In this episode, we start working our way through the collection of poems known as the Homeric Hymns. And since Hymn 1 is about Dionysos, we start with the three hymns dedicated to him. And the god we see in these hymns probably isn’t quite what you imagine when you think of the god of wine and theatre.
Discussion Prompts
- In the Shelmerdine translation of Hymn 7, Dionysos’s eyes are described as blue. This is interesting because the color blue took centuries to get a name, which is why ancient Greek literature regularly refers to the “wine-dark sea”. What color is used in your translation? What word do you think should be used? Why?
- If you were to describe Dionysos without knowing anything about him, how would you describe him? Now that you’ve read the Hymns to Dionysos, how has your description changed?
- Where do you think Dionysos was born? Why?
Triumvir Clio's School of Classical Civilization 