The word as an offering: a rhetorical and stylistic study of the Greek hymns and of the Greek and Indian hymnic tradition

Author(s)

José Marcos Mariani de Macedo

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2007-12-06

Examining board members

Paula da Cunha Correa; Jacyntho Jose Lins Brandao; Adriane da Silva Duarte; Daniel Kölligan; Flávio Ribeiro de Oliveira

• Advisor: Paula da Cunha Correa

Abstract

This work aims at analyzing some rhetorical and stylistic features of some Greek hymns from various periods. Taking them as a starting point, some hymns from the Rig Veda will be studied as well, in order to assess certain common characteristics of both hymnic traditions and their peculiarities. Based on the close reading of the hymns, the author tries to show the poet\'s formal strategy to praise the deity. The structure of each hymn is a main concern, as are the devices used by the poet to give voice to his praise. As for the Greek hymns, it will be described how the poet persuades the deity to come near and how he builds his work based on contrasting pairs. As for the Rigvedic hymns, it is suggested that some of them are organized around its middle section. The conclusion to be drawn is that in both traditions - in the Greek and the Indian one - the hymn is an offering that creates a bond of reciprocity between deity and his worshipper. The hymn itself is valued in the exchange by means of its stylistic and rhetorical quality. (AU)