TheHymn to Demeterandthe Homeric Hymns

Abstract

In any history of Greek mythological writing, the longer Homeric Hymns deserve a place of honour. They are the almost unique vehicle of a distinctive and important form of narrative about the divine world. As a prooimion to a discussion of the Hymn to Demeter, it may be worth sketching some general characteristics of the genre, to bring out its special interest for the historian of religion, and indeed for anyone who cares for the imaginative world of the Greeks.

Resistance to Origins

“…Fear of the powerful new god as articulated by 'lesser' deities can, however, readily be interpreted as a projection of human anxieties upon divine protagonists.43 Leto's desperate search for a place to bear her two children, Artemis and Apollo, belongs to the myth of Apollo since the Homeric Hymns, in which the god and his mother are turned away by virtually the entire Mediterranean world. The narrator explains that the reason for this was fear of Apollo: 'they were very tremulous and afraid, and none, however rich, ventured to accept 42 On the general aetiological features of the Homeric hymns, see Parker 1991 andChappell 2006. Both papers draw attention to aspects that provide the starting point for this chapter as well; cf.…”

“…The hymn is, in spite of all controversy, often regarded as 'the foundation myth of the Mysteries' and believed to have been acted out during the initiation ceremony at Eleusis as a 'mystic drama': this view is defended by, amongst others, Richardson 1974, Parker 1991, 4, and Bremmer 2011, bases his reconstruction primarily on other sources). For criticism of this position, see Clinton 1992, who contends that the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, especially the Iambe episode, is an aition for the Thesmophoria.…”

Rileggendo Eumolpo: un’autoctonia rivisitata

“…In realtà, la presenza strutturale di diversi riferimenti alla dimensione salvifica (come il ciceone e la vicenda di Demofonte: si vedano Bianchi 1964;Vernant 1969;Chirassi Colombo 1975, pp. 204-208;Scarpi 1976;Parker 1991), unita all'assenza di elementi riconducibili alla fertilità (elemento centrale delle tesmoforie), induce a ritenere più plausibile la costruzione dell'Inno sui misteri. In ogni caso, pur non spingendoci ad ammettere con il Clinton (1993, p. 120;cf.…”

Sing, muse…: the introit from Homer to Apollonius

“…495 suggests that the term πσοο νιοξ-like our 'prélude'-came eventually to denote stand-alone compositions, 122 though longer proems too may have prefaced recitations. 123 Interestingly, proems appear on occasion to have assumed the functions of introits in post-bardic recitations of epic texts (the tradition of poetic performance was slow to lose its vigour-Nagy claims that Homeric performances exhibited considerable textual fluidity as late as c. 150 B.C. 124 ) and to have included requests for inspiration.…”