Last time we looked at food and drink for health and well-being. This time we look at less salubrious examples of eating and drinking, many of which have disastrous consequences. Kronos, having usurped his own father, did not want the same thing to happen to him. Rhea too, embraced by Kronos, bore renowned children, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera of-the-golden-sandals, 455 and mighty Hādēs, who inhabits halls beneath the earth, having… Read more
After the seasonal feasting of the holiday season, many of us start to think about healthier eating and drinking to start the new year. So in this post we share a selection of passages about food and drink related to health and nutrition.[1] From ancient times, humans seem to have established a link between food and well-being and health. Hippocrates has a whole section dedicated to “Nutriment” (De alimento)[2]. Many… Read more
At this time of year our thoughts often turn to food and drink, so we start our exploration of the topic in Homeric and Hesiodic poetry. Where does their food come from? What kinds of foods does the poetry represent? How is it prepared and served? There is evidence for herd animals being reared. For example, in the Odyssey Eumaios mentions the flocks on Ithaca and its neighbors: There are… Read more
As a complement to the post on the two shorter Homeric Hymns to Aphrodite, this time I wanted to look at the two short Homeric Hymns to Artemis, #9 and #27. Unlike those for Aphrodite, there is not a longer Hymn to Artemis. As before, I want to think about what kind of narrative or myth might have accompanied either of these Hymns, if we take them as prooemia, and… Read more
I was familiar with some of the longer Homeric Hymns, which are available in the Text Library in translations by Gregory Nagy[1], but I had not previously paid much attention to the shorter Homeric Hymns. Gregory Nagy, in “The Earliest Phases in the Reception of the Homeric Hymns,”[2] has explained that the setting for the Homeric Hymns were festivals; and that they started with a prooemium. He also points out… Read more