The Division of Honors and Journeying Among the Gods 
 
        In this midterm essay I will discuss why Gods Journey. I 
believe that Gods journey for two reasons.  One reason is to seek 
out honor for themselves.   The other reason is to regain honors 
they have lost.  To demonstrate this I will first discuss the  
journeys of Hades in the Homeric hymn "To Demeter" comparing it 
to the journey of Hermes in "To Hermes".  I fell that both of 
these companion journeys were attempts by these Gods to win 
honors they did not already have.  Next I will look at the 
companion journeys of Demeter and Apollo.  I think that both of 
these Gods journeyed to regain honors they'd previously had, but 
lost.  Lastly I will conclude by showing how all four Gods had to 
compromise and divide up the honors amongst themselves.  "Earth 
with its wide roads gaped and then over the Nysian field the lord 
and 
        All   receiver, the many named son of Kronos, sprang out 
upon her with his immortal  horses...Not an unseemly bridegroom 
among the immortals is Aidoneus, Lord   on Many, your own brother 
from the same seed;  to his share fell honor when in   the 
beginning a triple division was made, and he dwells among those 
over   whom his lot made him lord"  (To Demeter 16-18, 83-87). I 
think that these two sets of lines show that Hades viewed 
Persephone as a prize.  Honor was one of the things Hades won 
when he, Zeus, and Poseidon divided up the world.  Thus Hades 
felt justified in journeying up from the underworld to earth to 
claim Persephone as his bride.  I feel that he felt he 
deserved to have her, according to his logic, because honor was 
something he was entitled to as a God. 
        I feel that Hermes journey was similar to that of Hades in 
that he traveled in order to win honor for himself and for his 
Mother Maia.  "A watcher by night and a gate keeper, soon 
destined to show forth glorious deeds among the immortal gods.  
Born at dawn, by midday he played his lyre, and at evening he 
stole the cattle of far shooting Apollon...But I shall be master   
of whatever skill is best to provide for you and me forever; we 
shall not suffer, as  you bid me, to stay right here and be the 
only two immortals not plied with gifts   and prayers.  It is 
better to be forever in the gods' intimate circle, rich, 
affluent,   and with an abundance of grain, than to sit in this 
dark cave; and as for honor, I,   too, shall claim the rite of 
which Apollon is a master"  (To Hermes 15-18, 166-  173). Hermes 
much like Hades was destined to achieve glorious deeds and win 
honor.  He felt he was entitled to steal Apollo's cattle, just as 
Hades felt entitled to steal Persephone, because neither he nor 
Maia were receiving their just honors from the Gods.  I think 
that honor is one of the most important and significant things 
among the Gods.  It is truly the one area in which Gods are able 
to distinguish themselves from other gods.  I think that both of 
these Gods risked earning the wrath of other Gods because honor 
was so important to them, and they felt they were lacking of 
such. 
         Both of these journeys represent one of the key reasons why 
I feel that Gods travel.  Both of these Gods were not receiving 
the honors that they felt they deserved as Gods.  Furthermore 
both of them lived in isolated places, Hades in the underworld 
and Hermes in an isolated cave, away from the other gods who 
lived on MT. Olympus.  Thus these Gods could easily be forgotten 
and dismissed by the people, and the other Gods.  I think that 
Hermes wanted to own something so people would honor him and his 
mother in the same fashion they honored the other Gods on Mt. 
Olympus.  I feel that Hades wanted someone whom he could claim  
as a bride to keep him company in his rule of the underworld 
isolated away from the other Gods. 
