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Apollo speaks to Vulcan and the smiths in a forge.
Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan. Diego Velázquez, 1630.Diego Velázquez, Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan, Museo Nacional del Prado. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. · Source · Public domain. Detail shown.

Homeric Hymns · Hymn 20

Hephaistos, Teacher of Crafts

Ἥφαιστος

Homeric tradition · 8 lines · Hephaistos

WisdomProsperityArt and inspiration

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 the divine origin of skilled work and seek excellence and prosperity in its practice.

Use this hymn as a prayer before making, repairing, or learning a craft. It may supplement a rite for the success of useful work or the stability of the household, joining the request for prosperity to Hephaistos’ teaching alongside Athena.

English hieratic rendering

Hymn 20 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.

  1. Sing Hephaistos of renowned counsel, clear voiced Muse,
  2. who with bright eyed Athena taught splendid crafts
  3. to the people upon the Earth, who formerly
  4. dwelt in caves among the mountains, like wild beasts.
  5. But now, through Hephaistos renowned in craft, having learned his works,
  6. they readily pass the full course of life, year by year,
  7. at ease within their own homes.
  8. Be gracious, Hephaistos; grant excellence and prosperity.

Ancient Greek & pronunciation

Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.

8 Greek lines
  1. Ἥφαιστον κλυτόμητιν ἀείσεο, Μοῦσα λίγεια,EE-feh-stohn klee-TOH-mee-teen ah-EE-seh-oh, MOO-sah LEE-yee-ah,
  2. ὃς μετʼ Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἀγλαὰ ἔργαOHS meht’ ah-thee-NEH-ees ghlahf-KOH-pee-dhohs ah-ghlah-AH EHR-ghah
  3. ἀνθρώπους ἐδίδαξεν ἐπὶ χθονός, οἳ τὸ πάρος περahn-THROH-poos eh-DHEE-dhahk-sehn eh-PEE khthoh-NOHS, EE TOH PAH-rohs pehr
  4. ἄντροις ναιετάασκον ἐν οὔρεσιν, ἠύτε θῆρες.AHN-drees neh-eh-TAH-ah-skohn ehn OO-reh-seen, ee-EE-teh THEE-rehs.
  5. νῦν δὲ διʼ Ἥφαιστον κλυτοτέχνην ἔργα δαέντεςNEEN DHEH dhee’ EE-feh-stohn klee-toh-TEHKH-neen EHR-ghah dhah-EHN-dehs
  6. ῥηιδίως αἰῶνα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτὸνree-ee-DHEE-ohs eh-OH-nah teh-leh-SFOH-rohn ees eh-nee-ahf-TOHN
  7. εὔκηλοι διάγουσιν ἐνὶ σφετέροισι δόμοισιν.EHF-kee-lee dhee-AH-ghoo-seen eh-NEE sfeh-TEH-ree-see DHOH-mee-seen.
  8. ἀλλʼ ἵληθʼ, Ἥφαιστε· δίδου δʼ ἀρετήν τε καὶ ὄλβον.ahl’ EE-leeth’, EE-feh-steh· DHEE-dhoo dh’ ah-reh-TEEN teh KEH OHL-vohn.
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

Craft changes the conditions of human dwelling: people pass from caves to the ease of their own homes. Hephaistos and Athena teach works that make this settled life possible. In devotional reading, material skill can become a disciplined participation in divine intelligence.

Text and attribution

Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 20 To Hephaestus (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.