Sun, Moon, and Cucumbers: The Eternal and the Ephemeral in Praxilla's Adonis

Abstract: This article argues that the juxtaposition of the sun, moon, and stars with ripe fruits in the extant fragment of Praxilla's Hymn to Adonis reflects the opposition in Archaic poetry between man's vegetal nature and the immortality of kleos aphthiton symbolized by eternal celestial bodies. The ripe fruits represent the short-lived youth and beauty celebrated by the female-oriented Adonis festival, while the celestial bodies represent the eternal fame closely bound up with adult warrior masculinity in epic and other genres. I suggest Praxilla uses this juxtaposition to critique the masculine poetic tradition's privileging of everlasting glory over transitory biological existence.