Homer’s toys? A critical examination of the semantic value of athyrma in ancient Greek culture

Abstract

«Trinkets», «knick-knacks», «toys», and «sandcastles» are among the most frequent modern translations of the Greek term athyrma in its Homeric occurrences. The noun, glossed by Greek and Byzantine grammarians as an archaic synonym for paignion («plaything»), has raised significant exegetical questions regarding its semantic value and the connotations it evokes in archaic Greek poetry. This study moves beyond the narrow scope of ‘one-to-one’ lexical equivalences with the term’s (para-)synonyms, offering instead a comprehensive analysis of the contexts in which the noun athyrma is used. In doing so, the study also engages with the etymological reflections provided by ancient Greek lexicographers and commentators on the Homeric text. Spanning a broad range of texts over an extended chronological period, from Sappho to Aelian, this research seeks to highlight a cultural representation of athyrma that departs from the interpretations suggested by modern translations. The analyses presented here suggest that the term athyrma belongs to a cultural and semiotic network more closely aligned with categories such as ‘marvellous artefact’, ‘precious object’, and ‘captivating spectacle’.