9: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter Flashcards
who is the mother of persephone
Demeter
what is another name for persephone
Kore (means girl)
Describe the myth of abduction of Persephone (pt 1)
When Demeter is not present, Persephone picks flowers on the Nysian plain, the last flower she picks is Narcissus which Zeus asked Gaia to plant there as a lure for her. The earth splits and Hades snatches her in a four horse chariot, she screams. Demeter hears her scream and mourns and searches for her without nectar or bathing.
who witnesses persephone’s kidnapping what does he tell Demeter
Helios, he tells her what happened but also explains that it’s a good thing, since Hades is not bad to have as a son in law.
what are the etiologies in the homeric hymn to demeter
The female experience (mothers, daughters, and marriage), separation of humans and mortals (when demeter leaves to go to her temple she’s leaving human world), politics of olympus (fight for power between gods, demeter has to force zeus to recognize the legitimacy of her and her daughters relationship).
Describe the Eleusis myth
Demeter transforms herself into a old woman. Daughters of Keleos find her and bring her to the palace, where demeter accepts the task of taking care of baby Demophon. She makes demophon immortal she she lost her own immortal child persephone. He grows a lot, then she puts him in the fire to burn away the humanity from him so all that’s left is divinity. Queen Metaneira intervenes, sees him in the fire and is angry, then demeter gets mad at her for intervening and tells metaneira to build her a temple.
how does demeter make baby demophon immortal
By nursing him, annointing him with ambroisa, breathing on him.
Describe the abduction myth part 2 (Demeter’s mourning and return of Persephone)
Nothing grows when Demeter is mourning, humans starve and also don’t have anything to sacrifice for the gods. Gods don’t like that they aren’t getting sacrifices, so they turn to Zeus to tell him to fix it. iris (messenger) tells demeter to come back but Demeter refuses all divine visitors and entreaties. She just wants Persephone back . Eventually Zeus has Hermes intervene. Hades gives Persephone a pomegranate seed so she must spend a third of the year with Hades. Then Hades brings her back up from the underworld.
Who helps hades abduct Persephone
Zeus
What does the pomegranate seed signify
The end of Persephone’s childhood and innocence, she is now a wife, bound to hades. (She must spend a third of the year with hades).
What happens when Demeter is mourning
Nothing grows so humans starve and have nothing to sacrifice to the gods
What are Demeter and Persephone well know as
The two goddesses. They are so closely associated, they’re like a single unit.
What is the etiology in the abduction of Persephone myth
The seasons, when Persephone is gone nothing grows on earth. When she returns it’s like spring.
Marriage was what to men? women were considered..
An economic transaction between the woman’s father and the husband. they were considered property.
What’s the irony of goddesses especially Olympian goddesses having a fertility aspect to them
Many of them are not fruitful (don’t have children)
what are each of the goddesses: artemis, aphrodite, hera, demeter, hestia, and athena associated with
-Artemis (virginity)
-Aphrodite (desire)
-Hera (monogamy)
-demeter (fertility)
-hestia (the home)
-athena (female handiwork)
what are the eleustinian mysteries
Principle mystery cult, main cult of the two goddesses. Open to greek speakers only. Initiation as reenactment of the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.
what does initiatius mean
one who has gone in. (like initiated into cult, gone into cult)
what does telesterion mean
hall of initiation. (different from most temples, its not just for gods, for the people)
what does Hiera mean
sacred things.
who’s Triptolemus
founder of agriculture, demeter taught him how to farm.
