Hymn 5 to Aphrodite

Homeric Hymns

Hymni Homerici, creator; Hesiod, creator; Homer, creator; Evelyn-White, Hugh G. (Hugh Gerard), d. 1924, translator

  • for he who lies with a deathless goddess is no hale man afterwards.”Then Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus answered him: “Anchises, most glorious of mortal men, take courage and be not too fearful in your heart. You need fear no harm from me
  • nor from the other blessed ones, for you are dear to the gods: and you shall have a dear son who shall reign among the Trojans, and children's children after him, springing up continually. His name shall be Aeneas,[*](The name Aeneas is here connected with the epithet ainos (awful): similarly the name Odysseus is derived (in Od. i. 62) from o)dussomai (I grieve).) because I felt awful grief in that I laid me in the bed of a mortal man:
  • yet are those of your race always the most like to gods of all mortal men in beauty and in stature.[*](Aphrodite extenuates her disgrace by claiming that the race of Anchises is almost divine, as is shown in the persons of Ganymedes and Tithonus.) Verily wise Zeus carried off golden-haired Ganymedes because of his beauty, to be amongst the Deathless Ones and pour drink for the gods in the house of Zeus —