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Head and upper body of the veiled marble statue traditionally called the Hestia Giustiniani.
Statue traditionally called the Hestia Giustiniani, detail. Unknown Roman sculptor, c. 120–140 CE, after a Greek original of c. 470–460 BCE.Hestia Giustiniani, Torlonia Collection, MT 490. Photograph by Sailko, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. · Source · CC BY 3.0. Detail shown.

Hymns from Ancient Inscriptions · Hymn 02

Hestia: Hymn of Aristonous

Ὕμνος εἰς Ἑστίαν

Aristonous of Corinth · 12 lines · Hestia

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Prayer and ritual

These hymns may be spoken as complete prayers to the Gods. Within the Temple’s practice, a ritual is a direct theurgical act; hymnody gathers the mind and turns it toward the Divine, helping the initiate enter reverent communion with the Gods.

Use a hymn on its own in place of another prayer, or add it to the prayer portion of a suitable ritual. Choose according to the deity addressed and the petition expressed in the hymn. When combining them, preserve the ritual’s prescribed sequence and let the hymn give voice to its purpose.

The petition of this hymn

For Hestia’s gracious presence at the sacred centre and the prosperity that sustains shared worship.

Use the hymn as a complete prayer to Hestia at the opening of household worship or a communal gathering. It may accompany a rite of consecration at the hearth, joining reverence for the altar with Apollo’s sacred music.

English hieratic rendering

Hymn 02 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.

  1. We shall sing you, Hestia, Queen of those who gather in fellowship,
  2. you who hold the common central navel of Olympus and Earth,
  3. ever keeping your Pythian laurel,
  4. and dance within the lofty temple of Phoebus,
  5. delighting in the divine utterances of the tripods
  6. and in Apollo’s golden lyre,
  7. whenever he sounds its seven strings,
  8. and magnifies with hymns the Gods who feast with you.
  9. Hail, daughter of Cronos and Rhea,
  10. Hestia, who alone gives voice throughout the precious altars of the Immortals.
  11. Grant in return for holy service that we, possessing abundant prosperity,
  12. may ever dance around your altar, bright with its shining seat.

Ancient Greek & pronunciation

Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.

12 Greek lines
  1. ἐρανιστῶν ἄνασσαν, Ἑστίαν, σ’ ὑμνήσομεν,eh-rah-nee-STOHN AH-nah-sahn, eh-STEE-ahn, s’ eem-NEE-soh-mehn,
  2. ἅ, καὶ Ὀλύμπου καὶ ξυνὸν γαίας μεσόμφαλονAH, KEH oh-LEEM-boo KEH ksee-NOHN YEH-ahs meh-SOHM-fah-lohn
  3. ἀεὶ Πυθίαν σὰν δάφναν κατέχουσα,ah-EE pee-THEE-ahn SAHN DHAHF-nahn kah-TEH-khoo-sah,
  4. ναὸν ἀν’ ὑψηλὸν Φοίβου χορεύεις,nah-OHN ahn’ eep-see-LOHN FEE-voo khoh-REH-vees,
  5. τερπομένα τριπόδων θεσπίσμασιtehr-poh-MEH-nah tree-POH-dhohn theh-SPEE-zmah-see
  6. καὶ χρυσέᾳ φόρμιγγ’ Ἀπόλλωνος,KEH khree-SEH-ah FOHR-meeng’ ah-POH-loh-nohs,
  7. ἡνίκ’ ἂν ἑπτάτονον κρέκων μετὰ σοῦee-NEEK’ AHN ehp-TAH-toh-nohn KREH-kohn meh-TAH SOO
  8. θαλιάζοντας θεοὺς ὕ⟨μ⟩νοισιν αὔξῃ.thah-lee-AH-zohn-dahs theh-OOS EEM-nee-seen AHFK-see.
  9. χαῖρε, Κρόνου θύγατερ καὶ Ῥέας,HYEH-reh, KROH-noo THEE-ghah-tehr KEH REH-ahs,
  10. μούνα παντομφεύουσα βωμοὺς ἀθανάτων ἐριτίμους, Ἑστία·MOO-nah pahn-dohm-FEH-voo-sah voh-MOOS ah-thah-NAH-tohn eh-ree-TEE-moos, eh-STEE-ah·
  11. δίδου δ’ ἀμοιβὰς ἐξ ὁσίων πολὺν ἡμᾶς ὄλβον ἔχοντας,DHEE-dhoo dh’ ah-mee-VAHS ehks oh-SEE-ohn poh-LEEN ee-MAHS OHL-vohn EH-khohn-dahs,
  12. ἀεὶ λιπαρόθρονον ἀμφὶ σὰν θυμέλαν χορεύειν.ah-EE lee-pah-ROH-throh-nohn ahm-FEE SAHN thee-MEH-lahn khoh-REH-veen.
Short sound guide for English speakers

