Hymn to Demeter, Lines 30-50
“τὴν δ᾽ ἀεκαζομένην ἦγεν Διὸς ἐννεσίῃσι πατροκασίγνητος, Πολυσημάντωρ Πολυδέγμων, ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι, Κρόνου πολυώνυμος υἱός. ὄφρα μὲν οὖν γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα λεῦσσε θεὰ καὶ πόντον ἀγάρροον ἰχθυόεντα αὐγάς τ᾽ ἠελίου, ἔτι δ᾽ ἤλπετο μητέρα κεδνὴν ὄψεσθαι καὶ φῦλα θεῶν αἰειγενετάων,τόφρα οἱ ἐλπὶς ἔθελγε μέγαν νόον ἀχνυμένης περ: ... ἤχησαν δ᾽ ὀρέων κορυφαὶ καὶ βένθεα πόντου φωνῇ ὑπ᾽ ἀθανάτῃ: τῆς δ᾽ ἔκλυε πότνια μήτηρ.ὀξὺ δέ μιν κραδίην ἄχος ἔλλαβεν, ἀμφὶ δὲ χαίταις ἀμβροσίαις κρήδεμνα δαΐζετο χερσὶ φίλῃσι, κυάνεον δὲ κάλυμμα κατ᾽ ἀμφοτέρων βάλετ᾽ ὤμων, σεύατο δ᾽ ὥστ᾽ οἰωνός, ἐπὶ τραφερήν τε καὶ ὑγρὴν μαιομένη: τῇ δ᾽ οὔτις ἐτήτυμα μυθήσασθαι ἤθελεν οὔτε θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὔτ᾽ οἰωνῶν τις τῇ ἐτήτυμος ἄγγελος ἦλθεν. ἐννῆμαρ μὲν ἔπειτα κατὰ χθόνα πότνια Δηὼ στρωφᾶτ᾽ αἰθομένας δαΐδας μετὰ χερσὶν ἔχουσα, οὐδέ ποτ᾽ ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος ἡδυπότοιο πάσσατ᾽ ἀκηχεμένη, οὐδὲ χρόα βάλλετο λουτροῖς.”
Translation
“She had been taken, against her will, at the behest of Zeus by her father’s brother, the one who makes many sêmata, the one who receives many guests, the son of Kronos, the one with many names. On the chariot drawn by immortal horses. So long as the earth and the star-filled sky were still within the goddess’s view, as also the fish-swarming sea, with its strong currents, as also the rays of the sun, she still had hope that she would yet see her dear mother and that special group, the immortal gods. For that long a time her great noos was soothed by hope, distressed as she was. The peaks of mountains resounded, as did the depths of the sea, with her immortal voice. And the Lady Mother heard her. And a sharp akhos seized her heart. The headband on her hair she tore off with her own immortal hands and threw a dark cloak over her shoulders. She sped off like a bird, soaring over land and sea, looking and looking. But no one was willing to tell her the truth, not one of the gods, not one of the mortal humans, not one of the birds, messengers of the truth. Thereafter, for nine days did the Lady Demeter wander all over the earth, holding torches ablaze in her hands. Not once did she take off ambrosia and nectar, sweet to drink, in her grief, nor did she bathe her skin in water.”
Summary
The Hymn to Demeter is an important story pertaining to Greek mythology. In lines 30-50, we learn that Persephone was captured and taken into the underworld. Many myths describe her disappearance as her falling into the underworld. However, in this version, she was captured by Hades and taken against her will. Once she was taken, Demeter was filled with anger and could hear her “akhos” or cries from the underworld. This shows the deep bond Demeter had with Persephone. In this particular passage, the main focus is on Demeter’s rage towards the disappearance of her daughter. She sped across Earth searching for one of the Gods to explain what had happened to her daughter. Finally on the tenth day, the Sun God, Helius revealed to Demeter what happened to persephone. The final sentence sums up this portion of the text because it shows that Demeter was so focused on finding her daughter. She was sunken in grief and thought about nothing else. This is probably similar for mothers in today’s day in age. We can only imagine how it would feel to lose a child and for a parent, I assume that they would have a similar reaction to Demeter.
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