Homeric Hymmn to Demeter

what is the Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter and what is the theme

Earliest Homeric Hymns and a myth in its own right

The death and rebirth of vegetation is the theme in Mid/ Near Eastern Greek Myth

About the abduction and rape of Persephone

How did Demeter react to her daughter’s abduction

She knew something bad happened so she takes two torches with her
She then saw Hecate who can transend all the realms
She said she heard her cry but does not know what happened so they went to Helios

He said tells them the story on how she was abducted and he claimed that Hades schemed with Zeus, Hermes, and Gaia and to hide it from Demeter
Demeter disgused herself as a woman named Doso and mourned (leads to another myth)

who is Hecate

Goddess of witch craft
helped Demeter find Persephone by accompanying her in her journey

who is Helios

Sun god
he helped Demeter find her daugther Persephone by telling them what happened

Was Persephone’s honor changed

Her time increased as she is not only a daughter of an important God but is also a wife of an important God

When Demeter was at the well who approached her and what did they do

Demeter went to Eleusis which is ruled by Keleus

Demeter met the children of Keleus and Mataneira when they were fetching for water
she told the daughters a fake story of being kidnapped by pirates and escaping from them
So the daughters wanted to help her and invited Demeter to their home
they told her she can work as a nurse for their son Demophon

Who are Keleus and Metaneira

Keleus is the King of Eleusis and his wife is Mataneira

How is the story of Demeter connected to Xenia

Demeter performed theoxenia and went to their home
they offered her a simple stool to sit on and also offered her wine but she refused
She asked for a Kykeon (barley water) instead

Did the family knew Demeter was a god in disguise

they know she is an aristocrat and is special due to her emitting an aura
They only know that she is mourning while sitting on the stool so Iambe tries to lighten her up making jokes

who is Iambe

one of Metaneira’s daughters

connected to an Iambic meter which is a form of poetry about jokes or insults

what did Demeter do to Demophon

She feeds him ambrosia and nectar (food of the gods) and sticks him into a fire

why does Demeter stick Demophon on fire and is there any simillar rituals like that

this is a ritual to burn his mortality and make him into a god

similar to Achilles where his mortality is burned away except his achilles and Dionysus who was burned and resurrected by Zeus

But Mataneira saw her ritual and freaked out, this caused Demeter to have Menis

how did Demeter punish Mataneira

She now forced the kingdom of Eleusis to have a temple for her; they are now force to worship her for eternity

She stopped the crops so people are starving

Why did the Gods interfere with Demeter’s punishment

without people to worhship or sacrifice food for Gods they are not getting their honor

So the Gods sent Iris to convince Demeter but she refused EVERY gods

This made them send Persephone back to overworld but she was tricked beforehand
Hades made Persephone eat a pomegranate seed so she has to come back

who convinced Demeter to come back to Mt. Olympus and what happened after

Rea (mother of the gods) convinced Demeter to come back and she will get more Time she wants
this was after Persephone is back

who is Iris

God of rainbow

is there a myth similar to Demeter’s return to Mt. Olympus

Hephaestus myth was similar except he did not gain Time but lost some due to his maltreatment
he was forced to be drunk (peasant activities) so he can be coerced to go in Mt/ Olympus

what is the significance of Hade’s trick to Persephone

This represents the cycle of the season

Whenever Persephone is in the underworld Demeter mourns and there will be no crops (winter)

Only when Persephone is back crops will grow again (summer and spring)
this goes on in a cycle
persephone lives in the underworld for a third of the year

what is a Parthenos and give an example

A virgin who does not fully transition into a woman
Ex. Persephone and a Korrei

what are some rituals that are dedicated to Persephone

In marriage they have a tradition where both newly wed ride on the chariot just like how Hades and Persephone were (this shows the transition to womanhood)
In this ritual it can also be seen as rebirth as both transitioned into adulthood
they also have rooster to ward off bad things Apotropaic

how did the Mysteries at Eleusis come about

Because of Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s visit to Eleusis
it’s a mystery cult that promises a blessed after life

how do you get initiated in the Mysteries at Eleusis

They are initiated by going to Athens to Eleusis, tell jokes like Iambe, cleanse themselves, drink kykeon, and then fire to burn immortality
After the ritual most people feel euphoric
people travel from Athens to Eleusis

who are some pepople mentioned in the Mysteries at Eleusis

Keleus recieves cult worship at Eleusis and mataneira does on the road side
Eumolpus a progenitor of the Eumolpids (priest)
Triptolemus- first noble who was taught of the mysteries (agriculture)

is Demeter’s myth an etiological myth for the season

No since the story follows other myths and does not refer to seasonal patterns
The famine story does not refer to any particular time even though Persephone returns in spring

explain Nickels Time Story Pattern

1. dishonour

2. Grief and Wrath

3. Devastation

4. Embassies

5. Return

what is dishonour in Time story pattern

the leader of the communtiy deprives protagonist for something/ one dear
ex. Hades taking Persephone

