Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques

The study of four Homeric hymns reveals some versatility of Nymphs with regard to their maternal and courotrophic functions. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Maia is both a mother and a nurse, combining biological and social motherhood. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite offers the first occurrence of nurs...

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Main Author: Sébastien Dalmon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Anthropologie et Histoire des Mondes Antiques 2015-01-01
Series:Cahiers Mondes Anciens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/1471
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author Sébastien Dalmon
author_facet Sébastien Dalmon
author_sort Sébastien Dalmon
collection DOAJ
description The study of four Homeric hymns reveals some versatility of Nymphs with regard to their maternal and courotrophic functions. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Maia is both a mother and a nurse, combining biological and social motherhood. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite offers the first occurrence of nursing Nymphs, but one of the Idaean Nymphs is supposed to be Aeneas’ mother, as the role of Aphrodite remains concealed. The courotrophic function is also attested in the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus, but Nymphs continue to follow the god after raising him, taking part in his thiasos. Finally, the Homeric Hymn to Pan shows an example of biological motherhood without social motherhood, the young mother rejecting her child. Despite the variety of these different roles of mother and nurse, there is some constancy in the mode of action of the Nymphs, which seems to be characterized by a form of care in hiding, making these deities mediating entities protecting the transition between two statuses, from childhood to adulthood.
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spelling doaj-art-d2d7bb03814d40be99beef669ce382732025-08-20T02:02:32ZengAnthropologie et Histoire des Mondes AntiquesCahiers Mondes Anciens2107-01992015-01-01610.4000/mondesanciens.1471Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériquesSébastien DalmonThe study of four Homeric hymns reveals some versatility of Nymphs with regard to their maternal and courotrophic functions. In the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Maia is both a mother and a nurse, combining biological and social motherhood. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite offers the first occurrence of nursing Nymphs, but one of the Idaean Nymphs is supposed to be Aeneas’ mother, as the role of Aphrodite remains concealed. The courotrophic function is also attested in the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus, but Nymphs continue to follow the god after raising him, taking part in his thiasos. Finally, the Homeric Hymn to Pan shows an example of biological motherhood without social motherhood, the young mother rejecting her child. Despite the variety of these different roles of mother and nurse, there is some constancy in the mode of action of the Nymphs, which seems to be characterized by a form of care in hiding, making these deities mediating entities protecting the transition between two statuses, from childhood to adulthood.https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/1471motherhoodnurseNymphs (greek deities)courotrophyhomeric hymns
spellingShingle Sébastien Dalmon
Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
Cahiers Mondes Anciens
motherhood
nurse
Nymphs (greek deities)
courotrophy
homeric hymns
title Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
title_full Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
title_fullStr Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
title_full_unstemmed Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
title_short Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques
title_sort les nymphes entre maternite et courotrophie dans les hymnes homeriques
topic motherhood
nurse
Nymphs (greek deities)
courotrophy
homeric hymns
url https://journals.openedition.org/mondesanciens/1471
work_keys_str_mv AT sebastiendalmon lesnymphesentrematerniteetcourotrophiedansleshymneshomeriques