CLAS 1100Y Lecture 4: Homeric Hymn: Demeter and Hermes (Semester 2-Lecture 4)

• School: Dalhousie University
• Department: Classics
• Course: CLAS 1100Y
• Professor: Peter O

Document Summary

Hymn has emphasis on feminine experience: power of a mother, experiences of women. Exemplify feminine experience in classical greek world. Bond of demeter and persephone, window on relationship of mother and daughter. Historical roots of hermes: appears early in worship, name in linear b tablets (1400 bce, name origin. Unknown, maybe from stone heaps? probably not: well known god, well recognized, class tensions in the hymn. Functions of hermes: messenger/negotiator, guide, trickster, thief, technology and music. Lecture 4: abundance of all kinds (trade, theft, fertility, protector of ocks, busy, full of crafty intelligence. Monday, january 11, 2016: young god, usually bearded, handsome, travellers garb, winged shoes or hat, cloak, wand (caduceus, syrinx pipe (pan pipe, serpents might be pre-anthropomorphic depictions of hermes. Epithets of hermes: diacturos/angelos -> messenger, hodios -> of the road, poimandres -> people shepherd, psychopompos/psychogoge -> leader of souls, agoraeus -> of the market, dolios -> tricky, pylaios -> door keeper.