Pourquoi Hespéros ? Considérations sur les vers 7 à 17 de l’Hymne à Déméter de Callimaque

Abstract

Why Hesperos ? Considerations on verses 7-17 of Callimachus’ Hymn to Demeter – Callimachus is the only author of ancient literature to make Hesperos Demeter’s host during Demeter’s search for her kidnapped daughter, and this represents an important role for such a minor deity. This unusual intervention is obviously referring to an element external to the poem, but which one ? A little known ritual ? A literary allusion to a lost work ? This article seeks to demonstrate that, in fact, Callimachus, in this brief passage, had skilfully manipulated the tradition to lead the goddess to Libya, the birthplace of the poet, and to link her fate with that of the Ptolemaic dynasty.