Abstract:
In this study I employ a literary approach to analyze the poet’s presentation of Demeter
and Aphrodite as divine representatives of gender paradigm in the Homeric Hymns to Demeter and Aphrodite. To begin, the notion of gender roles in the Hymns must be limited to a qualitative set: they are not static prescriptions but are rather performances that convey the nature, limits, and essential elements of specific social identities. The poet of the Hymns presents Demeter and Aphrodite as superlative performers in their particular gender roles. The narratives of the Hymn to Demeter and the Hymn to Aphrodite shows a transformation of the identities of the mother and the bride from a state of disorder, chaos, or misunderstanding into the fullest and most appropriate expression of power. These transformations ultimately depict the gods as paradigms for idealized performance in each social role and in so doing, the narrative in the Hymns accomplishes two functions: the provision of social exempla and exaltation of the hymned subject. This interpretation allows for a broader understanding of these two Homeric Hymns: each narrates a gender paradigm as performed by the divine representatives of Demeter and Aphrodite.
