2 Proem: Lines 1-22

Homeric Hymn to Apollo: Proem (lines 1-22)

Invocation

 

Before our mind’s-eye, I will make him ever-present;

May I never fail to be mind-full of

Lord Apollo

whose-power-stretches-far. [1]

 

[As he comes before us —

be ever mindful of your actions

for all know: he is a haughty king and

a strong and deadly archer.][2]

 

The Deadly Archer Comes to Olympus

[Make this moment present in your mind:]

F: Entry of a great god[3]

 

He enters the throne room of Zeus as if it is his own

even at his approach, the gods tremble

He marches towards the throne,

 all jump from their seats.

His bow is loaded and drawn

— gleaming, oiled, pointed at his target—;

the string held tense.

[Ready for battle.]

F: “except two” reversal[4]

 

[As he stands before the king]

All of the gods stand aside

 

except two

[his queenly mother]

Leto,

who remains sitting in her throne,

alongside  5

one other who leans back, smiling

Zeus,

the king

who sees an oncoming storm and

revels-in-the-thunderous-crash-to-come.[5]

 

[The question: how does Apollo plan to take his rightful inheritance?

Does he come in force as Kronos did to Ouranos and Zeus to Kronos?][6]

 

[We now look backwards from the present]

Then,

–just as it has been each time since–

It has been settled by Leto’s motherly hands

The tension has been released from the bow.

The string, loosened

The quiver, closed.

By her. [Too many times to count].

All that potential of violence

absent from his powerful, dangerous arms

[–as if it had never been there –]

Taken, each time, into the authority of her gentle hands, and

  placed high on the pillared wall instead.

[Transformed. Weapons –once a symbol of fear]

hung now from a golden peg:

displayed proudly in a place of the highest honour:

prominent forevermore in his eternal home —

the palace of his father.[1]

 

[The moment has been accomplished once and many times,

passing, passed and in the past.]

F: Exceptional Honor

 

Apollo takes and has taken his seat:

the golden throne at the right hand of the Father;

a throne offered directly, in front of all,

[not by a servant but]

by the very hands of his mother, the Queen.

Apollo accepts and has accepted his drink:

a golden cup filled with purest nectar;

a cup offered directly, in front of all,

[not by a servant but]

by the very hands of his father, the King.  10

Apollo demonstrated to all and keeps demonstrating

–by these signs, clear and unmistakable —

that his chosen and proper place is here; and

that he has proudly accepted his positions:

honored son and

heir to Zeus’ throne.

 

[All is again as it should be and as it always was]

All the divinities are in their seats

–as if they had never left them —

Queen Leto smiles, her mood: favorable and joyous

because she gave birth to such a son:

[reflecting so much glory to her

[a warrior feared by all]

a strong and deadly archer.[7]

[Now that you are present in mind before us, let me address you directly and with proper reverence]

Blessed goddess,

[Noble even among the gods]

free-from-mortal-cares,

Lady Leto.

May your mood always be favorable;

happy that you gave birth

not just to one child but

two children who reflect such glory to you:

Apollo, the king, and

Artemis, who-rains-down-arrows. 15

To her in Ortygia.

To him, on rocky, desolate,

F: Birth/Short[8]

Delos:

bent over in labour,

facing the hillside of Mount Cynthus

Nearby: a palm tree and

the waters of the river Inopus.

Preamble[9]

 

T: Unworthiness/ Danger[10]

[But now, that you, purifying-light, are present in mind among us

I must admit that I am afraid of your anger

if my song fails to be worthy of you]

 

For what song can I now sing that could add to your store of praise,

when all the praises made by song are already yours?

 

[Any single poem of mine can be but one drop in an impossibly vast river]

— one made of every streaming song-type and metre ever sung 

–one sounding from every place imaginable

throughout all the worthwhile places on the land

— the fields, tamed and cultivated by herders —

throughout all the many islands.

