The Legacy of Aphrodite: Anchises' Offspring in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite has traditionally been understood to pay honour to a family of Aineiadai who once held power in the Troad, but in more recent years some scholars have rejected this view. This article first revisits this controversial issue, suggesting that concentrated attention paid in the hymn to the birth of Aineias and his lineage supports the position that the poem was composed for a group that identified itself with Aineias. It then goes on to consider the view that the Hymn to Aphrodite narrates the end of Aphrodite's mixing gods and mortals in love. It is argued that this reading is not required by the text of the poem.