Les Nymphes entre maternité et courotrophie dans les Hymnes homériques

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• Nymphs (greek deities)
• motherhood
• courotrophy
• nurse
• homeric hymns