Homeric hymn to Demeter (2004)

Demeter I begin to sing, the fair-tressed awesome goddess, 1

herself and her slim-ankled daughter whom Aidoneus

seized; Zeus, heavy-thundering and mighty-voiced, gave her,

without the consent of Demeter of the bright fruit and golden

sword,

as she played with the deep-breasted daughters of Ocean,

plucking flowers in the lush meadow–roses, crocuses, 5

and lovely violets, irises and hyacinth.....

- Homer (Translated by Helene P. Foley)

The Orphic and Homeric Hymns to Demeter came from either Attica or Eleusis, and date back to the 7th century BC (circa 660). We cannot determine the date with accuracy, and these works are not attributed to Homer himself but to the Homeric School. They were religious hymns, sung by the mystics in the rituals of the Eleusinian mysteries, which were collective religious rituals, devoted to goddess Demeter, aiming to “cleanse the soul”.

From the first animistic–pagan rituals to the primitive goddess of nature, birth and fertility, to the later Eleusinian mysteries, these rites have a strongly purifying character. What is aimed for, through these rites, is cleansing–salvation, and the pursuit of answers to eternal questions.

Just as, through myth and religious rites, the process of remodelling–transformation is so profound and purifying, artistic creation is similarly liberating and redemptive.

Besides, as Catherine Clément puts it, “the spiritual quest is such a difficult process, that it needs myth to tell it” (Catherine Clément και Julia Kristeva, Tο Θήλυ και το Iερό, 2001).

With myth as the main tool, with the total absence of the figure, and with the observation of nature always being the starting point, there begins the examination and the pursuit of remodelling–transformation.

The “materialisation” of language–logos, with the direct use of the hymn to Demeter, is precisely what refers us to the material hypostasis of nature. Language, and its traditional communicative use, is given a physical substance in the work, in order to render the image of nature. At the same time, the traditional division between nature as the feminine principle, and logos as the male principle, is questioned and undermined.

In the process of pursuing answers and artistic expression, age-old and traditional engraving techniques such as woodcut, dry-point and relief engraving, meet modern means and technologically advanced methods, such as silkscreen and Plexiglas, in an attempt to transfer, in the gallery space, an impression–“sensation” of natural landscape and a place of germinating Spring.

An installation in space, with printed engravings in on-going repetition. The transparency of the material allows light to diffuse through the prints. Works hanging on the walls in constant repetition cover the entire space, reminding one also of the inherent capability of engraving to reproduce itself in copies.

Text by: Evgenia Vasiloude

Appendix: Orphic Hymn

TO ELEUSINIAN DEMETER,

Incense-storax

(Translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis)

Deo, divine mother of all, goddess of many names,

august Demeter, nurturer of youths and giver of prosperity

and wealth. You nourish the ears of corn, O giver of all,

and you delight in peace and in toilsome labor.

Present at sowing, heaping and threshing, O spirit of the unripe 5

fruit,

you dwell in the sacred valley of Eleusis.

Charming and lovely, you give sustenance to all mortals,

and you were the first to yoke the ploughing ox

and to send up from below a rich and lovely harvest for mortals.

Through you there is growth and blooming, O illustrious companion 10

of Bromios

and, torch-bearing and pure one, you delight in the summer’s yield.

From beneath the earth you appear and to all you are gentle,

O holy and youth-nurturing lover of children and of fair offspring,

You yoke your chariot to bridled dragons,

and round your throne you whirl and howl in ecstasy. 15

Only daughter with many children and many powers over mortals,

you manifest your myriad faces to the variety of flowers and sacred

blossoms;

come, blessed and pure one, and laden with the fruits of summer,

bring peace together with the welcome rule of law,

riches, too, and prosperity, and health that governs all. 20

Hymn to Demeter

(Homeric Hymns)

I begin to sing of rich-haired, modest goddess, Demeter,

of her and her most-fair daughter Persephone,

Hail goddess and save this town, and guide my song.