσσίν.
αἶψα δὲ δώμαθ’ ἵκοντο διοτρεφέος Κελεοῖο,
βὰν δὲ δι’ αἰθούσης ἔνθα σφίσι πότνια μήτηρ 185
ἧστο παρὰ σταθμὸν τέγεος πύκα ποιητοῖο
παῖδ’ ὑπὸ κόλπῳ ἔχουσα νέον θάλος· αἱ δὲ πὰρ αὐτὴν
ἔδραμον· ἡδ’ ἄρ’ ἐπ’ οὐδὸν ἔβη ποσὶ καὶ ῥα μελάθρου
κῦρε κάρη, πλῆσεν δὲ θύρας σέλαος θείοιο.
τὴν δ’ αἰδώς τε σέβας τε ἰδὲ χλωρὸν δέος εἷλεν· 190
εἶξε δέ οἱ κλισμοῖο καὶ ἑδριάασθαι ἄνωγεν.
ἀλλ’ οὐ Δημήτηρ ὡρηφόρος, ἀγλαόδωρος
ἤθελεν ἑδριάασθαι ἐπὶ κλισμοῖο φαεινοῦ,
ἀλλ’ ἀκέουσα ἔμιμνε κατ’ ὄμματα καλὰ βαλοῦσα,
πρίν γ’ ὅτε δή οἱ ἔθηκεν Ἰάμβη κέδν’ εἰδυῖα 195
πηκτὸν ἕδος, καθύπερθε δ’ ἐπ’ ἀργύφεον βάλε κῶας.
ἔνθα καθεζομένη προκατέσχετο χερσὶ καλύπτρην·
δηρὸν δ’ ἄφθογγος τετιημένη ἧστ’ ἐπὶ δίφρου,
οὐδέ τιν’ οὔτ’ ἔπεϊ προσπτύσσετο οὔτε τι ἔργῳ,
ἀλλ’ ἀγέλαστος, ἄπαστος ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος 200
ἧστο πόθῳ μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός,
πρίν γ’ ὅτε δὴ χλεύῃς μιν Ἰάμβη κέδν’ εἰδυῖα
πολλὰ παρασκώπτουσ’ ἐτρέψατο πότνιαν ἁγνὴν
μειδῆσαι γελάσαι τε καὶ ἵλαον σχεῖν θυμόν·
ἣ δή οἱ καὶ ἔπειτα μεθύστερον εὔαδεν ὀργαῖς. 205
τῇ δὲ δέπας Μετάνειρα δίδου μελιηδέος οἴνου
πλήσασ’, ἡ δ’ ἀνένευσ’· οὐ γὰρ θεμιτόν οἱ ἔφασκε
πίνειν οἶνον ἐρυθρόν, ἄνωγε δ’ ἄρ’ ἄλφι καὶ ὕδωρ
δοῦναι μίξασαν πιέμεν γλήχωνι τερείνῃ.
ἡ δὲ κυκεῶ τεύξασα θεᾷ πόρεν ὡς ἐκέλευε· 210
δεξαμένη δ’ ὁσίης ἕνεκεν πολυπότνια Δηὼ
[ἔκπιεν, ἡ δὲ λαβοῦσα δέπας θέτο ἔνθ’ ἀνάειρε] 211α
τῇσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχεν ἐύζωνος Μετάνειρα·
Χαῖρε γύναι, ἐπεὶ οὔ σε κακῶν ἄπ’ ἔολπα τοκήων
ἔμμεναι ἀλλ’ ἀγαθῶν· ἐπί τοι πρέπει ὄμμασιν αἰδὼς
καὶ χάρις, ὡς εἴ πέρ τε θεμιστοπόλων βασιλήων. 215
ἀλλὰ θεῶν μὲν δῶρα καὶ ἀχνύμενοί περ ἀνάγκῃ
τέτλαμεν ἄνθρωποι· ἐπὶ γὰρ ζυγὸς αὐχένι κεῖται.
νῦν δ’, ἐπεὶ ἵκεο δεῦρο, παρέσσεται ὅσσα τ’ ἐμοί περ.
