Editing Paean (section)

==Ancient Greek paean==
In [[Homer]], [[Paeon (god)|Paeon]]<ref name='Linear B'>[[Mycenaean Greek]] {{lang|gmy|𐀞𐀊𐀺𐀚}}, ''pa-ja-wo-ne'' /pajāwonei/ ([[Dative case|dat.]]), written in [[Linear B]] and attested on the [[Knossos|KN]] V 52 tablet found at [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] Knossos, attests the name as referring to an individual Mycenaean deity. See [[John Chadwick]], ''The Mycenaean World'' [Cambridge University Press] 1976, p. 88).</ref> was the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] physician of the gods. In ''[[Iliad]]'' V he heals the wounded [[Ares]] and [[Hades]] with his [[Herbal medicine|herbal lore]]. In time Paeon (or Paean) became an [[epithet]] ("byname") of [[Apollo]] as a god capable of bringing disease and propitiated as a god of healing. [[Hesiod]] identifies Paeon as a separate god, and in later poetry Paeon is invoked independently as a [[health]] god. Later, ''Paean'' becomes a byname of [[Asclepius]], another healer-god.<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] on Homer §1494; [[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' vii. 769.</ref>

The earliest appearances of a ''paean'' or [[hymn]] of thanksgiving also appear in the ''Iliad''. After the prayer to avert evil from the [[Achaeans (Homer)|Achaeans]], a paean is sung. In an almost identical line (X.391) that suggests a formulaic expression, [[Achilles]] tells the [[Myrmidons]] to sing the paean after the death of [[Hector]].<ref>Both occasions are noted by [[Grace Macurdy]], "The Derivation of the Greek Word Paean" ''Language'' 6, no. 4 (December 1930: 297-303), citation on 300.</ref>

To discover the relation between Paean or Paeon, the healer-god, and paean in the sense of "song", it is necessary to identify the connection between ritual chant and the [[shaman]]'s healing arts.<ref>[[Grace Macurdy]], "The Derivation of the Greek Word Paean", ''Language'' 6, no. 4 (December 1930: 297-303), written before the deciphering of Linear B, attributes an origin of ''paeon'' in the north of Greece, rather than Minoan Crete; she offered the quote from Nilsson, ''Greek Religion'', p. 130.</ref> 

Previously, L. R. Farnell<ref>Farnell, ''The Cults of the Greek States'' (Oxford University Press, 1896){{Page needed|date=December 2010}}.</ref> had referred to the ancient association between the healing craft and the singing of spells, but found it impossible to decide which was the original sense. At all events the meaning of "healer" gradually gave place to that of "[[hymn]]", from the phrase "{{lang|grc|Ἰὴ Παιάν}}" or "{{lang|grc|Ἰὼ Παιάν}}".

Such songs were originally addressed to Apollo, and afterwards to other gods, like [[Dionysus]], [[Helios]], and [[Asclepius]]. About the 4th century the paean became merely a formula of [[Flattery|adulation]]; its object was either to implore protection against [[disease]] and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such protection had been rendered. Its connection with Apollo as the slayer of the [[Python (mythology)|Python]] led to its association with battle and victory; hence it became the custom for a paean to be sung by an army on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and also after a victory had been won.

The Greek poet [[Aeschylus]] who took part in the [[Battle of Salamis]], commented on the power of the paean over enemies (in this case the [[Persian Empire|Persians]]):
<blockquote> All the barbarians felt fear because they had been deprived of what they expected. The Greeks were singing the stately paean at that time not for flight, but because they were hastening into battle and were [[wiktionary:stout|stout]] of heart.<ref>Barry Strauss, ''The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece—and Western Civilization'' (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004), p. 160</ref></blockquote>

A paean was sung before the resuming of the naval battle between the Corcyraeans and Corinthians in a war leading up to the [[Peloponnesian War]], implying that it might have been a common practice.<ref>Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War. Translated by Rex Warner, Penguin Books LTD, p. 65</ref> In addition, the paean is said to have been sung just before the start of various battles (including the [[Battle of Cunaxa]]) in Xenophon's [[Anabasis (Xenophon)|"Anabasis"]] (or "Persian Expedition").<ref>Xenophon, The Persian Expedition. Translated by Rex Warner, Penguin Books LTD. Pg. 49</ref>