Every line beneath the Greek uses English pronunciation spellings. Say each hyphenated syllable in sequence and emphasize the syllable in CAPITALS. For example, οὐρανόθεν is oo-rah-NOH-thehn. Read adjacent vowels separately: theh-AH has two syllables; oo-rah-NEE-een has four. Hyphens guide the voice; they do not mark pauses.

SpellingSound to make
ah · eh · ee · oh · oofather · met · see · go without its final glide · moon. Keep these vowels clear in unstressed syllables too.
th · dhThe unvoiced th in thin · the voiced th in this. Thus DHEE begins with the sound in “thee.”
khThe ch in Scottish loch or German Bach: let air pass at the back of the mouth, without closing it into a k.
hyThe breathy beginning of a carefully spoken Hugh. Raise the middle of the tongue toward the roof of the mouth and let air pass without voice. In shy, sound s followed by hy; do not use the English sh sound or the English word “shy.”
ghMake the kh sound above, then add voice. Keep the passage open; this is a flowing sound, not a hard g.
y · gy as in yes, with gentle friction · always a hard g as in get.
rTap the tongue lightly behind the upper teeth, or use a light roll.
ks · psSound both consonants, even at the beginning of a word: ks as in backs, ps as in lips.
n-g · m-b · n-dSound the nasal and the following consonant. In AHN-geh-leh, the n-g group is like finger, with the g audible.

Always sound s as in hiss, even at the end of DHEE-kees; z is voiced, as in zero. All other consonants have their usual English sounds. Initial consonant groups may be unfamiliar: sound every written consonant, without inserting an extra vowel. A word without capitals carries no written stress in the Greek. Where two syllables have capitals, both written accents are retained. An apostrophe marks a vowel already elided in the Greek; do not add it back. A hyphen at the end of a Greek verse joins the unfinished word to the next verse.

These spellings follow the Modern Greek liturgical reading used throughout this library. Breathings and iota subscripts are silent; separately pronounced vowels remain separate. The few Greek consonants without an exact English equivalent use the sound cues above. Ancient vowel length, pitch accent and metre are not reconstructed.

Hymn notes

Sacred meaning

Hestia holds the centre where divine and human worship meet. The hymn presents her in joyful companionship with Apollo, hearing prophecy and sacred music. Its final request joins the worshippers’ prosperity to their ability to return continually in praise around her altar.

Textual note

The hymn survives on an inscription with damaged letters restored by its editor. This page reproduces the continuous reading of FD III.2.192 as supplied by PHI, including its opening ἐρανιστῶν; other editions reconstruct the opening differently. Every bracketed letter restored in the PHI text is incorporated into the continuous reading, while the explicitly inserted μ in ὕ⟨μ⟩νοισιν remains marked. No missing passage is supplied by this library. Inscription word-breaks are joined; χρυσέαι and αὔξηι are normalised to χρυσέᾳ and αὔξῃ. The 12 reading lines are a recitation layout, not a claim about the original metrical lineation.

Text and attribution

Aristonous, hymn to Hestia, Fouilles de Delphes III.2, inscription 192, inscription lines 2–16; PHI Greek Inscriptions reading. Greek source. The English hieratic rendering and suggested devotional use are new editorial work. The applications are guidance for this library, not additional lines of the ancient poem.