παῖδα δέ μοι τρέφε τόνδε, τὸν ὀψίγονον καὶ ἄελπτον
ὤπασαν ἀθάνατοι, πολυάρητος δέ μοί ἐστιν. 220
εἰ τόν γε θρέψαιο καὶ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοιτο
ἦ ῥά κέ τίς σε ἰδοῦσα γυναικῶν θηλυτεράων
ζηλώσαι· τόσα κέν τοι ἀπὸ θρεπτήρια δοίην.
Τὴν δ’ αὖτε προσέειπεν ἐϋστέφανος Δημήτηρ·
καὶ σὺ γύναι μάλα χαῖρε, θεοὶ δέ τοι ἐσθλὰ πόροιεν· 225
παῖδα δέ τοι πρόφρων ὑποδέξομαι ὥς με κελεύεις·
θρέψω, κοὔ μιν, ἔολπα, κακοφραδίῃσι τιθήνης
οὔτ’ ἄρ’ ἐπηλυσίη δηλήσεται οὔθ’ ὑποτάμνον·
οἶδα γὰρ ἀντίτομον μέγα φέρτερον ὑλοτόμοιο,
οἶδα δ’ ἐπηλυσίης πολυπήμονος ἐσθλὸν ἐρυσμόν. 230
Ὣς ἄρα φωνήσασα θυώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ
χερσίν τ’ ἀθανάτῃσι· γεγήθει δὲ φρένα μήτηρ.
ὣς ἡ μὲν Κελεοῖο δαΐφρονος ἀγλαὸν υἱὸν
Δημοφόωνθ’, ὃν ἔτικτεν ἐύζωνος Μετάνειρα,
ἔτρεφεν ἐν μεγάροις· ὁ δ’ ἀέξετο δαίμονι ἶσος 235
οὔτ’ οὖν σῖτον ἔδων, οὐ θησάμενος [γάλα μητρὸς
ἀλλά μιν ἠματίη μὲν ἐυστέφανος] Δημήτηρ 236α
χρίεσκ’ ἀμβροσίῃ ὡς εἰ θεοῦ ἐκγεγαῶτα,
ἡδὺ καταπνείουσα καὶ ἐν κόλποισιν ἔχουσα·
νύκτας δὲ κρύπτεσκε πυρὸς μένει ἠύτε δαλὸν
λάθρα φίλων γονέων· τοῖς δὲ μέγα θαῦμ’ ἐτέτυκτο, 240
ὡς προθαλὴς τελέθεσκε, θεοῖσι γὰρ ἄντα ἐῴκει.
καί κέν μιν ποίησεν ἀγήρων τ’ ἀθάνατόν τε
εἰ μὴ ἄρ’ ἀφραδίῃσιν ἐύζωνος Μετάνειρα
νύκτ’ ἐπιτηρήσασα θυώδεος ἐκ θαλάμοιο
σκέψατο· κώκυσεν δὲ καὶ ἄμφω πλήξατο μηρὼ 245
δείσασ’ ᾧ περὶ παιδὶ καὶ ἀάσθη μέγα θυμῷ,
καί ῥ’ ὀλοφυρομένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
Τέκνον Δημοφόων ξείνη σε πυρὶ ἔνι πολλῷ
κρύπτει, ἐμοὶ δὲ γόον καὶ κήδεα λυγρὰ τίθησιν.
Ὢς φάτ’ ὀδυρομένη· τῆς δ’ ἄϊε δῖα θεάων. 250
τῇ δὲ χολωσαμένη καλλιστέφανος Δημήτηρ
παῖδα φίλον, τὸν ἄελπτον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἔτικτε,
χείρεσσ’ ἀθανάτῃσιν ἀπὸ ἕθεν ἧκε πέδον δὲ
ἐξανελοῦσα πυρὸς θυμῷ κοτέσασα μάλ’ αἰνῶς,
καί ῥ’ ἄμυδις προσέειπεν ἐΰζωνον Μετάνειραν· 255
Νήϊδες ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἀφράδμονες οὔτ’ ἀγαθοῖο
αἶσαν ἐπερχομένου προγνώμεναι οὔτε κακοῖο·
καὶ σὺ γὰρ ἀφραδίῃσι τεῇς νήκεστον ἀάσθης.
