Hymen (god)

Hymen depicted on a Roman mosaic, Ostia Antica
Nicolas Poussin, Hymenaios Disguised as a Woman During an Offering to Priapus, 1634, São Paulo Museum of Art

In Greek mythology, Hymen (Ancient Greek: Ὑμήν, romanizedHumḗn), Hymenaios or Hymenaeus, is a god of marriage ceremonies who inspires feasts and song. Related to the god's name, a hymenaios is a genre of Greek lyric poetry that was sung during the procession of the bride to the groom's house in which the god is addressed, in contrast to the Epithalamium, which is sung at the nuptial threshold.

Cupid standing (left), and Hymen sitting (right). Hymen's burning torch on a Napoleonic wedding medal of 1807. It commemorates the marriage of Napoleon's youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte to Princess Catharina of Württemberg at Fontainebleau.

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