Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Classical Studies Faculty Research Classical Studies Department 2004 Singing Heroes: The Poetics of Hero Cult in the Heroikos Corinne Ondine Pache Trinity University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/class_faculty Part of the Classics Commons Repository Citation Pache, C.O. (2004). Singing heroes: The poetics of hero cult in the Heroikos. In E.B. Aitken & J.K.B. Maclean (Vol. Eds.), Writings From the Greco-Roman World: Vol. 6. Philostratus's Heroikos: Religion and cultural identity in the third century C.E. (pp. 3-24). Society of Biblical Literature. This Contribution to Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies Department at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Singing Heroes The Poetics of Hero:Cult in the Heroikos Corinne Ondine Pache "With rega rd to giants," replied Don Quixote, "there are different opinions as to whether they ever existed or not ... on the island of Sicily, shoulder-bones, arm-bones and leg bones have been found, the size of which shows that they belonged to giants as tall as towers: geometry puts this truth beyond all doubt." -Cervantes, Don Quixote' In this essay, I explore the poetic, emotional, and ritual dimensions of hero cult as presented in Philostratus's Heroikos.2 After a short digression on hero cult in the Greek period, I focus on the empha sis placed on the emotional bond between worshiper and hero, as well as the important role played by hymns and laments in the nar rative.