Journeying To The Underworld : Homeric Hymn To Demeter Flashcards
What epithets were used
‘Demeter with the lovely hair’
Persephone - ‘delicate-ankled daughter’
Zeus - ‘the loud thunderer’
Give the themes shown in the hymn (5)
1) Relationships between the gods
2) Relationships between gods and humans
3) Similarity between gods and humans, both experiencing emotions such as love, hate, loss
4) The impact of a god’s negative emotions upon humanity
5) Man’s power over the gods
What happens during lines 1 to 18
Persephone was distracted by the narcissus flower. Hades emerged from the earth and took her to his kingdom.
What happened during lines 19 to 39
Persephone cried out to her father, Helios and Hecate heard. Demeter heard her last cry
What happens in lines 40 to 89
Demeter wild in grief tore of her veil and sped off searching ‘like a bird of prey’. After nine days of searching Hecate told Demeter she had heard as well but didn’t know what happened so they both went Helios
What did Helios tell Demeter had happened
He told them Zeus had offered Persephone to Hades.
What happened during lines 90 to 104
Enraged, Demeter ‘abandoned the assembly of the gods’ and came to the earth in disguise as an old woman, taking refuge under a tree, mourning for her lost daughter.
What happened during lines 105 to 300
Demeter met a family and cared for their son. She fed it ambrosia making him immortal. She intended to wrap the child in fire to rid him of his mortal self but the mother stopped her. Annoyed, Demeter revealed her true self and demanded the Eleusis build her a temple from which she could teach them how to worship her correctly.
What happened during lines 301 to 334
The land began dying as nothing would grow. Zeus sent Iris to Demeter with gifts from all the Gods but Demeter told him only the return of her daughter will bring her back
What happened during lines 335 to 385
Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld to ask him to release Persephone. Hades agreed but before she let he told his wife that he will not be a ‘shameful husband’
What happened during lines 386 to 474
Persephone had came back to Demeter but realised that Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds which meant she would have to go back to the underworld for 1/3 of the year. Which would describe the reason why the seasons changed
What was the male head responsible for
He was responsible for arranging the marriages. Neither the mothers or daughters permission was required - marriage secured stronger family links
