AboutTed Nesbitt Expertise I have an interest in the meanings of words and phrases, as well as how and when they became part of the English language. I enjoy
researching idioms, colloquialisms, dialects, and obscurities of
all kinds. I prefer short questions on a particular subject, and
I will not accept lengthy research projects or term papers. NOTE: ALLEXPERTS CLAIMS THAT I TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN AND FROM LATIN TO ENGLISH. I DO NOT. ALLEXPERTS REFUSES TO DELETE THE LATIN-TO-ENGLISH SERVICE -- ONE THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE.
TRUST ME ON THIS: ALLEXPERTS IS WRONG. I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LANGUAGE. LOOK FOR A LANGUAGE EXPERT INSTEAD. ETYMOLOGY AND TRANSLATING SERVICES ARE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. ALLEXPERTS SHOULD KNOW THAT. ALLEXPERTS DOES NOT KNOW THAT. I HAVE TRIED FOR MANY YEARS TO GET THEM TO CHANGE. THEY WILL NOT. SORRY, BUT I DO NOT TRANSLATE FROM ENGLISH TO LATIN.
Experience I am the bibliographic instruction and reference librarian at a public
college. My master's thesis concerns William Faulkner's tragic novels. I formerly taught advanced placement English at two schools in the Philadelphia area.
I have been a member of the grammar and writing section of Allexperts
for more than a year.
Education/Credentials Masters degrees in English, philosophy, and library science.
Question Hi Ted,
I'll say thanks in person if I could but I'll rate and thank you, promise! But I need your help with a phrase, it's in reference to hera the greek goddess, it said that she was "white armed", I wanted to know what did they mean by that? Thanks so much if you answer this.....thank you!!!
Answer Dear Lillie:
The last few people who promised to "rate and thank me" did NOT do either, after I spend hours researching their questions.
The description "white-armed goddess" has bothered me since my college years, when no one knew the explanation for the term. We ended up called one of our English professors "the white-armed goddess of literature."
There are three phrases used by Homer in his poetry to describe Hera:
The explanation for #2 is easy, because we can all image the "queen of the gods" sitting on a golden throne.
The other two epithets have been problems, because Homer never indicated what he meant. The scholars are left with "educated guesses," and those guess are what I am passing on to you.
For "white-armed," some scholars have suggested that the reference is obvious: Hera was the ideal goddess and part of the "ideal" description that Homer used was in reference to her skin. It was like "ivory," clear, pure, unblemished. Presumably only her face and arms were seen by her "subjects," both mortals and immortals [the other gods and goddesses]. Other goddesses [Eos, for one] were described as "rosy-armed," which suggests a darker color -- almost sun-tanned or sun-burned -- which was NOT desirable for a goddess. Ivory or white suggested purity. A goddess who remained on her golden throne would never be exposed to the rays of the sun. [There is a contradiction here, however, since we know that Hera was constantly out meddling in the affairs of the mortals and the other gods/goddesses. YET, her skin retained that look of "classical purity" -- the whiteness or the look of smooth and shining ivory.]
I can find no other explanation for the description than Hera had the classic, ivory skin, so desired by all others.
About #3 -- "ox-eyed" -- Some people have suggested that the correct translation from the ancient Greek is "wide-eyed," like the look of a young doe. To me, it's hard to reconcile the so-called beauty of a goddess with ivory-colored arms and gigantic eyes. But, these wide-eyes were revered by the ancient Greeks, almost as another symbol of purity or innocence, neither of which were demonstrated by the actions of the jealous and angry Hera.
The information I have obtained for you comes from these sources:
Classical Mythology by Mark P. O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith
The Transformation of Hera by Joan V. O’Brien
Finally, "white-armed" suggests two things to me: (1) It refers to all of her skin, but the "arm" reference is called a "metonymy," when one part of the entire thing is used to represent the entire thing. The ivory look, unblemished and pure, made Hera appear superior to other goddesses, like those with the rosy arms. [By the way, Selene was also described as "white-armed."] (2) A "white-armed" goddess seems to be one that sat on her golden throne and did not get involved in the affairs of others. As I mentioned above, this contradicts what we really know about Hera, that she was constantly involved in various plots against both humans and other deities.
