Homeric Hymns · Hymn 09
Artemis of Smyrna and Klaros
Ἄρτεμις
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
Honour Artemis in her sacred journey and in her close companionship with Apollon.
This short hymn can stand alone as an opening prayer to Artemis. It may also precede a rite for safe passage or a devotional sequence honouring Artemis and Apollon together, using the journey from the Meles through Smyrna to Klaros as its contemplative setting.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 09 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- Muse, hymn Artemis, sister of the Far Shooter,
- the Maiden who showers arrows, reared together with Apollon,
- who yokes her horses beside the Meles with its deep reeds
- and drives her chariot of pure gold swiftly through Smyrna
- to Klaros rich in vines, where Apollon of the silver bow
- sits awaiting the Far Shooting Maiden who showers arrows.
- And so hail to you, and with you all Goddesses, in this song;
- you first I sing, and from you I begin,
- and having begun with you, I shall pass onward to another hymn.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- Ἄρτεμιν ὕμνει, Μοῦσα, κασιγνήτην Ἑκάτοιο.AHR-teh-meen EEM-nee, MOO-sah, kah-seegh-NEE-teen eh-KAH-tee-oh.
- παρθένον ἰοχέαιραν, ὁμότροφον Ἀπόλλωνος,pahr-THEH-nohn ee-oh-HYEH-eh-rahn, oh-MOH-troh-fohn ah-POH-loh-nohs,
- ἥθʼ ἵππους ἄρσασα βαθυσχοίνοιο ΜέλητοςEETH’ EE-poos AHR-sah-sah vah-thees-HYEE-nee-oh MEH-lee-tohs
- ῥίμφα διὰ Σμύρνης παγχρύσεον ἅρμα διώκειREEM-fah dhee-AH ZMEER-nees pahn-KHREE-seh-ohn AHR-mah dhee-OH-kee
- ἐς Κλάρον ἀμπελόεσσαν, ὅθʼ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλωνehs KLAH-rohn ahm-beh-LOH-eh-sahn, OHTH’ ahr-yee-ROH-tohk-sohs ah-POH-lohn
- ἧσται μιμνάζων ἑκατηβόλον ἰοχέαιραν.EE-steh meem-NAH-zohn eh-kah-tee-VOH-lohn ee-oh-HYEH-eh-rahn.
- καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε θεαί θʼ ἅμα πᾶσαι ἀοιδῇ·KEH SEE MEHN OO-toh HYEH-reh theh-EH th’ AH-mah PAH-seh ah-ee-DHEE·
- αὐτὰρ ἐγώ σε πρῶτα καὶ ἐκ σέθεν ἄρχομʼ ἀείδειν,ahf-TAHR eh-GHOH seh PROH-tah KEH ehk SEH-thehn AHR-khohm’ ah-EE-dheen,
- σεῦ δʼ ἐγὼ ἀρξάμενος μεταβήσομαι ἄλλον ἐς ὕμνον.SEHV dh’ eh-GHOH ahrk-SAH-meh-nohs meh-tah-VEE-soh-meh AH-lohn ehs EEM-nohn.
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.
| Spelling | Sound to make |
|---|---|
| ah · eh · ee · oh · oo | father · met · see · go without its final glide · moon. Keep these vowels clear in unstressed syllables too. |
| th · dh | The unvoiced th in thin · the voiced th in this. Thus DHEE begins with the sound in “thee.” |
| kh | The ch in Scottish loch or German Bach: let air pass at the back of the mouth, without closing it into a k. |
| hy | The 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.” |
| gh | Make the kh sound above, then add voice. Keep the passage open; this is a flowing sound, not a hard g. |
| y · g | y as in yes, with gentle friction · always a hard g as in get. |
| r | Tap the tongue lightly behind the upper teeth, or use a light roll. |
| ks · ps | Sound both consonants, even at the beginning of a word: ks as in backs, ps as in lips. |
| n-g · m-b · n-d | Sound 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
The golden chariot joins distinct sacred places through the movement of the Goddess. Artemis remains the maiden archer while the waiting Apollon expresses their enduring divine kinship. The singer begins with her and proceeds onward, making the hymn itself an act of passage.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 9 To Artemis (1914), Perseus Digital Library. 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.