ἴστω γὰρ θεῶν ὅρκος ἀμείλικτον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ
ἀθάνατόν κέν τοι καὶ ἀγήραον ἤματα πάντα 260
παῖδα φίλον ποίησα καὶ ἄφθιτον ὤπασα τιμήν·
νῦν δ’ οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὥς κεν θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξαι.
τιμὴ δ’ ἄφθιτος αἰὲν ἐπέσσεται οὕνεκα γούνων
ἡμετέρων ἐπέβη καὶ ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἴαυσεν.
ὥρῃσιν δ’ ἄρα τῷ γε περιπλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν 265
παῖδες Ἐλευσινίων πόλεμον καὶ φύλοπιν αἰνὴν
αἰὲν ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν συνάξουσ’ ἤματα πάντα.
εἰμὶ δὲ Δημήτηρ τιμάοχος, ἥ τε μέγιστον
ἀθανάτοις θνητοῖσί τ’ ὄνεαρ καὶ χάρμα τέτυκται.
ἀλλ’ ἄγε μοι νηόν τε μέγαν καὶ βωμὸν ὑπ’ αὐτῷ 270
τευχόντων πᾶς δῆμος ὑπαὶ πόλιν αἰπύ τε τεῖχος
Καλλιχόρου καθύπερθεν ἐπὶ προὔχοντι κολωνῷ·
ὄργια δ’ αὐτὴ ἐγὼν ὑποθήσομαι, ὡς ἂν ἔπειτα
εὐαγέως ἔρδοντες ἐμὸν νόον ἱλάσκοισθε.
Ὣς εἰποῦσα θεὰ μέγεθος καὶ εἶδος ἄμειψε 275
γῆρας ἀπωσαμένη, περί τ’ ἀμφί τε κάλλος ἄητο·
ὀδμὴ δ’ ἱμερόεσσα θυηέντων ἀπὸ πέπλων
σκίδνατο, τῆλε δὲ φέγγος ἀπὸ χροὸς ἀθανάτοιο
λάμπε θεᾶς, ξανθαὶ δὲ κόμαι κατενήνοθεν ὤμους,
αὐγῆς δ’ ἐπλήσθη πυκινὸς δόμος ἀστεροπῆς ὥς. 280
βῆ δὲ διὲκ μεγάρων, τῆς δ’ αὐτίκα γούνατ’ ἔλυντο,
δηρὸν δ’ ἄφθογγος γένετο χρόνον, οὐδέ τι παιδὸς
μνήσατο τηλυγέτοιο ἀπὸ δαπέδου ἀνελέσθαι.
τοῦ δὲ κασίγνηται φωνὴν ἐσάκουσαν ἐλεινήν,
κὰδ δ’ ἄρ’ ἀπ’ εὐστρώτων λεχέων θόρον· ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα 285
παῖδ’ ἀνὰ χερσὶν ἑλοῦσα ἑῷ ἐγκάτθετο κόλπῳ,
ἡ δ’ ἄρα πῦρ ἀνέκαι’, ἡ δ’ ἔσσυτο πόσσ’ ἁπαλοῖσι
μητέρ’ ἀναστήσουσα θυώδεος ἐκ θαλάμοιο.
ἀγρόμεναι δέ μιν ἀμφὶς ἐλούεον ἀσπαίροντα
ἀμφαγαπαζόμεναι· τοῦ δ’ οὐ μειλίσσετο θυμός· 290
χειρότεραι γὰρ δέ μιν ἔχον τροφοὶ ἠδὲ τιθῆναι.
Αἱ μὲν παννύχιαι κυδρὴν θεὸν ἱλάσκοντο
δείματι παλλόμεναι· ἅμα δ’ ἠοῖ φαινομένηφιν
εὐρυβίῃ Κελεῷ νημερτέα μυθήσαντο,
ὡς ἐπέτελλε θεὰ καλλιστέφανος Δημήτηρ. 295
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ εἰς ἀγορὴν καλέσας πολυπείρονα λαὸν
ἤνωγ’ ἠϋκόμῳ Δημήτερι πίονα νηὸν
ποιῆσαι καὶ βωμὸν ἐπὶ προὔχοντι κολωνῷ.
