Becoming a Place: Speaking Landscapes in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo

Abstract

summary: The Homeric Hymn to Apollo features two of the earliest instances in Greek literature of speaking landscapes: the island of Delos and the spring Telphousa in Boeotia, both of which become cult sites for the god Apollo. By personifying these wild landscapes, the hymn allows for a reading in which the exploitation of the earth is called into question. Drawing on theoretical paradigms from ecocriticism, this article proposes an understanding of place in the hymn centered on concepts of negotiation, power, and care. Delos and Telphousa, along with the silent sites of Thebes and Onchestos, become recognized sacred places in the hymn through a complex process of negotiation between gods, humans, and the personified landscapes themselves.