Ganymed is a poem by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, in which the character of the mythic youth Ganymede

Ganymede (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...

 is seduced by God (or Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

) through the beauty of Spring.

In early editions of the Collected Works it appeared in Volume II of Goethe's poems in a section of Vermischte Gedichte (assorted poems), shortly following the Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, and the Harzreise im Winter. It immediately follows the Prometheus

Prometheus (Goethe)

Prometheus is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in which the character of the mythic Prometheus addresses God in misotheist accusation and defiance. The poem was written between 1772 and 1774 and first published in 1789 after an anonymous and unauthorised publication in 1785 by Friedrich...

, and the two poems together should be understood as a pair, one expressing the sentiment of divine love, the other misotheism

Misotheism

Misotheism is the "hatred of God" or "hatred of the gods" . In some varieties of polytheism, it was considered possible to inflict punishment on gods by ceasing to worship them...

. Both belong to the period 1770-1775. Prometheus

Prometheus

In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...

 is the creative and rebellious spirit which, rejected by God, angrily defies him and asserts itself; Ganymede is the boyish self which is adored and seduced by God. One is the lone defiant, the other the yielding acolyte. As the humanist poet, Goethe presents both identities as aspects or forms of the human condition.

The poem was set to music by Schubert and by Hugo Wolf

Hugo Wolf

Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, somewhat related to that of the Second Viennese School in concision but utterly unrelated in...

.

Text

Original German

English Translation

Wie im Morgenglanze Du rings mich anglühst, Frühling, Geliebter! Mit tausendfacher Liebeswonne Sich an mein Herz drängt Deiner ewigen Wärme Heilig Gefühl, Unendliche Schöne! Daß ich dich fassen möcht' In diesen Arm! Ach, an deinem Busen Lieg' ich, schmachte, Und deine Blumen, dein Gras Drängen sich an mein Herz. Du kühlst den brennenden Durst meines Busens, Lieblicher Morgenwind! Ruft drein die Nachtigall Liebend nach mir aus dem Nebeltal. Ich komm', ich komme! Wohin? Ach, wohin? Hinauf! Hinauf strebt's. Es schweben die Wolken Abwärts, die Wolken Neigen sich der sehnenden Liebe. Mir! Mir! In eurem Schosse Aufwärts! Umfangend umfangen! Aufwärts an deinen Busen, Alliebender Vater!

How, in the morning brightness, You all around shine at me, Springtime, Beloved! With thousandfold love-bliss The holy feeling Of your eternal warmth Presses itself upon my heart, Unending beauty! Could I but embrace you In this arm! Ah, upon your breast I lie, languish, And your blossoms, your grass press upon my heart. You cool the burning Thirst of my bosom, Lovely morning-wind! There calls the nightingale Lovingly for me from the misty vale. I come, I come! Whither, ah whither? Up! Up it surges. The clouds are leaning Downwards, the clouds Bow down to yearning love. To me! To me! In your lap, clouds, Upwards! Embracing, embraced! Upwards to thy bosom, All-loving Father!

Source

• J.W. Goethe, Goethe's Werke: Vollständige Ausgabe letzter Hand (Vol II, 79-80). (J.G. Cotta'sche Buchhandlung, Stuttgart und Tübingen 1827).
• J.W. Goethe, Gedichte (Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin u Weimar 1988). ISBN 3-351-00103-7.