οἱ δὲ μάλ’ αἶψ’ ἐπίθοντο καὶ ἔκλυον αὐδήσαντος,
τεῦχον δ’, ὡς ἐπέτελλ’· ὁ δ’ ἀέξετο δαίμονι αἴσῃ. 300
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τέλεσαν καὶ ἐρώησαν καμάτοιο
βάν ῥ’ ἴμεν οἴκαδ’ ἕκαστος· ἀτὰρ ξανθὴ Δημήτηρ
ἔνθα καθεζομένη μακάρων ἀπὸ νόσφιν ἁπάντων
μίμνε πόθῳ μινύθουσα βαθυζώνοιο θυγατρός.
αἰνότατον δ’ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπὶ χθόνα πουλυβότειραν 305
ποίησ’ ἀνθρώποις καὶ κύντατον, οὐδέ τι γαῖα
σπέρμ’ ἀνίει· κρύπτεν γὰρ ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ·
πολλὰ δὲ καμπύλ’ ἄροτρα μάτην βόες εἷλκον ἀρούραις,
πολλὸν δὲ κρῖ λευκὸν ἐτώσιον ἔμπεσε γαίῃ·
καί νύ κε πάμπαν ὄλεσσε γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων 310
λιμοῦ ὑπ’ ἀργαλέης, γεράων τ’ ἐρικυδέα τιμὴν
καὶ θυσιῶν ἤμερσεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ’ ἔχοντας,
εἰ μὴ Ζεὺς ἐνόησεν ἑῷ τ’ ἐφράσσατο θυμῷ.
Ἶριν δὲ πρῶτον χρυσόπτερον ὦρσε καλέσσαι
Δήμητρ’ ἠΰκομον, πολυήρατον εἶδος ἔχουσαν. 315
ὣς ἔφαθ’· ἡ δὲ Ζηνὶ κελαινεφέι Κρονίωνι
πείθετο καὶ τὸ μεσηγὺ διέδραμεν ὦκα πόδεσσιν.
ἵκετο δὲ πτολίεθρον Ἐλευσῖνος θυοέσσης,
εὗρεν δ’ ἐν νηῷ Δημήτερα κυανόπεπλον,
καί μιν φωνήσασ’ ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα· 320
Δήμητερ καλέει σε πατὴρ Ζεὺς ἄφθιτα εἰδὼς
ἐλθέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν αἰειγενετάων.
ἄλλ’ ἴθι, μηδ’ ἀτέλεστον ἐμὸν ἔπος ἐκ Διὸς ἔστω.
Ὣς φάτο λισσομένη· τῇ δ’ οὐκ ἐπεπείθετο θυμός.
αὖτις ἔπειτα πατὴρ μάκαρας θεοὺς αἰὲν ἐόντας 325
πάντας ἐπιπροΐαλλεν· ἀμοιβηδὶς δὲ κιόντες
κίκλησκον καὶ πολλὰ δίδον περικαλλέα δῶρα,
τιμάς θ’, ἅς κ’ ἐθέλοιτο μετ’ ἀθανάτοισιν ἑλέσθαι.
ἀλλ’ οὔ τις πεῖσαι δύνατο φρένας οὐδὲ νόημα
θυμῷ χωομένης· στερεῶς δ’ ἠναίνετο μύθους. 330
οὐ μὲν γάρ ποτ’ ἔφασκε θυώδεος Οὐλύμποιο
πρίν γ’ ἐπιβήσεσθαι, οὐ πρὶν γῆς καρπὸν ἀνήσειν,
πρὶν ἴδοι ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἑὴν εὐώπιδα κούρην.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τό γ’ ἄκουσε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
εἰς Ἔρεβος πέμψε χρυσόῤῥαπιν Ἀργειφόντην, 335
ὄφρ’ Ἀίδην μαλακοῖσι παραιφάμενος ἐπέεσσιν
ἁγνὴν Περσεφόνειαν ὑπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος
ἐς φάος ἐξαγάγοι μετὰ δαίμονας, ὄφρα ἑ μήτηρ
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα μεταλήξειε χόλοιο.
Ἑρμῆς δ’ οὐκ ἀπίθησεν, ἄφαρ δ’ ὑπὸ κεύθεα γαίης 340
ἐσσυμένως κατόρουσε λιπὼν ἕδος Οὐλύμποιο.
