CHANGING THE SELF AND THE WORLD. THE HOMERIC HYMNS AS PATTERNS OF TRANSFORMATION AND PROGRESS

Abstract

The Homeric Hymns represent the gods in a crucial and decisive moment of change in their lives, which also instigates a cosmic development. The Hymn to Demeter is built on the concept of crisis, which can be considered the first stage of progress. In the Hymn to Aphrodite, personal experience is a necessary instrument of change. The Hymn to Apollo portrays the birth of the god as a crucial cosmic innovation which generates conservative resistance in the world. Finally, the story recounted in the Hymn to Hermes is a metaphoric representation of the institution of technique and social life.