Homeric Hymns · Hymn 24
Hestia of Holy Pytho
Ἑστία
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
Welcome Hestia into the house and seek the grace of her presence in harmony with Zeus.
Use the hymn as a prayer at the beginning of household devotion. It may supplement a rite of welcome or the dedication of a sacred space, following the explicit invitation for Hestia to enter this house with a heart united to Zeus.
English hieratic rendering
Hymn 24 · An English rendering aligned with the Greek lines.
- Hestia, you who tend the holy house of sovereign Apollon
- the Far Shooter in most holy Pytho,
- from your tresses the flowing oil ever drips.
- Come into this house; come with a heart united
- with Zeus the Counsellor, and grant grace together with my song.
Ancient Greek & pronunciation
Read the English pronunciation spelling directly below each Greek line.
- Ἑστίη, ἥτε ἄνακτος Ἀπόλλωνος ἑκάτοιοeh-STEE-ee, EE-teh AH-nahk-tohs ah-POH-loh-nohs eh-KAH-tee-oh
- Πυθοῖ ἐν ἠγαθέῃ ἱερὸν δόμον ἀμφιπολεύεις,pee-THEE ehn ee-ghah-THEH-ee ee-eh-ROHN DHOH-mohn ahm-fee-poh-LEH-vees,
- αἰεὶ σῶν πλοκάμων ἀπολείβεται ὑγρὸν ἔλαιον·eh-EE SOHN ploh-KAH-mohn ah-poh-LEE-veh-teh ee-GHROHN EH-leh-ohn·
- ἔρχεο τόνδʼ ἀνὰ οἶκον, ἕνʼ ἔρχεο θυμὸν ἔχουσαEHR-hyeh-oh TOHNDH’ ah-NAH EE-kohn, EHN’ EHR-hyeh-oh thee-MOHN EH-khoo-sah
- σὺν Διὶ μητιόεντι· χάριν δʼ ἅμʼ ὄπασσον ἀοιδῇ.SEEN dhee-EE mee-tee-OH-ehn-dee· KHAH-reen dh’ AHM’ OH-pah-sohn 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
Hestia’s service in Apollon’s holy house at Pytho connects the invoked household with a divine sanctuary. Oil flowing from her hair evokes the sustained care of sacred presence. The invitation seeks a shared intention between Hestia and Zeus, and grace bestowed together with song.
Text and attribution
Greek text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hymn 24 To Hestia (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.