"These lively narrative poems, attributed in antiquity to Homer, are works of great charm. Composed for recitation at festivals in honour of the gods, they tell of Apollo's birth on the island of Delos and his foundation of the Delphic oracle; Hermes' invention of the lyre and theft of his brother Apollo's cattle; and Aphrodite's love affair with the mortal Anchises. This edition offers a new text of these poems. The Introduction discusses among other things the nature and purpose of the poems in general, their origins, their structure and themes. The Commentary brings out the individual character of each Hymn, by analyzing in depth its language and literary qualities, and also its religious and historical aspects. The aim is to make these Hymns more accessible to students of Greek literature, and help them to appreciate the poems more fully as major works of early Greek poetry"--Provided by publisher.

"Most of these poems probably belong to the 'Archaic' period, but some appear to be later in date. An Attic vase painting shows a boy holding a papyrus-roll, on which are written what appear to be the opening two words of Hymn. It has been inferred that some at least of the hymns could have already been used as school texts at this time. Our earliest explicit reference to one of the hymns is by Thucydides, who quotes two passages from the Hymn to Apollo,ascribes it to Homer. Later writers, however,from the second century onwards, express doubts about Homer's authorship of the Hymns. Athenaeus attributes the Hymn to Apollo to 'Homer or one of the Homeridae', and a scholiast to Pindar, Nemean ascribes it to a rhapsode named Cynaethus . Hymn is quoted by a scholiast to Nicander as 'among the hymns ascribed to Homer', and some of the Lives of Homer assert that only the Iliad and Odyssey are definitely Homer's own work. Alexandrian scholarship does not often refer to the Hymns, and this suggests that by the Hellenistic period, if not before, their authenticity as Homeric was questioned"--Provided by publisher.