The Homeric Hymns have long stood in the immense shadow of Homer and Hesiod. Yet they are delightful in their own right and our source for several of the most intriguing Greek myths.
Sowa illustrates how the Hymns belong to the oral poetic tradition, with its characteristic formulae, type scenes, and narrative themes that supply the plot structure. Themes, like formulae, entirely pervade the poems.
Sowa treats eight major themes that reflect the great mythic archetypes identified by Jung, Rank, and others. She traces how themes are made fresh to each context in which they occur.
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