τέτμε δὲ τόν γε ἄνακτα δόμων ἔντοσθεν ἐόντα
ἥμενον ἐν λεχέεσσι σὺν αἰδοίῃ παρακοίτι
πόλλ’ ἀεκαζομένῃ μητρὸς πόθῳ· ἡ δ’ ἀποτηλοῦ
ἔργοις θεῶν μακάρων [……] μητίσετο βουλῇ. 345
ἀγχοῦ δ’ ἱστάμενος προσέφη κρατὺς Ἀργειφόντης·
Ἅιδη κυανοχαῖτα καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσων
Ζεύς σε πατὴρ ἤνωγεν ἀγαυὴν Περσεφόνειαν
ἐξαγαγεῖν Ἐρέβευσφι μετὰ σφέας, ὄφρα ἑ μήτηρ
ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα χόλου καὶ μήνιος αἰνῆς 350
ἀθανάτοις παύσειεν· ἐπεὶ μέγα μήδεται ἔργον
φθῖσαι φῦλ’ ἀμενηνὰ χαμαιγενέων ἀνθρώπων
σπέρμ’ ὑπὸ γῆς κρύπτουσα, καταφθινύθουσα δὲ τιμὰς
ἀθανάτων· ἡ δ’ αἰνὸν ἔχει χόλον, οὐδὲ θεοῖσι
μίσγεται, ἀλλ’ ἀπάνευθε θυώδεος ἔνδοθι νηοῦ 355
ἧσται, Ἐλευσῖνος κραναὸν πτολίεθρον ἔχουσα.
Ὣς φάτο· μείδησεν δὲ ἄναξ ἐνέρων Ἀϊδωνεὺς
ὀφρύσιν, οὐδ’ ἀπίθησε Διὸς βασιλῆος ἐφετμῇς·
ἐσσυμένως δ’ ἐκέλευσε δαΐφρονι Περσεφονείῃ·
ἔρχεο Περσεφόνη παρὰ μητέρα κυανόπεπλον 360
ἤπιον ἐν στήθεσσι μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἔχουσα,
μηδέ τι δυσθύμαινε λίην περιώσιον ἄλλων·
οὔ τοι ἐν ἀθανάτοισιν ἀεικὴς ἔσσομ’ ἀκοίτης
αὐτοκασίγνητος πατρὸς Διός· ἔνθα δ’ ἐοῦσα
δεσπόσσεις πάντων ὁπόσα ζώει τε καὶ ἕρπει, 365
τιμὰς δὲ σχήσησθα μετ’ ἀθανάτοισι μεγίστας,
τῶν δ’ ἀδικησάντων τίσις ἔσσεται ἤματα πάντα
οἵ κεν μὴ θυσίαισι τεὸν μένος ἱλάσκωνται
εὐαγέως ἔρδοντες, ἐναίσιμα δῶρα τελοῦντες.
Ὣς φάτο· γήθησεν δὲ περίφρων Περσεφόνεια, 370
καρπαλίμως δ’ ἀνόρουσ’ ὑπὸ χάρματος· αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ αὐτὸς
ῥοιῆς κόκκον ἔδωκε φαγεῖν μελιηδέα λάθρῃ
ἀμφὶ ἓ νωμήσας, ἵνα μὴ μένοι ἤματα πάντα
αὖθι παρ’ αἰδοίῃ Δημήτερι κυανοπέπλῳ.
ἵππους δὲ προπάροιθεν ὑπὸ χρυσέοισιν ὄχεσφιν 375
ἔντυεν ἀθανάτους Πολυσημάντωρ Ἀϊδωνευς.
ἡ δ’ ὀχέων ἐπέβη, πάρα δὲ κρατὺς Ἀργειφόντης
ἡνία καὶ μάστιγα λαβὼν μετὰ χερσὶ φίλῃσι
σεῦε διὲκ μεγάρων· τὼ δ’ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.
ῥίμφα δὲ μακρὰ κέλευθα διήνυσαν, οὐδὲ θάλασσα 380
οὔθ’ ὕδωρ ποταμῶν οὔτ’ ἄγκεα ποιήεντα
ἵππων ἀθανάτων οὔτ’ ἄκριες ἔσχεθον ὁρμήν,
ἀλλ’ ὑπὲρ αὐτάων βαθὺν ἠέρα τέμνον ἰόντες.
