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Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices

Includes abstract.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: De Castro, Paula
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Classical Studies 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author De Castro, Paula
author_browse De Castro, Paula
author_facet De Castro, Paula
author_sort De Castro, Paula
collection Thesis
description Includes abstract.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11855
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:41:41.185Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Classical Studies
publisherStr Classical Studies
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11855 Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices De Castro, Paula Classics Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-132). This dissertation broadly addresses divine childhood, with particular reference to the Homeric hymns. Included in the discussion is an overview of ancient Greek practices involving the subjects of birth, midwifery, timai, kyrioi, theft, parent-child relationships, maturation and the role of female children and women in society. In addition to the Homeric hymns a variety of other sources ranging from Homer to Apollodorus is drawn upon. The methodologies employed to analyse this diverse material are eclectic but a comparative approach has been particularly productive. The comparative nature of this dissertation has allowed special emphasis to be placed on the relation between the human and divine worlds. The anthropomorphic nature of the Greek gods clearly allowed the mortal poets to superimpose their own conventions onto the divine realm. In sum this dissertation considers the way social practices shape myth and are themselves perpetuated and sustained by myth. The tendency exhibited by the ancient Greeks to write about mythological happenings clearly allows them to explore alternative ways of life. These alternatives allowed them to explore in turn the consequences of subverting the norm (as seen in the figure of Pandora). Paradoxically, while playing with these alternative and subversive possibilities, the myths, which we assume were composed by men, succeed in reinforcing these norms (take for example the Odyssey’s Penelope who represents an idealised version of how a woman was supposed to conduct herself). 2015-01-10T06:38:17Z 2015-01-10T06:38:17Z 2009 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11855 eng application/pdf Classical Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Classics
De Castro, Paula
Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
title_full Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
title_fullStr Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
title_full_unstemmed Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
title_short Divine childhood : a study of selected Homeric hymns in relation to ancient Greek societal practices
title_sort divine childhood a study of selected homeric hymns in relation to ancient greek societal practices
topic Classics
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11855
work_keys_str_mv AT decastropaula divinechildhoodastudyofselectedhomerichymnsinrelationtoancientgreeksocietalpractices