Homeric Hymns · Hymn 21

Apollon, First and Last in Song

Ἀπόλλων

Homeric tradition · 5 lines · Apollon

Art 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

Place song under Apollon’s patronage and seek his favourable reception of praise.

Recite this brief hymn as a complete musical prayer or at the beginning of a devotional performance. It may accompany a rite for inspiration or clarity, with the repeated remembrance of Apollon as first and last giving the sequence a unifying intention.

English hieratic rendering

Hymn 21 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.

Phoibos, even the swan sings you clearly beneath its wings,
alighting upon the bank beside the swirling river,
the Peneios; and the singer who holds the clear sounding lyre,
sweet in speech, ever sings you first and last.
And so hail, sovereign Lord; I seek your favour in song.

Ancient Greek & pronunciation

Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.

5 Greek lines

φοῖβε, σὲ μὲν καὶ κύκνος ὑπὸ πτερύγων λίγʼ ἀείδει,FEE-veh, SEH MEHN KEH KEEK-nohs ee-POH pteh-REE-ghohn LEEGH’ ah-EE-dhee,
ὄχθῃ ἐπιθρώσκων ποταμὸν πάρα δινήεντα,OHKH-thee eh-pee-THROH-skohn poh-tah-MOHN PAH-rah dhee-NEE-ehn-dah,
Πηνειόν· σὲ δʼ ἀοιδὸς ἔχων φόρμιγγα λίγειανpee-nee-OHN· SEH dh’ ah-ee-DHOHS EH-khohn FOHR-meen-gah LEE-yee-ahn
ἡδυεπὴς πρῶτόν τε καὶ ὕστατον αἰὲν ἀείδει.ee-dhee-eh-PEES PROH-TOHN teh KEH EE-stah-tohn eh-EHN ah-EE-dhee.
καὶ σὺ μὲν οὕτω χαῖρε, ἄναξ, ἵλαμαι δέ σʼ ἀοιδῇ.KEH SEE MEHN OO-toh HYEH-reh, AH-nahks, EE-lah-meh DHEH s’ ah-ee-DHEE.

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 swan beside the Peneios and the singer holding the lyre share one praise. Natural voice and human artistry meet in the remembrance of Phoibos. The singer seeks favour through the song itself, so praise becomes a form of approach.

Text and attribution

Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 21 To Apollo (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.