Delphic Paean II and Prosodion to ApolloΔελφικὸς Παιὰν Β' καὶ Προσόδιον πρὸς Ἀπόλλωνα
Limenius of Athens Delphic Paean II and Prosodion to Apollo PDF
The Delphic Paean II and Prosodion to Apollo is a two-part hymn composed by the Athenian musician Limenius around 128 or 127 BCE. Written in a literary Doric dialect, the work comprises a paean, or hymn of praise, followed by a prosodion, a processional hymn. It was performed at the sanctuary of Delphi during the Pythian Games and the Theoxenia festival, a ritual in which the gods were honored as divine guests. The hymn praises the god Apollo, recounting his mythic slaying of the serpent Python and his subsequent establishment of the famous Delphic oracle, themes that celebrate divine order and communal worship.
The text survives not through medieval manuscript transmission but as an original inscription carved on a stone stele discovered at Delphi. This monument preserves both the lyrics and the accompanying ancient Greek musical notation, rendering it one of the most complete surviving examples of notated music from the ancient world. While the stone has suffered damage, the content of the hymn is largely reconstructable. Scholars interpret it as a professional, commissioned work for a major Panhellenic festival, likely performed by the Athenian guild known as the Artists of Dionysus. Its principal importance today lies in the field of musicology, where it provides invaluable evidence for understanding the scales, rhythm, and performance practices of Hellenistic Greek music.
| unit_1 | [Ἴ]τ’ ἐπὶ τηλέσκοπον τάν[δ]ε Πα[ρνασί]αν [φιλόχορον] δικόρυφον κλειτύν, ὕμνων κ[ατά]ρχ[ετε δ’ ἐμῶν, Πιερίδες, αἳ νιφοβόλους πέτρας ναίεθ’ [Ἑλι]κωνίδ̣[ας·] μέλπετε δὲ Πύθιον χ[ρ]υσοχαίταν ἕ[κατ]ον εὐλύραν Φοῖβον, ὃν ἔτικτε Λατὼ μάκαιρα πα[ρὰ λίμνᾳ] κλυτᾷ, χερσὶ γλαυκᾶς ἐλαίας θιγοῦ[ς’ ὄζον ἐν ἀγωνίαι]ς ἐριθα[λῆ.] Πᾶ[ς δὲ γ]άθησε πόλος οὐράνιος [ἀννέφελος ἀγλαός,] [ν]ηνέμους δ’ ἔσχεν αἰθὴρ ἀε[λλῶν ταχυπετ]εῖς [δρό]μους, λῆξε δὲ βαρυβρόμων Νη[ρέως ζαμενὲς ο]ἶδμ’ ἠδὲ μέγας Ὠκεανός, ὃς πέριξ [γᾶν ὑγραῖς ἀγ]κάλαις ἀμπέχει. Τότε λιπὼν Κυνθίαν νῆσον ἐ[πέβα θεὸ]ς πρω[τό]καρπον κλυτὰν Ἀτθίδ’ ἐπὶ γαλ[όφῳ πρῶνι] Τριτωνίδος· μελίπνοον δὲ Λίβυς αὐδὰγ χέω[ν λωτὸς ἀνέμελ]πεν ἁ‐ δεῖαν ὄπα μειγνύμενος αἰόλ[οις κιθάριος μέλεσιν, ἅ]μα δ’ ἴαχεν πετροκατοίκητος ἀχ[ὼ Παιὰν ἰὲ Παιάν·] [ὁ] δὲ γέγαθ’, ὅτι νόῳ δεξάμενος ἀμβρόταν Δι̣[ὸς ἐπέγνω φρέ]ν’· ἀνθ’ ὧν ἐκεί‐ νας ἀπ’ ἀρχᾶς Παιήονα κικλῄσκ[ομεν ἅπας λ]αὸς α[ὐτο]χθόνων ἠδὲ Βάκχου μέγας θυρσοπλὴ[ξ ἑσμὸς ἱ]ερὸς τεχνιτῶν ἔνοικος πόλει Κεκροπίᾳ. Ἀ[λλὰ χρησμ]ῳδὸν ὃς ἔχεις τρίποδα, βαῖν’ ἐπὶ θεοστιβ[έα τάνδε Π]αρνασίαν δειράδα φιλένθεον. Ἀμφὶ πλόκ[αμον σὺ δ’ οἰ]νῶ[πα] δάφνας κλάδον πλεξάμενος ἀπ[λέτους θεμελίους τ’] ἀμβρότᾳ χειρὶ σύρων, ἄναξ, |
| unit_2 | Γ[ᾶς πελώρῳ συναντᾷς] κόρᾳ. Ἀλλὰ Λατοῦς ἐρατογ[λέφαρον ἔρνος ἀγρία]ν παῖδα Γᾶ[ς] τ’ ἔπεφνες ἰοῖς, ὁ[μοῦ τ’ ἀναβοᾷς (?) ἡ δὲ] πόθον ἔσχε ματρὸς [φίλας ? ..]ηρ ἃ κατέκτ[α]ς οσ[.... [σύ]ριγμ’ ἀπε..ων[... ...] ἐφρούρε[ις δὲ Γᾶ[ς] [ἱερόν, ὦναξ, παρ’ ὀμφαλόν, ὁ βάρ]βαρος Ἄρης ὅτε [τε]ὸν μαντόσ[υνον οὐ σεβί‐ ζων ἕδος πολυκυθ]ὲς λῃζόμενος ὤλεθ’ ὑγρᾷ χ[ιόνος ἐν ζάλᾳ.] [Ἀλλ’, ὦ Φοῖβε,] σῷζε θεό‐ κτιστον Παλλάδος [ἄστυ καὶ λαὸν κλεινόν, σύν] τε θεά, τόξων δεσπότι Κρησίω[ν] κυνῶ[ν τ’ Ἄρτεμις, ἠδὲ Λα‐ τὼ] κυδίστα· καὶ ναέτας Δελφῶν τ[ημελεῖθ’ ἅμα τέ‐ κνοις συμ]βίοις δώμασιν ἀ‐ πταίστους, Βάκχου [θ’ ἱερονί‐ καισιν εὐμε]νεῖς μόλετε προσπόλοισ[ι], τάν τε δορί‐ [στεπτον κάρτεϊ] Ῥωμαίω[ν] ἀρχὰν αὔξετ’ ἀγηράτῳ θάλ[λουσαν φερε]νίκαν. |