Analysis of The Bath of Pallas
Plot
While Athena is arriving for a bath, the speaker begins his praise of her. As part of his praise, the story of the blinding of Tiresias is told and compared to the story of Actaeon’s death.
-The Story of Tiresias
At noon, Chariclo, Athena’s favorite nymph and mother of Tiresias, and Athena were bathing on Helicon. Suddenly, Tiresias came running and unfortunately saw the naked Goddess. By the “laws of Cronius [Zeus],” Athena blinded Tiresias, which in turn grieved Chariclo. However in exchange of being blinded, Tiresias was granted the abilities of a seer, fame, and longevity. [1]
Praise for Athena
The main reason of this speech was to act as an encomium of Helen. It is to be noted that every time an aspect of Athena is sung, a story of such quality is told. Perhaps this is a way for Callimachus and the speaker to demonstrate just how much they know about Athena and display their faithfulness.
-Beauty
The first quality praised by the speaker is the beauty of Athena and her confidence in it. In this case the speaker narrates the story of the “beauty pageant” between Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. The readers are told that while Aphrodite spent enormous time grooming herself, Athena was confident enough to simply anoint herself after “running twice sixty double courses” and still look stunning [2]. In this case, Athena’s beauty is superior to Aphrodite’s, because Athena’s beauty does not possess vanity.
-Authority and Power
Athena’s physical prowess is clearly described when she was named “Sacker of Cities, golden helmeted, who rejoicest in the din of horses and shields”.[3] Her divine status was depicted when the entire city was instructed to refrain from tampering with the bath water, and “whoso shall behold Pallas, keeper of cities, naked, shall look on Argos for the last time”.[4]
-Benevolence and Companionship
The benevolence and companionship of Athena is told through the story of the blinding of Tiresias. In the story, the readers are told that Athena blinded Tiresias the instant she saw her because of the “laws of Cronius”.[5] However, understanding that Tiresias had “a thirst beyond telling” and never actually meant to see her nude, she does not take pleasure in snatching “away the eyes of children.[6] The sense of justice and companionship for the grieving Chariclo transformed into benevolence, and Athena granted great abilities to Tiresias in compensation. He will gain incredible fates and powers that will keep him on the lips of men forever--a pair of eyes in exchange does not sound like a bad trade does it?
To make Athena appear even better, Tiresias’ situation was compared to the future story of Actaeon, who will be transformed into a stag and shredded by his dogs when his eyes fell upon the nude Artemis.[7] Actaeon surely will like to have the same trade instead of death by his dogs. This greatly enhances the image of Athena’s benevolence, as if one compares her to Artemis, one can see that Athena is much better. Also, it is to be noted that Actaeon is a companion Artemis while Tiresias is the son of Chariclo.[8] Technically speaking, Actaeon is closer to Artemis compared to Tiresias is to Athena, but Actaeon’s companionship did not save him while Chariclo’s companionship saved Tiresias. This again heightens the image of Athena.
While Athena is arriving for a bath, the speaker begins his praise of her. As part of his praise, the story of the blinding of Tiresias is told and compared to the story of Actaeon’s death.
-The Story of Tiresias
At noon, Chariclo, Athena’s favorite nymph and mother of Tiresias, and Athena were bathing on Helicon. Suddenly, Tiresias came running and unfortunately saw the naked Goddess. By the “laws of Cronius [Zeus],” Athena blinded Tiresias, which in turn grieved Chariclo. However in exchange of being blinded, Tiresias was granted the abilities of a seer, fame, and longevity. [1]
Praise for Athena
The main reason of this speech was to act as an encomium of Helen. It is to be noted that every time an aspect of Athena is sung, a story of such quality is told. Perhaps this is a way for Callimachus and the speaker to demonstrate just how much they know about Athena and display their faithfulness.
-Beauty
The first quality praised by the speaker is the beauty of Athena and her confidence in it. In this case the speaker narrates the story of the “beauty pageant” between Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. The readers are told that while Aphrodite spent enormous time grooming herself, Athena was confident enough to simply anoint herself after “running twice sixty double courses” and still look stunning [2]. In this case, Athena’s beauty is superior to Aphrodite’s, because Athena’s beauty does not possess vanity.
-Authority and Power
Athena’s physical prowess is clearly described when she was named “Sacker of Cities, golden helmeted, who rejoicest in the din of horses and shields”.[3] Her divine status was depicted when the entire city was instructed to refrain from tampering with the bath water, and “whoso shall behold Pallas, keeper of cities, naked, shall look on Argos for the last time”.[4]
-Benevolence and Companionship
The benevolence and companionship of Athena is told through the story of the blinding of Tiresias. In the story, the readers are told that Athena blinded Tiresias the instant she saw her because of the “laws of Cronius”.[5] However, understanding that Tiresias had “a thirst beyond telling” and never actually meant to see her nude, she does not take pleasure in snatching “away the eyes of children.[6] The sense of justice and companionship for the grieving Chariclo transformed into benevolence, and Athena granted great abilities to Tiresias in compensation. He will gain incredible fates and powers that will keep him on the lips of men forever--a pair of eyes in exchange does not sound like a bad trade does it?
To make Athena appear even better, Tiresias’ situation was compared to the future story of Actaeon, who will be transformed into a stag and shredded by his dogs when his eyes fell upon the nude Artemis.[7] Actaeon surely will like to have the same trade instead of death by his dogs. This greatly enhances the image of Athena’s benevolence, as if one compares her to Artemis, one can see that Athena is much better. Also, it is to be noted that Actaeon is a companion Artemis while Tiresias is the son of Chariclo.[8] Technically speaking, Actaeon is closer to Artemis compared to Tiresias is to Athena, but Actaeon’s companionship did not save him while Chariclo’s companionship saved Tiresias. This again heightens the image of Athena.
[1] Callimachus. "Hymns of Callimachus."Classical E-Text. Trans. A. W. Mair. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.