48 pages • 1 hour read
AnonymousHomeric Hymns
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Hymn 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Hymn 3 Summary: “To Apollo”
Hymn 3, Part 1: “To Delian Apollo”
Apollo, god of music and medicine, enters Olympus. All the gods except Zeus, Apollo’s father, stand upon his arrival. Leto, the Titan mother of Apollo, takes her son’s bow and quiver. She presents Apollo to Zeus, who offers him “nectar in a gold cup” (19). The hymn praises Leto for her “shining children” (19).
The hymn flashes back to Leto’s pregnancy with Apollo. She travels to many lands in search of a birthplace for her son. When Leto reaches the island of Delos (which, in the story, is also a being who can speak), she attempts to convince the island to allow a shrine to Apollo. She states that Delos will never have ample sheep, cattle, or grain, but that Apollo’s temple will bring men from far and wide with offerings that will feed the people instead of them having to grow it themselves. Delos expresses fear that his barren, rocky land will not suit Apollo and that he will abandon the island, but Leto swears a divine oath that Delos will remain Apollo’s favorite place.
Leto goes into labor for “nine days and nine nights” (22). Many goddesses surround Leto, except for Hera. Filled with jealousy, Hera wants to keep Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, from helping Leto, but divine messenger Iris alerts Eileithyia of Leto’s labor. Upon Eileithyia’s arrival, Leto is seized by contractions. Finally, Apollo is born.
Apollo proclaims that he will be the patron of the “lyre and the curved bow, and prophet of the changeless will of Zeus” (23). The island of Delos “blossomed like a forest-covered hilltop” out of elation for Apollo’s arrival (23). Crowds gather at Apollo’s shrine, accompanied by immense wealth.
A blind man named Chio is the credited author of this hymn.
Hymn 3, Part 2: “To Pythian Apollo”
Apollo plays his lyre for the Olympian divinities. The Muses sing of the “gods’ eternal gifts” and of the “hardships of humans” (25). The gods dance happily to Apollo’s tune while Zeus and Leto look upon their son approvingly. Wondering how to find the right song to praise Apollo, the hymn’s narrator eventually resolves to tell the story of Apollo’s establishment of the oracle at Delphi.
Apollo travels across many lands until arriving at Thebes. He continues to “Poseidon’s shining grove, Onchestus” (26). From there, he continues down a stream until approaching a “peaceful place” called Telphusa, which is also a fountain (27). He proclaims Telphusa the site for his oracle. However, the river goddess Telphusa (after whom the location is named) does not want to share her honor and fame. She convinces Apollo that mortals will bring chariots and horses into the temple, ruining its sanctity. She says to build in the “hollow of Parnassus, at Crisa,” (28) where the mountainous landscape is impossible to reach by chariot. Apollo travels to Crisa and declares that this land shall be the site of his oracle. A large snake, Pytho, inhabits the ridge of Crisa when Apollo arrives.
The hymn now recalls the story of Typhaon, the child of Hera. Hera is enraged that Zeus birthed the beautiful Athena without her, while she is left with her son Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking, who has a limp. She decides to have her own child, stating, “I will not shame the holy bed we share— / But neither will I enter it” (30). Hera prays to the Earth and the Sky to grant her a child apart from, and stronger than, Zeus. A year later, she gives birth to Typhaon. Hera gives Typhaon to the serpent, Pytho, to raise. The two terrorize mortals, until Apollo shoots the serpent with his arrow and lets it rot under the sun’s gleam.
Apollo returns to the fountain and builds his temple, cutting off Telphusa’s springs. Those who visit this temple call Apollo Telphusian, as he is “the god who shamed Telphusa’s holy currents” (32).
As Apollo ponders who should perform the secret rites of his temple, he notices a crew of Cretan men out at sea. Apollo transforms into a dolphin and steers the crew toward the isle of Crisa. Once on the Crisaean shore and back in his original form, Apollo runs aboard the beached ship, reveals that he is the god Apollo, and tells the men they will live on this island as his servants. He orders them to dismantle the ship and to offer up white barley. Next, he instructs the Cretans to pour a libation for Olympus. Lastly, they are to pray to him by chanting “Glory to the Healer!” (35). When the lead crewmember asks how an island lacking fertile soil can provide for them, Apollo reminds them that his temple will receive plentiful offerings.
Hymn 3 Analysis
The god of music, healing, prophecy, and the sun is added to the pantheon. The strongest male offspring of Zeus, Apollo opens the possibility of intergenerational conflict. All gods but Zeus stand when Apollo enters Olympus, showcasing his power and status. While Zeus remains seated, his sharing of nectar with Apollo establishes a mutual peace and respect. Apollo aligns himself with his father and ensures his word is carried out to fulfillment. He refers to himself as “prophet of the changeless will of Zeus” (23). This allegiance is evident when Apollo defeats Pytho and Typhaon, who is created out of Hera’s jealousy. Her jealousy is toward not only Zeus’s affairs but also his ability to reproduce without her; she yells, “How could you give Athena life without me? / Could I not do it?” (30). Typhaon is presented as a second potential successor of Zeus and, thus, the potential for another intergenerational conflict. He is a foil to Apollo, serving as Hera’s own heir to the throne of Olympus. The serpent Pytho, guardian of Typhaon, embodies Hera’s own desires to overthrow Zeus. Therefore, Apollo’s defeat of Pytho is also the symbolic defeat of Hera’s rebellion, and it re-establishes Zeus’s order.
There are many overlaps between Leto’s and Apollo’s establishment of temples, a parallel symbolizing their mother-son relationship. Just as Leto travels to Delos, a rocky island with no fertile land, Apollo journeys to the barren island Crisa. In fact, Apollo’s association with barren islands can be attributed to Leto, who swears an oath to Delos that this island will always be Apollo’s favorite place. While Apollo does not change the physical landscape of these lands, his temples garner rich offerings for their inhabitants. His actions fulfill his mothers’ promise, as Leto earlier said, “All humankind will gather here and bring you / Hundred-strong herds. […] Those living in you / Will eat the gifts of strangers, not your thin yields” (21). Apollo echoes her sentiment: “Each of you, with a dagger in his right hand, can kill sheep endlessly but still have plenty—humankind’s great tribes will bring to me so many” (37). Apollo is a self-sufficient, powerful entity capable of nurturing fruitless lands by establishing a temple. The mirroring between Leto and Apollo articulates the theme of motherhood, specifically the unbreakable bond between mother and child.
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