Homeric Hymns · Hymn 22
Poseidon, Saviour of Ships
Ποσειδῶν
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
Seek Poseidon’s kindly aid for those who sail, honouring his command of Earth, Sea, and horses.
Offer this hymn on its own as a prayer for seafarers. It may accompany a protective rite before a voyage or a thanksgiving after safe arrival, preserving the final appeal for Poseidon’s benevolent heart toward those upon the water.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 22 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- I begin to sing of Poseidon, the great God,
- mover of Earth and of the unharvested Sea,
- the Sea Lord, who holds Helikon and broad Aigai.
- A twofold honour, Earth Shaker, the Gods allotted you:
- to be tamer of horses and saviour of ships.
- Hail, Poseidon who holds the Earth, with dark blue hair;
- blessed one, with kindly heart, aid those who sail.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- ἀμφὶ Ποσειδάωνα, μέγαν θεόν, ἄρχομʼ ἀείδειν,ahm-FEE poh-see-DHAH-oh-nah, MEH-ghahn theh-OHN, AHR-khohm’ ah-EE-dheen,
- γαίης κινητῆρα καὶ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης,YEH-ees kee-nee-TEE-rah KEH ah-tree-YEH-tee-oh thah-LAH-sees,
- πόντιον, ὅσθʼ Ἑλικῶνα καὶ εὐρείας ἔχει Αἰγάς.POHN-dee-ohn, OHSTH’ eh-lee-KOH-nah KEH eh-VREE-ahs EH-hyee eh-GHAHS.
- διχθά τοι, Ἐννοσίγαιε, θεοὶ τιμὴν ἐδάσαντο,dheekh-THAH tee, eh-noh-SEE-yeh-eh, theh-EE tee-MEEN eh-DHAH-sahn-doh,
- ἵππων τε δμητῆρʼ ἔμεναι σωτῆρά τε νηῶν.EE-pohn teh dhmee-TEER’ EH-meh-neh soh-TEE-RAH teh nee-OHN.
- χαῖρε, Ποσείδαον γαιήοχε, κυανοχαῖτα,HYEH-reh, poh-SEE-dhah-ohn yeh-EE-oh-hyeh, kee-ah-noh-HYEH-tah,
- καί, μάκαρ, εὐμενὲς ἦτορ ἔχων πλώουσιν ἄρηγε.KEH, MAH-kahr, ehv-meh-NEHS EE-tohr EH-khohn PLOH-oo-seen AH-ree-yeh.
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 God who moves Earth and Sea is also the one asked to save ships. His twofold allotted honour joins the taming of horses to the preservation of vessels. The prayer approaches elemental strength through goodwill and divine care.
Textual note
Line 3 follows this edition’s Ἑλικῶνα, Helikon, rather than substituting the alternative place name Helike.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 22 To Poseidon (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.