Who is who
Characters:
Theme: Mythology
Competencies
Competence in Linguistic Communication
Personal, social and learning to learn competence
Competence in cultural awareness and expressions
Subjects and year by Educational System
Spain > Classical culture > 1st ESO > Continuity of cultural heritage. Mythology and religion
Enunciation
Telesila of Argos was a lyric poet from 510 BC who created the telesileo verse. She led the Battle of Sepea against Cleomenes I, saving the city of Argos. She vindicated the equality and public participation of the women of the city of Argos and gave rise to the Hibristic Festivals.
1- Read the text and underline the attributes and adjectives associated with the deities Hera and Zeus.
Combat between Hera and Zeus (fragment)
Hymn to the mother of the gods (PMG 935)
[…] Goddesses,
Come down from heaven
and sing with me a hymn
to the Mother of the Gods:
how she came wandering
over the hills and vales,
trailing her hair in the <dirt>,
distraught in her senses.
Zeus the king observed her
_the Mother of the Gods_
aimed his thunderbolt and
made to take her drums,
he split rocks in two and_
made to take her drums.
«Mother, be off to the gods!
Don’t wander over the hills
in case the keen-eyed lions
or grey wolves [catch] you…»
And: «…I won’t go off
unless I receive my share:
a half of the sky above
and a half of [my own] earth
and a share of ocean too.
Only then will I depart».
Hail! Great Queen!
Mother of all Olympus!
Furley William. «The Epidaurian Hymn for the Mother of the Gods». In: Hymnes de la Grèce antique: approches littéraires et historiques. Actes du colloque international de Lyon, 19-21 juin 2008. Lyon: Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2013. pp. 233-251. (Collection de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen ancien. Série littéraire et philosophique, 50) (retrieved on 08/06/2023) <www.persee.fr/doc/mom_0151-7015_2013_act_50_1_3345>
2- Answer:
a- To what divinity does half of the sky refer?
b- What god is linked to the dominion of the earth, understanding this by the subsoil?
c- Which divinity has its realm of power associated with the sea?
Observations and context
As a lyrical poetess and creator of the telesileo verse and combatant leader against Cleomenes I in the Battle of Sepea, she claimed equality and public participation of women in the city of Argos.
The figure and work of Telesilla links with the female members of the lyrical movement of Continental Greece: Mirtis, Praxilla of Sicyon, Corinna of Tanagra, Erinna of Telos, Anyte, Sappho of Lesbos, Mero and Nossis.
Description
Based on the fragment attributed to Telesilla about the combat between Hera and Zeus, we will search the text for the attributes of each divinity.