The Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Translation, Commentary, and Interpretive Essays
Erscheinungsjahr 1993
ISBN: 978-0-691-01479-1
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 522 g

Reihe: Mythos: The Princeton/Bollingen Series in World Mythology

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, composed in the late seventh or early sixth century B.C.E., is a key to understanding the psychological and religious world of ancient Greek women. The poem tells how Hades, lord of the underworld, abducted the goddess Persephone and how her grieving mother, Demeter, the goddess of grain, forced the gods to allow Persephone to return to her for part of each year. Helene Foley presents the Greek text and an annotated translation of this poem, together with selected essays that give the reader a rich understanding of the Hymn's structure and artistry, its role in the religious life of the ancient world, and its meaning for the modern world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Foley, Helene P.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of IllustrationsPreface and AcknowledgmentsPt. 1The Text and Translation, Commentary, and Background1Text and Translation of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter2Commentary on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter28Background: The Eleusinian Mysteries and Women's Rites for Demeter65Pt. 2Interpretive Essay on the Homeric Hymn to Demeter77Interpreting the Hymn to Demeter83The "Theology" Of the Mysteries84Variants of the Myth and the Importance of the Version in the Hymn to Demeter97Female Experience in the Hymn to Demeter103Marriage104Gender Conflict and the Cosmological Tradition112The Mother/Daughter Romance118The Psychology of the Mysteries137The Hymn to Demeter and the Polis142Christianity and the Hymn to Demeter150The Influence of the Hymn to Demeter and Its Myth151App. Eleusis and Athens169App. The Hymn to Demeter as a Panhellenic Poem175Pt. 3Further Interpretation: Contributed Articles179Withdrawal and Return: An Epic Story Pattern in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and in the Homeric Poems181Some Functions of the Demophoon Episode in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter190Concerning the Homeric Hymn to Demeter198Politics and Pomegranates: An Interpretation of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter212Family Structure and Feminine Personality243Bibliography267Index Locorum283General Index289