στῆσε δ’ ἄγων ὅθι μίμνεν ἐυστέφανος Δημήτηρ,
νηοῖο προπάροιθε θυώδεος· ἡ δὲ ἰδοῦσα 385
ἤϊξ’ ἠΰτε μαινὰς ὄρος κάτα δάσκιον ὕλῃς.
Περσεφόνῃ δ’ ἑτέρ[ωθεν ἐπεὶ ἴδεν ὄμματα καλὰ]
μητρὸς ἑῆς κατ’ [ἄρ’ ἥ γ’ ὄχεα προλιποῦσα καὶ ἵππους]
ἆλτο θέει[ν, δειρῇ δέ οἱ ἔμπεσε ἀμφιχυθεῖσα·]
τῇ δὲ [φίλην ἔτι παῖδα ἑῇς μετὰ χερσὶν ἐχούσῃ] 390
α[ἶψα δόλον θυμός τιν’ ὀΐσατο, τρέσσε δ’ ἄρ’ αἰνῶς]
πα[υ]ομ[ένη φιλότητος, ἄφαρ δ’ ἐρεείνετο μύθῳ·]
Τέκνον μή ῥά τί μοι σ[ύ γε πάσσαο νέρθεν ἐοῦσα]
βρώμης; ἐξαύδα, [μὴ κεῦθ’, ἵνα εἴδομεν ἄμφω·]
ὣς μὲν γάρ κ’ ἀνιοῦσα π[αρὰ στυγεροῦ Ἀΐδαο] 395
καὶ παρ’ ἐμοὶ καὶ πατρὶ κελ[αινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι]
ναιετάοις πάντεσσι τετιμ[ένη ἀθανάτοι]σιν.
εἰ δέ, πτᾶσα πάλιν [σύ γ’] ἰοῦσ’ ὑπ[ὸ κεύθεσι γαίης]
οἰκήσεις ὡρέων τρίτατον μέρ[ος εἰς ἐνιαυτόν,]
τὰς δὲ δύω παρ’ ἐμοί τε καὶ [ἄλλοις ἀθανά]τοισιν. 400
ὁππότε δ’ ἄνθεσι γαῖ’ εὐώδε[σιν] ἠαρινο[ῖσι]
παντοδαποῖς θάλλει, τότ’ ἀπὸ ζόφου ἠερόεντος
αὖτις ἄνει μέγα θαῦμα θεοῖς θνητοῖς τ’ ἀνθρώποις.
[εἶπε δὲ πῶς σ’ ἥρπαξεν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα] 403α
καὶ τίνι σ’ ἐξαπάτησε δόλῳ κρατερ[ὸς Πολυδ]έγμων;
Τὴν δ’ αὖ Περσεφόνη περικαλλὴς ἀντίον ηὔδα· 405
τοιγὰρ ἐγώ τοι μῆτερ ἐρέω νημερτέα πάντα·
εὖτέ μοι Ἑρμῆς ἦ[λθ]’ ἐριούνιος ἄγγελος ὠκὺς
πὰρ πατέρος Κρονίδαο καὶ ἄλλων οὐρανιώνων
ἐλθεῖν ἐξ Ἐρέβευς, ἵνα μ’ ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδοῦσα
λήξαις ἀθανάτοισι χόλου καὶ μήνιος αἰνῆς, 410
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἀνόρουσ’ ὑπὸ χάρματος, αὐτὰρ ὁ λάθρῃ
ἔμβαλέ μοι ῥοιῆς κόκκον, μελιηδέ’ ἐδωδήν,
ἄκουσαν δὲ βίῃ με προσηνάγκασσε πάσασθαι.
ὡς δέ μ’ ἀναρπάξας Κρονίδεω πυκινὴν διὰ μῆτιν
ᾤχετο πατρὸς ἐμοῖο φέρων ὑπὸ κεύθεα γαίης 415
ἐξερέω καὶ πάντα διίξομαι ὡς ἐρεείνεις.
