Hymn 27 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Hymn 27 Summary: “To Artemis”
Artemis, twin sister of Apollo, is the goddess of chastity and hunting; she is the “arrow-raining virgin” and “shooter of stags,” merciless in her hunting. Returning to Apollo’s temple at Delphi, Artemis is adorned in beautiful clothes and leads a dance for the immortals. The children of Leto and Zeus are praised as the best among the gods.
Hymn 27 Analysis
Like the other gods, Artemis perfectly embodies her domain of power, chastity and hunting; she is a virgin and “the keen-eyed arrow-pourer” (90). The hymn continues the thematic emphasis on familial ties: Much like her twin brother Apollo, who plays the lyre for the gods, Artemis hangs up her arrows and leads the immortals in a dance, and the hymn praises both Artemis and Apollo as the “best among the gods in thought and action” (90). The twins share an unbreakable bond that transcends the thresholds of their different domains. Artemis and Apollo share a deep devotion to one another, and their relationship carries the theme of the unity within the pantheon and of Zeus’s everlasting order.
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