Homeric Hymn 7 to Dionysos
Χαίρε, Διόνυσος, ω ναύτη, σου προσφέρω αυτό, ω άρχοντα των θαλασσών
Evelyn‑White Translation (Loeb, 1914, public domain)
I sing of Dionysus, the son of Zeus and glorious Semele. The rich‑fruitful god, whom once upon the shore of the fruitless sea the Tyrrhenian pirates seized, as he stood on the headland, and led him aboard their swift ship, and bound him with strong bonds. But the bonds would not hold him, and the withes fell far from him, and he sat laughing with his dark eyes. Then the helmsman, a wise man, spoke out among them all and said: ‘What god is this, you reckless men, whom you have seized and bound? The stout ship cannot hold him. Surely this is either Zeus, or Apollo of the silver bow, or Poseidon. He looks not like mortal men but like the gods who dwell on Olympus. Come, let us set him free upon the dark shore at once; do not lay hands on him, lest he rouse the bitter sea and the terrible winds and wreck our ship.’ So he spoke. But the captain mocked him with evil words: ‘Madman, mark the wind and spread the sail; and you, the rest, make fast the mast. As for him, these men shall care for him. I expect he will reach Egypt or Cyprus or the far Hyperboreans, or even farther; and at last he will tell his friends and his brothers and his possessions.’ So he spoke, and they hoisted the mast and the sail, and the wind filled it, and the men hauled taut the sheets. But immediately wonderful things appeared among them. First, sweet wine flowed throughout the swift black ship, and a fragrant smell arose; and all the seamen were seized with amazement. Then a vine spread out on both sides, from the top of the sail, and many clusters hung down; and a dark ivy plant twined around the mast, blossoming with flowers and bright berries; and all the thole‑pins were covered with garlands. When the pirates saw this, they shouted to the helmsman to put the ship to land. But the god suddenly became a lion on the ship, roaring terribly, and in the midst of the ship he reared a shaggy bear. The bear rushed up the mast, and the lion stood on the prow, glaring fiercely. The sailors fled to the stern and crowded around the helmsman, trembling. The lion sprang upon the captain and seized him. When the others saw this, they all leaped overboard into the bright sea, fleeing from destruction, and they became dolphins. But the helmsman the god spared and held him back, and made him blessed, and said to him: ‘Take courage, you have found a god gracious to you. I am Dionysus, the son of Zeus, and my mother was Cadmus’ daughter Semele.’ Hail, child of fair‑faced Semele! He who forgets you can never gather sweet song into his heart.
Rayor Translation (2014, 2nd ed.)
I sing of Dionysos, rich in fruit, the lord whom the pine‑born thyrsos (the pine’s nursling) attends in the holy cave, the man, inspired, seizes the thyrsos in his sleep; he rules over the sacred rites. Once, all the Tyrrhenian pirates in their well‑decked ship seized him – when a destructive spirit led them on. They found him on the shore, but he swiftly boarded their hollow ship. A windless breeze stirred the ship. The ship, speeding on the wind, reached the Phoenician sea. They brought him from soft meadows to the black ship, planning to sell the mortal with no penalty. But when they wished to overpower him with binding cords and fastened them – the binding cords did not hold him. The sacred body slipped the yokes of willow branches, and the binding cords fled far from his hands and feet. He sat there with a laugh, his deep heart gentle. In his left hand he held the thyrsos, and a beautiful cup dripped with wine. Then the sea seethed for the god on the beach. All the men were terrified, amazed. Then he suddenly became a lion on the hollow ship, a huge lion on the ship’s stern. He produced a shaggy bear, raging, as a fierce guardian on the prow. The bear charged up the mast, maddened with fury. The men shrank back toward the stern, where the lion crouched in dreadful, armor‑clad terror. The lion hurled himself from the stern at the captain, and the rest of the men fled and then leaped together into the sacred sea, to escape utter destruction, and they were changed into dolphins. He pitied the helmsman and made him truly blessed, and he spoke a word to him: ‘Take courage, good helmsman; you have found a gracious god. I am loud‑shouting Dionysos, whom Semele, Kadmos’ daughter, bore to Zeus, mingling in love with him.’ Hail, child of fair‑faced Semele! No one can forget you and still gather sweet song into his heart.
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