Annotation of Corrina selection 1

“…the Kouretes¹

hid the goddess’s holy

infant in a cave, unbeknownst

to Kronos² of the crooked counsels,

when blessed Rhea³ stole him

and from the immortals won                                   

great honor.”⁴ That was what he sang;

and the Muses⁵ at once directed

the blessed ones⁶ to drop their secret

voting pebbles into the urns

of gleaming gold.⁷They all rose up together,

and Kithairon⁸ won the larger number;

and Hermes⁹ speedily declared,

shouting, that he had won the victory

which he desired, and with garlands…

…he was adorned

by the blessed ones; and his mind rejoiced.

But Helikon¹⁰, in the grip

of cruel torments

tore out a bare rock,

shaking the mountain, and groaning

pitiably he dashed it from on high

into the innumerable stones¹¹…

1. Kouretes: Semi-divine spirits assigned by Rhea to protect the infant Zeus in a cave. They are gods of the wild mountainside. They covered up Zeus’ cries by dancing loudly. http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Kouretes.html.
2. Kronos: The Titan god of time, and Zeus’ father. Tried to eat Zeus because a prophecy foretold that he would be overthrown by his son. http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html.
3. Rhea: Mother of the gods and the wife of Kronos. She is the goddess of motherhood, fertility, and generation. She saved Zeus from Kronos by hiding him. http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisRhea.html.
4. The other gods were thankful that the Kouretes protected Zeus, because he eventually did overthrow Kronos. http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKronos.html.
5. Muses: goddesses of music, song, dance, poetry and knowledge. http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Mousai.html.
6. The blessed ones: the other Olympian gods. They are judges in the singing contest. From Greek Lyric byAndrew M. Miller
7. The Greeks used pebbles and urns to cast votes. Pebbles would be deposited into the urns to mark a vote, and then counted. Whoever received the most votes won. http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/voting-with-the-ancient-greeks/
8. Kithairon: A mountain in Boiotia in Central Greece. Here Kithairon won the singing competition that was happening. Kithairon possibly was a king before he was turned into a mountain. http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/OrosKithairon.html,  Greek Lyric by Andrew M. Miller, and The Woman and the Lyre: Women Writers in Classical Greece and Rome by Jane McIntosh Snyder, pg 47 (on google books).
9. Hermes: God of animal husbandry, roads, travel, among other things. He is also the messenger and Herald of Zeus. Here, his association with speed is being used to convey that the results of the contest were determined quickly and decisively. Perhaps antagonizing Helicon more. Women Poets in Ancient Greece and Rome edited by Ellen Greene pg 54 (google books). http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html
10. Helikon: Another mountain in Boiotia. In mythology, it is a favorite place of the muses. Helikon, also, was a king before he was turned into a mountain. The Woman and the Lyre: Women Writers in Classical Greece and Rome by Jane McIntosh Snyder, pg 47 (on google books).
11. Upset about losing the singing competition, Helikon pulls of a chunk of rock from himself and breaks it into many little pieces. The Woman and the Lyre: Women Writers in Classical Greece and Rome by Jane McIntosh Snyder, pg 47 (on google books).