what is Grief and wrath in Time story pattern

because of these feelings the protagonist withdraws themselves from the community
ex. Demeter mourning for Persephone

what is Devastation in Time story pattern

with withdrawal of an important element of the community

ex. Demeter preventing crops from growing and causing famine

what is Embassies in Time story pattern

various characters attempt to bring the protagnist back but fail

ex. Every god convincing Demeter to stop the famine and go back to Mt. Olympus

what is Return in Time story pattern

because of reconciliation, there is an acceptance and restoration of the honor of the protagonist

ex. Persephone is forced back to the under world so Demeter accepts it; she also got more time when returning to Mt. Olympus

who is Bronislav Malinowski

student of Frazer and is the founder of functionalism w

what is functionalism

seek to describe the different parts of a society and their relationship through organic analogy

saw myth as a social charter

observed that there are close connections between myth and social institutions

what is a social charter

serves to justify why things are the way they are in society (to be just, right, or reasonable)

myth help explains a social function and helps to mediate the issues of the living

Myths always takes place in the past and it justifies the preesnt

what are some examples of a social charter

Foundation of Delphi (Apollo’s story of the miasma)

Myth that cannibalism is wrong and it gives miasma

ANY MIASMA myth

what was the Homeric Hymn 3 to Delian Apollo about

it was a poem honouring Apollo going up to Mt. Olympus
He was a new powerful God and that’s why when he entered Mt. Olympus everyone stood up and was trembling
They only stopped when Letana took his bow that they knew he means no harm

is there a similar myth with Delian Apollo

Athena’s birth was also similar
When she was born there was a massive earthquake and the cosmic trembled
It only stopped when she took off her armor which means she is not a threat

why is the Island Delos important

It was the birthplace of Apollo since Hera had prevented Leto to give birth to any land that the sun touches but Delos was floating island
Leto made a deal with the island that it will be a great island (Time) if he is born (she took an oath) and it became a sacred site for worshiping Apollo and was considered a major religious center in ancient Greece.

where was Apollo born

On Mt. Cythus on te island of Delos as every other place feared allowing leto to give birth to a powerful son on their land

why did Hera oppose Leto’s birth

Because Apollo was Zeus’ son
Hera forbid all lands that the sun touches to allow Leto to give birth
Hera tricked Aelithaia the Goddess of birth to not visit them which prolonged leto’s pregnancy only until the goddes of rainbow (Iris) went to Aelithaia to help leto

who is Aelithia

Goddess of birth

how is the birth of Apollo a social charter? are there any other terms

It justifies on why a small island like Delos has a major sanction to Apollo; it also explaines the cult centre on Delos
It’s also Xenia because Leto is a refugee and Delos let her in
There is a reciproaction with each other and it became a long lasting relationship

what are the Delia

people in the Cult centre in Delos

they do: boxing, dancing, and choral songs

Who is Europa

A princess
Simlarly to Persephone she was also abducted when picking flowers but this time it was Zeus
Zeus disguised himself as a white bull and wanted Europa to sit on his and when she did he carried her away in crete

did Zeus and Europa had kids

They had three sons: Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys

who is Agenor

Europa and Cadmus’ father
He sent this three sons Cilix, Phoenix, and Cadmus

who is Cadmus

Son of Agenor
was sent in a mission to go to Thebes to find his sister Europa

who is Minos

Son of Zeus and Europa
Was elected by Poseidon as King of Crete and asked for a bull from the sea as a sign

He was supposed to sacrifice this Bull but he did not listen so Poseidon made his wife Pasiphae to fall madly in love with the bull

Who is Pasiphae

Minos’ wife but is now in love with a bull
She went to an inventor (Daedalus) to make love with a bull (a suit)
Mother of Minotaur

what is a Minotaur

Son of Pasiphae
it is part human and bull
He is kept in a Labyrinth made by Daedalus to contain him and is known for devouring human sacrifices.

What is the Myth of Cadmus

A social charter on how they found Thebes

what did Apollo told Cadmus to do and what was the outcome?

Cadmus never found his sister and ended up at the Oracle of Delphi
The orcale told him to follow a cow until it lays down at Boeotia and sacrifice it
He told his men to get water from the spring but they never returned because there was as serpent in there
Cadmus battled the serpent

After Cadmus kills the serpent what happened to him

Cadmus threw a spear at the bottom of its neck and died
But Cadmus got Miasma since this seprent was a pytho that is sacred to Aries

what did Athena order Cadmus to do and what is the outcome

Athena ordered Cadmus to take the serpent’s teeth and sow it in half for Athena and the others to the ground
Warriors spawned in and Athena told Cadmus not to fight them
The warriors fought each other until there were 5 left

who are the Spartoi

warriors born from the teeth of the serpent that was sowed by Cadmus
Together all 5 of them and Cadmus founded Thebes