[– and one that flows back, reflecting honour to its source

for you are the font of all song [11]   20

 

[1] Note that these lines are rearranged from the Greek

 

Discussion:

The first word translated here as ‘make memory present’ is often translated as ‘remember’ in many texts (I will remember and I will never forget) but this seems to me terribly insufficient for a word which must mean something like ‘conjure in the mind, so that you see it in front of you as if it is real and, indeed, maybe it is real’. It is this quality ‘mimesis’ which Homer is credited as possessing — meaning not, as you might think, ‘exceptional memory’ but instead, the ability to make things come alive before you.
The idea of ‘mimesis’ (particularly of the gods) is also pseudo-magical and definitely religious terminology as we will see later when the singers at Delphi use it. This makes our understanding of the hymn slightly more complicated — are the events here simply a ‘retelling’ (in the way that we think of stories) or indeed does the speaker magically/religiously ‘recreate’ or ‘renew’ these events in the present? Are we hearing about the past or are we active spectators of a present moment (even if that present moment occurred long ago). The opening of the hymn, and the occasional direct address to Apollo, blur our confidence in the distinction between the present and the past — as well as the idea that this is simply a ‘story’ rather than a religious invocation to the actually present Apollo.

As an open question for consideration, is there a modern equivalent to someone that tells a story so real that you believe it as real? Would this be more understandable if this was understood as a religious act of actual ‘summoning’ — as in, an attempt to bring Apollo into the audience? Can you think of any any English words that you think are better translations of this concept — what nuances do they capture? Which do they lack?

Other than the blurring of ‘past and present’, ‘distant and participant’, and ‘once versus habitual/eternal’ present in the opening story [these will be issues throughout the hymn as well], it should be clear that the opening lines play with the Indo-European tradition of the myth of succession. Apollo, as heir to Zeus, is absolutely expected to depose his father Zeus just as Zeus did to his own father. So, we see in the opening two events playing out at once: (1) the dangerous son walking into the throne room to challenge his father and (2) the habitual return of the favoured and honoured son into his place of honor. Most of the actions in this scene then can be reinterpreted through both lenses — for instance, do the gods stand in respect or in fear of the coming fight? Does Zeus sit calmly because he is the king of gods and should not and need not rise before a son –who is second in honour only to him — or, does it follow his epithet, and suggest that “joys in the thunder” (ie. subduing challengers) and is ready for the fight to come? Does Leto defuse the situation or is she simply taking the actions of a queen and mother who is honoured because of the exceptionally high status of her son?

Of course, we know that Apollo will ultimately join rather than threaten Zeus but the hymn does not yet make clear — indeed, it mostly never does — how Zeus has managed to avoid being challenged. There are only hints. It must be, as Strauss-Clay has suggested, something to do with the respect that Zeus has given him — with Zeus’ strength manifesting in the way that he can incorporate the other Olympians into his order, rather than forcing them to try to subvert it. Here, we see that between the dangerous open beat of the beginning and the strangely far away moment where Apollo sits down — that the exceptionally dangerous Apollo (“the powerful and deadly archer”) has accepted a place of honor, made ‘heir’ to Zeus, and lauded by the other gods. Partially, this seems to come through the mediation of Leto but also through the careful public honours  which Zeus gives (a seat of honour next to him, an honoured place to  display his weapons, and a golden cup given not by a servant but by Zeus himself). A dangerous and unfortunate situation has been transformed into a stable and beneficial one –this is a hallmark of Zeus’ ability in early texts, just as it will be demonstrated here to be part of Apollo’s inherited power (transformation is especially stressed in the Hymn). More, we learn not to trust our initial impressions or to have too much faith in appearances.

Understanding this tension though (do sons need to supplant their father? how is Apollo honored within the rein of Zeus?) explains many of the smaller narrative events throughout. For instance, we directly see a repetition of the events here (Apollo coming into the throne room), only this time much of our ambiguity is removed and Apollo comes, not as god of death and arrows, but as the god of music — the hymn (itself music) having transformed his primary source of glory. We see hints of this too with the islands’ refusal to let Apollo be born there and Delphi’s fears about Apollo’s future behavior — they fear that he will be a tyrant who will overthrow the current order. Similarly, the section dealing with Typhoeus and the Pythian Dragon has a lengthy interchange which specifically explores a son/heir who does attempt to overthrow Zeus but is ultimately defeated. In that part of the hymn, rather than see Zeus directly act, we will see Apollo mirroring the actions of his father in miniature.

This section also creates one other interesting bit of tension — where is Hera in this image and why is it that Leto (not Hera) sits at the left hand of Zeus?

