Ermione, Siracusa e le Ermionidi (Hsch. ε 5957 Latte – Cunningham)

Besides being a feminine proper name, Ἑρμιόνη is also recorded by Hesychius both as a place name and as a divine epithet. In the former sense it is already documented by Homer as an alternative form of the place name Ἑρμιών (a city in Argolis), whereas in the latter sense it is an otherwise unknown epithet of Demeter and Kore at Syracuse. This article focuses on a possible historical connection between Hermione and Syracuse through the cult of wheat and on the etymology of Ἑρμιών and its relation to the form Ἑρμιόνη. Finally, it puts forward a new reading of the epithet of Demeter and Kore (i.e., Ἑρμιονίς -ίδος).