Homeric Hymnns

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Alberto Bernabé (Universidad Complutense)

Ed. by Vaios Liapis, Open University of Cyprus
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Domains

Literature Topic

Dates

Date of occurrence -800-500

Places

Ancient Greece (Location)

Genres and Modes

Religion and Spirituality (any)
- Hymn

Resources

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1. A collection of hymns ascribed to Homer

The Homeric Hymns are a collection of 34 poems, addressed to different gods, and transmitted through a consistent manuscript tradition (except for the first one, that has been partially preserved in only one manuscript). In Antiquity they were ascribed to Homer, but it is clear that they do not derive from the same writer as the author or authors of the Iliad and Odyssey. So the label “Homeric Hymns” is conventional, even though it is still used for reasons of convenience. In fact, with regard to the date and length of individual hymns, the collection is quite heterogeneous: the hymns come from different periods, ranging from the archaic age (8th century BC) to Hellenistic times; indeed, one of them, Hymn 8, is clearly Neoplatonic, introduced

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2892 words

Citation: Bernabé, Alberto. "Homeric Hymnns". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 November 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=17665, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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