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In Greek mythology, the Lampads or Lampades (Ancient Greek: Λαμπάδες, from Ancient Greek: λαμπάς, romanizedlampás, lit.'torch')[1] are torch-bearing nymphs who follow the goddess Hecate.

Sources

According to a scholium on Homer's Iliad, the Lampades are among the types of nymphs mentioned by the lyric poet Alcman (fl. seventh century BC); the scholiast describes them as the nymphs "who carry torches and lights with Hecate",[2] a description which Timothy Gantz claims was probably a creation of the scholiast, rather than of Alcman or another writer.[3] According to Claude Calame, the scholium's connection of these nymphs with Hecate is likely related to the common association of the goddess with torches.[4]

In Greek hexameters from Selinus dating to the fourth century BC, there is mention of "goddesses, bright with torches",[5] which Sarah Iles Johnston interprets as referring to the Lampades, pointing to their attestation as torch-carrying goddesses, and their association with Hecate, who is mentioned immediately after these figures in the text.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Serafini, p. 14. On lampás, see LSJ λαμπάς.
  2. ^ Scholia minora on Homer's Iliad, 6.21 [= Alcman, fr. 63 Campbell, pp. 438, 439 = fr. 63 PMG (Page, p. 53)].
  3. ^ Gantz, p. 141.
  4. ^ Calame, p. 486. For a more detailed discussion of the Alcman fragment in the context of Hecate's association with torches, see Serafini, pp. 13–5.
  5. ^ Johnston, pp. 32; Jordan and Kotansky, p. 57. Jordan and Kotansky render the last word of the phrase as [λ]αμπάδας.
  6. ^ Johnston, pp. 32–3. Other scholars have provided differing interpretations: Jan Bremmer suggests identification with Demeter and Persephone, while Richard Janko points to Hecate and Persephone as possible candidates.

References