Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 84-113

 hAp 84-113

84-91: Anchises marveled when he saw Aphrodite, at both her appearance, size, and her clothing; for she wore a shining robe, jewelry, and necklaces. She shone like the moon, a wonder to see. Desire took Anchises and he said:

92-106: "Hello Queen, whichever blessed one has come to my house: Artemis, Leto, Aphrodite, Themis, or Athena, or one of the Graces, the gods' friends, or one of the nymphs, who live in groves or who live on this mountain, and springs, and meadows. I will build you an altar on a lookout-place, in a visible spot, and I will perform sacrifices for you in all seasons. And you, benevolently, grant that I be distinguished among the Trojans, and later make me offspring, and grant that I live long and come prosperous to the threshold of old age."

107-115: Aphrodite replied: "Anchises, the most glorious of people, I am no god. Why do you compare me to immortal goddesses? Rather I am mortal, and my mother was a woman. My father's name is Otreus, who rules over all Phrygia. And I know both our languages." 

Great stuff. Terrific poem. Lots to think about:

  • Anchises' speech is pretty Trojan, in the way that the Iliad constructs Trojan-ness.
    • His wish that he be distinguished among the Trojans looks a lot like Hector's wish for his son (103: δός με μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ἀριπρεπέ᾽ ἔμμεναι ἄνδρα, vs. Il. 6.476-7: Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι / παῖδ᾽ ἐμὸν ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν,). Trojan princes want to be distinguished among the Trojans.
    • Anchises' claim that the nymphs inhabit this mountain (98: Νυμφῶν, αἳ καλὸν ὄρος τόδε ναιετάουσι) vaguely recalls Andromache's claim that mountain nymphs (νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες) planted the trees at her father's grave in Hypoplakian Thebe.
  • Love the glimpse of an ideal life: excellence in youth, children later, and a prosperous old age. Recalls Herodotus' definition of what is olbios in Hdt. 1 (Solon & Croesus)
  • The mortal/god stuff is fun too. There's less of a pretense here that Aphrodite is actually mortal than in the similar Nausicaa/Odysseus meeting: Odysseus claims to be unsure whether she's a goddess or not, whereas here Anchises is confident she is a goddess (accurately). And if she's not a goddess, how does she know Anchises' name?
  • The narrative also makes Anchises' belief more credible by having him name specific goddesses that are in the narrative: Aph and the Graces. 
  • I translate her "she shone like the moon" (ὡς δὲ σελήνη / στήθεσιν ἀμφ᾽ ἁπαλοῖσιν ἐλάμπετο) -- some issues here (some people prefer the jewelry be the subject of ἐλάμπετο or that the verb is impersonal. Feels like she could be the subject.
  • The idea of building an altar on a high, visible location reminds me of all the little chapels that dot the summits of Greece's mountains today. e.g. the one on top of Lycabettus in Athens (must be better examples)

  • The only surviving pagan monument I can think of at that’s clearly meant to be visible at the top of a hill is the Philopappus monument on the hill of the Muses


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