ἡμεῖς μὲν μάλα πᾶσαι ἀν’ ἱμερτὸν λειμῶνα,
Λευκίππη Φαινώ τε καὶ Ἠλέκτρη καὶ Ἰάνθη
καὶ Μελίτη Ἰάχη τε Ῥόδειά τε Καλλιρόη τε
Μηλόβοσίς τε Τύχη τε καὶ Ὠκυρόη καλυκῶπις 420
Χρυσηΐς τ’ Ἰάνειρά τ’ Ἀκάστη τ’ Ἀδμήτη τε
καὶ Ῥοδόπη Πλουτώ τε καὶ ἱμερόεσσα Καλυψὼ
καὶ Στὺξ Οὐρανίη τε Γαλαξαύρη τ’ ἐρατεινὴ
Παλλάς τ’ ἐγρεμάχη καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα
παίζομεν ἠδ’ ἄνθεα δρέπομεν χείρεσσ’ ἐρόεντα, 425
μίγδα κρόκον τ’ ἀγανὸν καὶ ἀγαλλίδας ἠδ’ ὑάκινθον
καὶ ῥοδέας κάλυκας καὶ λείρια, θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι,
νάρκισσόν θ’ ὃν ἔφυσ’ ὥς περ κρόκον εὐρεῖα χθών.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ δρεπόμην περὶ χάρματι· γαῖα δ’ ἔνερθε
χώρησεν, τῇ δ’ ἔκθορ’ ἄναξ κρατερὸς πολυδέγμων. 430
βῆ δὲ φέρων ὑπὸ γαῖαν ἐν ἅρμασι χρυσείοισι
πόλλ’ ἀεκαζομένην, ἐβόησα δ’ ἄρ’ ὄρθια φωνῇ.
ταῦτά τοι ἀχνυμένη περ ἀληθέα πάντ’ ἀγορεύω.
Ὣς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχουσαι
πολλὰ μάλ’ ἀλλήλων κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἴαινον 435
ἀμφαγαπαζόμεναι, ἀχέων δ’ ἀπεπαύετο θυμός.
γηθοσύνας δὲ δέχοντο παρ’ ἀλλήλων ἔδιδ[όν τε.]
τῇσιν δ’ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθ’ Ἑκάτη λιπαροκρήδεμνος,
πολλὰ δ’ ἄρ’ ἀμφαγάπησε κόρην Δημήτερος ἁγνής·
ἐκ τοῦ οἱ πρόπολος καὶ ὀπάων ἔπλετ’ ἄνασσα. 440
ταῖς δὲ μέτάγγελον ἧκε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
Ῥείην ἠΰκομον ἢν μητέρα κυανόπεπλον
ἀξέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν, ὑπέδεκτο δὲ τιμὰς
δωσέμεν, ἅς κεν ἕλοιτο μετ’ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι·
νεῦσε δέ οἱ κούρην ἔτεος περιτελλομένοιο 445
τὴν τριτάτην μὲν μοῖραν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠερόεντα,
τὰς δὲ δύω παρὰ μητρὶ καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισιν.
ὣς ἔφατ’· οὐδ’ ἀπίθησε θεὰ Διὸς ἀγγελιάων.
ἐσσυμένως δ’ ἤϊξε κατ’ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων,
εἰς δ’ ἄρα Ῥάριον ἷξε, φερέσβιον οὖθαρ ἀρούρης 450
τὸ πρίν, ἀτὰρ τότε γ’ οὔ τι φερέσβιον, ἀλλὰ ἕκηλον
ἑστήκει πανάφυλλον· ἔκευθε δ’ ἄρα κρῖ λευκὸν
μήδεσι Δήμητρος καλλισφύρου· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
μέλλεν ἄφαρ ταναοῖσι κομήσειν ἀσταχύεσσιν
ἦρος ἀεξομένοιο, πέδῳ δ’ ἄρα πίονες ὄγμοι 455
βρισέμεν ἀσταχύων, τὰ δ’ ἐν ἐλλεδανοῖσι δεδέσθαι.
ἔνθ’ ἐπέβη πρώτιστον ἀπ’ αἰθέρος ἀτρυγέτοιο·
ἀσπασίως δ’ ἴδον ἀλλήλας, κεχάρηντο δὲ θυμῷ.
