1) It's called Homeric Hymns not because they are by Homer but because they are in the same meter that Homer used.2) It is a very quick read. A couple hours at most.3) The Hymn of Demeter/Persephone is the best, Hermes second, and the rest, while interesting and sometimes beautiful, didn't add much for me.4) Aphrodite is kind of a jerk. They're all kind of jerks.

A series of hymns of ancient Greece.Ranging from recounting myths, sometimes at length, to bursts of short lyric. Some of it will be familiar, and some not at all -- the Hymn to Ares in particular.Translation matters. I read an idiomatic one this time, and it tried to bring it into modern English as much as possible. More unfortunately, it was a 1970s translation and bears quite definitely the mark of it, several phrases sheriek of the decades.Even so, you get the effect of the original Greek in...

Accessible yet poetic translation. Really vibed with the hymns to Demeter, Aphrodite, and Dionysus

translated by Jules Cashford, with an introduction and notes by Nicholas RichardsonI'm a little a loss to explain why I liked these so much or explain what I liked about them. Maybe I'm just fond of Greek mythology and any riff on them that made it through the vagaries of time will catch my interest. But there does seem to be something extra here. There is a reason Percy Bysshe Shelley translated so many of these, as did Chapman. Maybe it's just how the opening fragment to Dionysos says somethin...

Beautiful translation of what will become one of your favorite books of short-form Ancient verse. Cannot recommend this highly enough!

If I spend too much time thinking about how Homer is one of the most influential authors in the Western literary canon and we still don't know if "Homer" was a real person or people or something, I'll go fully insane. These hymns were originally thought to be authored by Homer, but the predominant modern-day theory is that the authors were various poets who lived between 700-600 BCE, and who wrote in the Homeric style.

This collection of hymns follows the style of Homer's writings and due to that and to tradition are said to have been written by him. The first two hymns were missing until the late 1700's, but even then only a small fragment of hymn one was recovered (although nearly all of hymn two was found). Aside from difficulties resulting from a few missing lines these hymns are easy to follow and it is a marvel this much remains now for readers to enjoy.Although the works of Homer, Hesiod and others were...

A taut, hypnotic translation: sorta the poetic equivalent of Velvet Underground's "The Murder Mystery". Choppy and insistent, no dactyls, no hexameters. So it's probably pretty close to the way these central hymns sounded in Mediterranean caves and hillsides. The hymns to Hermes guide my every move (wink), and I ended up disliking Demeter very much (ducking). Essential reading.

I like that the Gods see humans as insignificant lowly beings whose only role is to make offerings.

3.5 *** rounded up.I enjoyed most of these and it was truly fascinating to read where some of the retellings I have read, got their basis from.The longer hymns were harder to decipher and I had to keep flicking back to the notes pages for extra information, which made me lose my pace more than a few times. But overall I did enjoy these.My favourites were Hymn 5- a hymn to Aphrodite describing Zeus’ revenge on her by getting her to fall in love with a mortal (Ankisis) and consequently giving birt...

3 Stars, Completed February 9, 2016I'm not sure how it happened but after taking six semesters of Latin (high school and a few upper level college courses of the foreign language), I never had to translate and read any Roman or Greek text fully in Latin. We read excerpts or parts in translated idiomatic English. So I sort of felt cheated by this being someone that was very interested in mythology growing up. (It's a shame most of my Latin/Greek mythology knowledge is from Percy Jackson and the O...

Reading this book again for the Ancient Greek and Roman mythology course I am doing for the second time, I found I enjoyed it much more. This Penguin Classics translation is elegant, full of charm and so inspiring. In the introduction by Nicholas Richardson, the author explores the composition, the history of the hymns and the beauty of the structure, themes and style. "The hymns... Tell us something about the Greek view of the relationship between the divine and human worlds...""Ignorance of th...

These Homeric Hymns might be better be described as prayers or invocations to the Gods, to be read before the start of stage plays. They can be a bit repetitive, but that's the nature of offering praise to the gods, especially when you asking them to bless your proceedings.If you're a fan of ancient Greek drama, I would recommend this book as a supplement to your reading.

Read through it for the first time, I don’t have much to say yet, most of these don’t tell stories and I’m not getting a lot out of this. I’m looking forward to read some commentaries though.

Pallas Athena I begin to sing,The glorious goddess with gleaming eyes,Brilliantly inventive, her heart relentless,The formidable maiden, guardian of cities,The courageous Tritogeneia.Wise Zeus gave birth to her himselfOut of his majestic head.Golden armour clothed her,It was glistening, war-like.All the gods who saw herWere overcome with awe.Suddenly she was thereBefore Zeus who holds the Aegis.She sprang from his immortal headShaking her sharp spear.Great Olympus trembled terriblyAt the power o...

Beautiful translations. Unfortunate that the majority of the hymns are so short as the longer ones are great.__________And scent most sweetly spread (2.13)Blooming with youth . . . (2.108)Round the goddess’ slim feet her dark robe swirled. (2.183)She touched her head, and filled the doorway with heavenly light. (2.189)Casting old age away, and round about her thenBeauty began to be breathed: a delightful perfume spreadFrom the fragrant robes that she wore, a radiance shone out farFrom the goddes...

Required reading for Greek and Roman Mythology, but I'm happy about it. It seems to be an excellent and enjoyable translation, with good notes to clarify meanings and identities. If you're into Greek Mythology, the hymns here definitely add a bit of depth to the experience. The stories aren't new, but they're told with a different flow to them, and so are just as fun to read again as they were the first time.

My favourites were the hymns to Demeter and Hermes, the rest are either too short, were left incomplete, or aren't particularly memorable.