The first similarity that stood out to me was the theme of punishment for disobeying of a superior figure. In Hesiod’s Theogony, he references the story of Prometheus, the god who stole fire for the human race. Hesiod details the punishment for this “And he bound Prometheus with ineluctable fetters, / Painful bonds, and drove a shaft through his middle” Theogony ln. 303-304. In Genesis, God has one rule: “Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall most surely die” CM pg. 74. Another similarity is the theme of how the world was created. Hesiod said “Gaia, the Earth, came into being … Earth’s first child was Ouranos, starry Heaven” Theogony ln. 117 & 126. In Genesis the
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Greek myth and religion is polytheistic, while Judaism and Catholicism is monotheistic. Hesiod closes with “Happy at last, his great work done, he lives / Agelessly and at ease among the Immortals” Theogony ln. 741-742. The plurality of Immortals is important. Genesis talks of the same rest, but by himself “On the / seventh day God completed the work he / had been doing. He rested on the seventh / day after all the work he had been / doing” CM pg. 75. Another major difference is the perception of pureness in Genesis as opposed to the realism of Theogony. Hesiod details war, polygamy, and imprisonment. He talks of Zeus’s doings “Zeus made Metis his first wife … Next he married gleaming Themis … And he came to the bed of bountiful Demeter ... Last of all Zeus made Hera his blossoming wife” Theogony ln. 671, 686, 697, 706. In Genesis, Eden is pure and beautiful. “A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams … The gold of this land is pure; bdellium and onyx stone are found there” CM pg. 74. A third difference is the treatment of man and woman. In Theogony, “That’s just how Zeus … Made women as a curse for mortal men, / Evil conspirators” Theogony ln. 384-386. In Genesis, after God takes a rib from man to create a woman, “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body” CM pg. 75. One difference in the aspect of realism vs pureness is that the world the Greeks lived in was far from pure. Cities states were at war with each other, and war has several very ugly sides to it. With the dealing of men and women, Greeks treated women as second class citizens. Myth was used as a way to explain how things work. I think that discussing the similarities is more persuasive. Many of the same underlying themes are present in both texts, and it goes to show that humanity has and always craved a way to describe and
Greek myth and religion is polytheistic, while Judaism and Catholicism is monotheistic. Hesiod closes with “Happy at last, his great work done, he lives / Agelessly and at ease among the Immortals” Theogony ln. 741-742. The plurality of Immortals is important. Genesis talks of the same rest, but by himself “On the / seventh day God completed the work he / had been doing. He rested on the seventh / day after all the work he had been / doing” CM pg. 75. Another major difference is the perception of pureness in Genesis as opposed to the realism of Theogony. Hesiod details war, polygamy, and imprisonment. He talks of Zeus’s doings “Zeus made Metis his first wife … Next he married gleaming Themis … And he came to the bed of bountiful Demeter ... Last of all Zeus made Hera his blossoming wife” Theogony ln. 671, 686, 697, 706. In Genesis, Eden is pure and beautiful. “A river flowed from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided to make four streams … The gold of this land is pure; bdellium and onyx stone are found there” CM pg. 74. A third difference is the treatment of man and woman. In Theogony, “That’s just how Zeus … Made women as a curse for mortal men, / Evil conspirators” Theogony ln. 384-386. In Genesis, after God takes a rib from man to create a woman, “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body” CM pg. 75. One difference in the aspect of realism vs pureness is that the world the Greeks lived in was far from pure. Cities states were at war with each other, and war has several very ugly sides to it. With the dealing of men and women, Greeks treated women as second class citizens. Myth was used as a way to explain how things work. I think that discussing the similarities is more persuasive. Many of the same underlying themes are present in both texts, and it goes to show that humanity has and always craved a way to describe and