  1. The epithet here is technically simply "Far ?" (scholiasts suggest that it is a shortened form of "Far shooter" but that is not the only option. I have tried to retain the ambiguity between 'far-working' (positive) and 'far-shooting' (negative) that I think are exemplified in the this form. However, I have added a repetition of the coming line 'strong and mighty archer' to better demonstrate how this phrase prompts the introduction and is concluded with Leto's pride. ↵
  2. Lines in brackets are ones that I believe depart most clearly from the 'literal' reading of the text and, in general, are in need of some explanation for experienced readers. Here, the epithet 'far-powerful' (or far-shooting, if you believe the scholiasts) introduces a whole set of assumptions. First and primarily, we are meant to think about how DANGEROUS Apollo is (he can kill you from far away, after all). Second, that he is a haughty lord and, potentially, easily offended when crossed. He is the god of plague who, when wronged inflicts death on the Achaeans after all. An experienced reader will already be in this frame but a first time reader needs to think that Apollo is potentially dangerous or the subversion of that in the Hymn to come will make very little sense. Thus, I have added some subtext here. ↵
  3. Used of Apollo here but formulaic for the entrance of Hera and Zeus as well. ↵
  4. A formulaic construction that displays why the expected narrative has not developed or will not develop. Later this is used again of Zeus and Leto (here acknowledging but refusing the violent potential, there confirming but subordinating the 'peaceful' leadership interpretation of Apollo's character). This will also be used of Hera and Eilythuia to explain Leto's pregnancy. ↵
  5. Zeus who "takes joy in thunder" is here, I think, an emphatic epithet (hence the overtranslation) that suggets one reason why Zeus has not risen to meet Apollo -- he is not afraid of conflict and, in fact, takes joy in excercising his violent side. He is (potentially) ready for the violent confrontation -- that he does not NEED to though and that he has chosen to place both Leto and Apollo in positions that subordinate their authority but preserve their power shows how clever a king he truly is. ↵
  6. Not in the original language at all BUT a clear presence, requiring the reader to know about the cycles of succession as in Hesiod. This is an explicit touchstone of the poem though -- particularly in contrasting Tyhaon and Apollo -- so bringing it to a first time reader's attention here is, to my mind, appropriate. This makes the resolution all the more spectacular. ↵
  7. I have made the parallel exact here (starting and ending the section with 'strong and deadly archer' whereas in the Greek it is slightly more ambiguous. Apollo is called 'far-?' with an epithet that could be resolved as 'far-shooting' OR 'far-worker', ie. either implying violence or simply implying the reach of his power. That essential ambiguity --  along with plays on the concept of distance and reach-- is key to this poem. It starts by introducing the idea that maybe the 'far-shooting' aspect of Apollo (plus his constant bow) makes him a violent threat to Zeus but, by the end, we see that 'far -shooting' Apollo is  something that adds glory to the reign of Zeus and Leto rather than threatens it.  By the second part of the hymn, we will revist this scene again and see Apollo's mastery of the the strings is again transformed, this time into mastery of the stringed lyre rather than the bow. ↵
  8. Something clever is going on here. In the first place, as is often the case in the hymn, the singer introduces the short version of a theme that could (but often isn't) be expanded upon later -- here, the common hymnic requirement to discuss the birth of the god. Cleverly though, although it looks like this has been avoided and that the poet has gone in a different direction, this abbreviated formula actually preps the reader for the return of the forumla and the full explication of the birth of Apollo which is to come. ↵
  9. Sections 1 and 2 both start with "Preamble" statements (How can I praise you...) which express the poet's difficulty choosing themes. These junctures and the fact that the third section (the Cretan sailors) does not has led many scholars to support the argument that this was originally two hymns (Delian and Pythian) joined together. ↵
  10. This isn't a formula per se but it does introduce two very prominent themes that will repeat in various forms throughout the Hymn. First, that Apollo is SO AWESOME that it is inherently impossible to be worthy of his awesomeness. The hymn will come to suggest that understanding this is essential to worshipping the god but that his magnanimity means it doesn't actually matter. Second, speaking to someone in power (particularly a potential tyrant with near limitless power) is inherently DANGEROUS. If you say the wrong thing or in the wrong way, you could easily be destroyed. This is no less true for the hymnist, speaking to Apollo, than it is for Delos, for Telphousa, and for the Cretan sailors. ↵
  11. The Hymn is very concerned with issues of male and female gender, particularly issues of birth. There is then, something interesting about the way that the poem deliberately compares the birth of Apollo himself (physical birth) to the kind of metaphorical birth represented through his control of music. I considered calling him the 'mother' of all music here but decided that the implicit comparison is not strong enough for such provacative framing. ↵

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The Homeric Hymns to Apollo and Hermes In Contemporary Translation/Adaptation Copyright © by Adam Rappold. All Rights Reserved.

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