Hymen was worshipped as the god of marriage. His origin is variously stated to have been from Apollo and Calliope, or from Dionysus and Aphrodite, while at other times he is said to have been by birth a mortal and afterwards defied. He is the personification of the marriage song. His home was among the Muses on Mount Helicon. There is a story that he lost his voice and his life in singing the marriage song of Dionysus and Ariadne. He is always a picture of youthful beauty, and of charms of love and song.

ACTIVITIES:
Hymen activity

KEY TEST WORDS:
Hymen, the god of the wedding feast and marriage. Symbol: torch.

The Lesser Deities

The Underworld

Footnotes:
Hymen was represented as a beautiful youth with a mantle of a golden color carrying a torch or a veil.

SOURCES:
Jane Smith
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Edward Tripp's "Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology"
"Manual of Mythology" by Alexander S. Murray.