        While both of these Gods were able to temporarily steal away 
these honors for themselves, they had to take them from other 
Gods.  Once these other Gods found out about their thievery they 
responded in kind with a journey of their own to reclaim honors 
which had been there's before and which they felt should still 
rightfully be theirs.  "For nine days then all over the earth 
mighty Deo roamed about with bright   torches in her hands, and 
in her sorrow never tasted ambrosia or nectar sweet   to 
drink,and never bathed her skin... Afterwards, angered with 
Kronion, lord of   black clouds, she withdrew from the assembly 
of the gods and from lofty Olympos and went through the cities of 
men and the wealth of their labors, tearing at her hair form for 
a long time"  (To Demeter 47-50, 91-94); Demeter was so 
distraught over the rape of Persephone that she roamed the Earth 
for nine days seeking out her daughter.  While the loss of 
Persephone was perhaps not a loss of honor to her in the same way 
the stealing Persephone was an 'honor' to Hades, Demeter still 
felt dishonored and offended that her daughter was taken away 
from her.  When she found out what had happened she walked among 
the people from village to village until she finally came upon 
the home of Keleos.  There Demeter agreed to serve as the birth 
mother of Demephoon.  I feel that Demeter's journey that brought 
her to Demephoon was her way of attempting to win back the honor 
that was taken from her in the form of Persephone.  Demeter used 
Demephoon as a substitute and cared for him in place of 
Persephone.  Apollo goes on a similar journey once he finds out 
that his cattle have been stolen.  "And then he saw a long winged 
bird and knew forthwith that the robber was the  son of Zeus 
Kronion.  And Apollon, son of Zeus, speedily rushed to holy Pylos 
in  search of his shambling cows, his broad shoulders enveloped 
in a purple   cloud... Son of Leto, are not these harsh words you 
have spoken? 
 And here you're in search of roving cattle?  I have neither 
seen, nor found out, nor heard  another man's word; and I will 
neither tell, nor get the reward for telling (To   Hermes 213-
217, 261-264). 
        Apollo is initially thwarted in his efforts to recover what 
has been taken from him just as Demeter was.  He listens to and 
old man and finally finds Hermes, yet Hermes lies to him and 
refuses to tell him where his cattle are hidden because he knows 
that he will receive no prize if he does so.  In these situations 
both Apollo and Demeter are thwarted in their initial efforts to 
recover their lost honors.  Demeter does find a temporary 
replacement in Demephoon, but that ends when Meteneira catches 
her placing Demephoon in the fire and Demeter's secret is 
revealed.  This leaves two Gods, Demeter and Apollo, unsatisfied 
with their stolen honors and two Gods, Hades and Hermes, 
thoroughly satisfied that they have been able to pull off their 
great thievery.  I feel that since Gods journey to earn or win 
back honors and to divide them up amongst themselves clearly this 
unequal situation cannot exist in perpetuity.  In both cases Zeus 
the Ruler of all is called upon to rectify the situation and help 
work out some type of balance of power between the warring Gods. 
         "So then again the father sent forth all the blessed 
immortal gods.  They ran to   her, and each in his turn summoned 
her and gave her many beautiful gifts and   whatever honors she 
might want to choose among the immortals.  But no one   could 
persuade the mind and thought of the angry goddess who stubbornly   
spurned their offers.  She said she would never set foot on 
fragrant Olympos and never allow the grain in the earth to sprout 
forth so when loud thundering,far seeing Zeus heard this he sent 
Argeiphontes of the golden want to Erebos. His mission was to win 
Hades over with gentle words, and bring Persephone out of the 
misty darkness"  (To Demeter 325-337). In this case Zeus was 
forced to recall Persephone from Hades in order to placate 
Demeter.  However since Persephone had eaten a pomengrate seed 
she was sentenced to live two thirds of the year with Demeter and 
one third of the year with Hades.  This division of the honor of 
having Persephone between Hades and Demeter was a result of the 
journeys that both of them took.  The journeys of Apollo and 
Hermes resulted in a similar arrangement and division of honors. 
 "For, noble and mighty as you are, O son of Zeus, your seat is 
first among the immortals, and wise Zeus loves you, by every 
sacred right, and has granted you  splendid gifts. And they say, 
O Far Shooter, that from Zeus and his divine voice you learn the 
honors, the prophet's skills, and all god given relevations.  I 
myself  have learned that you have all these in abundance.  You 
may choose to learn   whatever you desire, but since you heart is 
so eager to play the lyre, sing and   play the lyre and minister 
to gay festivities, receiving this skill from me and, friend, 
grant me glory" (To Hermes 468-477). 
        Thus both Apollo and Hermes wind up with something to gain 
from their journeys.  Hermes gains the fame and glory that he 
sought both among the Gods and among the men on Earth while 
Apollo was given back his cattle and the ability to play the lyre 
as well.  
        These hymns I feel both have the same truths within them.  
Gods travel as a way to gain honor, either new or lost.  Honor 
however is a fungible thing, there can only be so much of it to 
go around.  Thus Gods ultimately journey as a way of dividing up 
that honor so that every God has some, but no one God has it all. 
 
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