Publisher:
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom
IntroductIon -- Dating the Hymn to Hermes -- Locating the Hymn to Hermes -- Generating charis -- Influence on Later Texts -- The Manuscript Tradition and This Edition -- Sigla -- Text and translation -- Commentary "The Hymn to Hermes was composed by...
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IntroductIon -- Dating the Hymn to Hermes -- Locating the Hymn to Hermes -- Generating charis -- Influence on Later Texts -- The Manuscript Tradition and This Edition -- Sigla -- Text and translation -- Commentary "The Hymn to Hermes was composed by an unknown poet whose virtuoso deployment of formulaic traditions shows that he was a rhapsode - one of the highly trained and emotive live performers of epic (both new and, increasingly, canonical) in ancient Greece.1 He may well have performed his composition multiple times in different forms. However, as it is transmitted (see below, 5.1), we have evidence only for minor, localized rephrasing, and not for major recasting of the story. Hence we can consider our text to derive in its essence from one act of transcription, and to analyse when and for what circumstances the transcribed poem might have been designed. I examine the date in this section, and the circumstances in the next"--
The Homeric Hymn to Hermes is the longest surviving hymn from ancient Greece, our fullest source for the god Hermes, and an entertaining narrative of theft, invention, cheekiness, and learning to get along. This study contains a new text of the poem,...
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The Homeric Hymn to Hermes is the longest surviving hymn from ancient Greece, our fullest source for the god Hermes, and an entertaining narrative of theft, invention, cheekiness, and learning to get along. This study contains a new text of the poem, based on advances in our understanding of its transmission, and a commentary which brings together a range of methodologies to address points of linguistic difficulty, poetic technique, and cultural background. The introduction discusses the possible context for the first performance of the hymn, and makes an original argument about the hymnist's remarkable approach to praise and to the epic tradition. This book will therefore be an essential point of reference for students and scholars interested not only in the Hymn to Hermes but in Greek literature and religion
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 29 Jun 2020)
IntroductIon -- Dating the Hymn to Hermes -- Locating the Hymn to Hermes -- Generating charis -- Influence on Later Texts -- The Manuscript Tradition and This Edition -- Sigla -- Text and translation -- Commentary