τὴν δ’ ὧδε προσέειπε Ῥέη λιπαροκρήδεμνος·
Δεῦρο τέκος, καλέει σε βαρύκτυπος εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς 460
ἐλθέμεναι μετὰ φῦλα θεῶν, ὑπέδεκτο δὲ τιμὰς
[δωσέμεν, ἅς κ’ ἐθέλῃσθα] μετ’ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.
[νεῦσε δέ σοι κούρην ἔτεος π]εριτελλομένοιο
[τὴν τριτάτην μὲν μοῖραν ὑπὸ ζόφον ἠ]ερόεντα,
[τὰς δὲ δύω παρὰ σοί τε καὶ ἄλλοις] ἀθανάτοισιν. 465
[ὣς ἄρ’ ἔφη τελέ]εσθαι· ἑῷ δ’ ἐπένευσε κάρητι.
[ἀλλ’ ἴθι τέκνον] ἐμὸν καὶ πείθεο, μηδέ τι λίην
ἀ[ζηχὲς μεν]έαινε κελαινεφέϊ Κρονίωνι·
α[ἶψα δὲ κα]ρπὸν ἄεξε φερέσβιον ἀνθρώποισιν.
Ὣ[ς ἔφατ’, οὐ]δ’ ἀπίθησεν ἐϋστέφανος Δημήτηρ, 470
αἶψα δὲ καρπὸν ἀνῆκεν ἀρουράων ἐριβώλων·
πᾶσα δὲ φύλλοισίν τε καὶ ἄνθεσιν εὐρεῖα χθὼν
ἔβρισ’· ἡ δὲ κιοῦσα θεμιστοπόλοις βασιλεῦσι
δ[εῖξε,] Τριπτολέμῳ τε Διοκλεῖ τε πληξίππῳ,
Εὐμόλπου τε βίῃ Κελεῷ θ’ ἡγήτορι λαῶν, 475
δρησμοσύνην θ’ ἱερῶν καὶ ἐπέφραδεν ὄργια πᾶσι,
Τριπτολέμῳ τε Πολυξείνῳ, τ’, ἐπὶ τοῖς δὲ Διοκλεῖ,
σεμνά, τά τ’ οὔ πως ἔστι παρεξ[ίμ]εν [οὔτε πυθέσθαι.]
οὔτ’ ἀχέειν· μέγα γάρ τι θεῶν σέβας ἰσχάνει αὐδήν.
ὄλβιος ὃς τάδ’ ὄπωπεν ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων· 480
ὃς δ’ ἀτελὴς ἱερῶν ὅς τ’ ἄμμορος, οὔποθ’ ὁμοίων
αἶσαν ἔχει φθίμενός περ ὑπὸ ζόφῳ εὐρώεντι.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ πάνθ’ ὑπεθήκατο δῖα θεάων,
βάν ῥ’ ἴμεν Οὔλυμπον δὲ θεῶν μεθ’ ὁμήγυριν ἄλλων.
ἔνθα δὲ ναιετάουσι παραὶ Διὶ τερπικεραύνῳ 485
σεμναί τ’ αἰδοῖαι τε· μέγ’ ὄλβιος, ὅν τιν’ ἐκεῖναι
προφρονέως φίλωνται ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων·
αἶψα δέ οἱ πέμπουσιν ἐφέστιον ἐς μέγα δῶμα
Πλοῦτον, ὃς ἀνθρώποις ἄφενος θνητοῖσι δίδωσιν.
Ἀλλ’ ἄγ’ Ἐλευσῖνος θυοέσσης δῆμον ἔχουσαι 490
καὶ Πάρον ἀμφιρύτην Ἀντρῶνά τε πετρήεντα,
πότνια ἀγλαόδωρ’ ὡρηφόρε Δηοῖ ἄνασσα
αὐτὴ καὶ κούρη περικαλλὴς Περσεφόνεια
πρόφρονες ἀντ’ ὠδῆς βίοτον θυμήρε’ ὀπάζειν.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ σεῖο καὶ ἄλλης μνήσομ’ ἀοιδῆς. 495
Sources : Harvard University , Βικιθήκη, YouTube
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