Homeric Hymns · Hymn 23
Zeus, Supreme Son of Kronos
Ζεύς
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 Zeus’ sovereignty and fulfilment, seeking his gracious presence in union with wise counsel.
This brief hymn can be offered independently as praise to Zeus. It may supplement a rite for justice, sound judgement, or the completion of a rightful undertaking, with the presence of Themis giving the invocation its explicit relation to divine order.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 23 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- I shall sing Zeus, the best and greatest of the Gods,
- whose gaze reaches far, sovereign fulfiller, who with Themis
- seated leaning toward him holds close converse of wisdom.
- Be gracious, far seeing Son of Kronos, most glorious and greatest.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- Ζῆνα θεῶν τὸν ἄριστον ἀείσομαι ἠδὲ μέγιστον,ZEE-nah theh-OHN TOHN AH-ree-stohn ah-EE-soh-meh ee-DHEH MEH-yee-stohn,
- εὐρύοπα, κρείοντα, τελεσφόρον, ὅστε Θέμιστιeh-VREE-oh-pah, KREE-ohn-dah, teh-leh-SFOH-rohn, OH-steh THEH-mee-stee
- ἐγκλιδὸν ἑζομένῃ πυκινοὺς ὀάρους ὀαρίζει.ehn-glee-DHOHN eh-zoh-MEH-nee pee-kee-NOOS oh-AH-roos oh-ah-REE-zee.
- ἵληθʼ, εὐρύοπα Κρονίδη, κύδιστε μέγιστε.EE-leeth’, eh-VREE-oh-pah kroh-NEE-dhee, KEE-dhee-steh MEH-yee-steh.
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
Zeus is named best and greatest, sovereign and fulfiller. His intimate converse with Themis places counsel beside supreme authority. Devotional attention can therefore approach fulfilment through an order that is both powerful and thoughtful.
Textual note
εὐρύοπα is rendered “far seeing”; the ancient epithet also admits an interpretation connected with a far carrying voice.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 23 to Zeus (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.