Delahoyde & Hughes
Orpheus
HESIOD:
THEOGONY
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"Theogony" means "birth of the gods." This thousand-line poem comes from
the end of the 8th century bce. Most generally it is a hymn to Zeus, king
of gods and men, but it encompasses the origin of the world (cosmogony)
and of the other gods.
I
As will be conventional in epic poetry hereafter, the work begins with
honor to the Muses -- the sources of inspiration for the arts and
branches of learning, and "daughters of Zeus" (56). Because Hesiod is
introduced as having been visited by the Muses at the foot of Mount
Helicon, Helicon becomes synonymous with poetic inspiration in the
Western literary tradition forever after. Hesiod presents himself as a
shepherd, always a pleasant symbol of benevolent and unpretentious
leadership. The Muses make Hesiod aware that "we know how to tell many
falsehoods that seem real: but we also know how to speak truth when we
wish to" (53). So how much truth do myths contain? (That's the first
question, embedded here, in the history of literary criticism.) Because
the Greeks had no authorized "sacred" text, there was no fixed myth but
rather a host of variations.
II
"Chaos" or a "yawning void" comes into being and then female and male
principles and aspects of nature. At first things generate spontaneously
but soon a more abstract sexuality takes over. Gaea and Uranus produce
twelve Titans -- six male and six female -- and then incest is
responsible for more beings. For much more detail concerning the
generations of the Greek gods, click here.
III
Uranus attempts to repress creation and the story certainly gives Freud
material for theorizing about the castration complex. Culturally the
story reflects patriarchal paranoia. We hear one version of the birth of
Aphrodite, goddess of love and sex, laughter and hoaxes, beauty, and the
whisperings of maidens. Here's a case of birth from the father.
IV
The birth of grim personifications includes mention of Medusa and
Pegasus. The snake-goddess is cast as a monster now in patriarchal,
male-deity worshipping Greek culture. Cerberus and the Hydra are
mentioned.
V
Lots of nymphs are listed.
VI
Zeus makes campaign promises.
VII
Hecate will later be identified with Artemis.
VIII
Here's another next-generation attempt at repression: Cronus swallowing
his kids. Rhea was originally a fertility goddess, probably identical to
Cybele, the eastern goddess whose worship involved mystical frenzies,
drums and cymbals, her young lover Attis, animals, and so on. Perhaps
this din associated with her worship is etiologically related to the
noise made so that the cries of the baby Zeus would not be heard by
Cronus.
The stone taking the place of Zeus and then later vomited up by Cronus
became a tourist site in ancient Greece. It was exhibited at Delphi and
oiled daily by the priests.
IX
Prometheus is a trickster figure and here pulls the old meat switch on
Zeus, who in this version is omniscient. Prometheus' further adventures
are related at length in Hesiod's Works and Days.
X
Ten years is the standard length of war in epics. Zeus and the Olympians
are not more good or moral; they just outdo the Titans, who are somewhat
imprisoned afterwards.
XI
Tartarus is an early stage in the development of Hell.
XII
Zeus is an archetypal dragon-slayer (like Marduk vs. Tiamat in Babylonian
myth; Yahweh vs. Leviathan in the remnants of Hebrew myth). His sexploits
probably reflect the subjugation of previous goddess religions by the
conquering male-god worshipping religion brought by the invading
Indo-Europeans.
Zeus has the same impulse but doesn't fall into the mistakes of the
previous generations of male rulers. He suppresses the woman, not the
child. He forestalls opposition by disposing of the mothers and usurps
the female reproductive role, particularly with the Olympians Athena and
Dionysus.
This section also lists mortal heroes. For much more detail concerning
the generations of the Greek gods, click here.
Works Consulted
Hesiod's Theogony. Trans. Norman O. Brown. NY: The Liberal Arts
Press, 1953.
The
Theogony of Hesiod. Trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White. 1914.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/theogony.htm.
Orpheus:
Greek Mythology