Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, Commentary on the Homeric Hymns

[2] ἐφάνΗ: such “ἐπιφάνειαι” are a marked feature of Dionysiac mythology; cf. Rohde Psyche p. 305. Ludwich traces the hand of an Orphic writer in this “epiphany,” comparing Orph. Arg. 16 “πρῶτος γὰρ ἐφάνθη” (of Phanes). But there is nothing mystic in the line; on the contrary the absence of any specific indication of locality is against Ludwich's theory; Crusius notes that such picturesque details are common in the Orphic Argonautica. According to Apollodorus, Dionysus wishes to cross from Icaria to Naxos, and therefore, embarks on a Tyrsenian ship; but the sailors refuse to land him. In Ovid (l.c. 597) Dionysus is found in Ceos (“Ciae telluris” Lachmann for MSS. Chiae); Nonnus localises the legend in the Sicilian sea. The hymn gives no reason for the god's appearance or for his easy capture; he is “mero somnoque gravis” (3.603) in Ovid's account.