Download or read book The Homeric Hymn to Hermes written by Oliver Thomas and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Homeric Hymn to Hermes is the longest surviving hymn from ancient Greece, our fullest source for the god Hermes, and an entertaining narrative of theft, invention, cheekiness, and learning to get along. This study contains a new text of the poem, based on advances in our understanding of its transmission, and a commentary which brings together a range of methodologies to address points of linguistic difficulty, poetic technique, and cultural background. The introduction discusses the possible context for the first performance of the hymn, and makes an original argument about the hymnist's remarkable approach to praise and to the epic tradition. This book will therefore be an essential point of reference for students and scholars interested not only in the Hymn to Hermes but in Greek literature and religion.