Social Hierarchy In Hesiod's Theogony

Everyday life was highly hierarchical in ancient Greece, whereby, the status of individuals were established and threatened through the order of cosmos, or beauty. As noted in Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth’s book, The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilisation, the stories told in Hesiod’s Theogony, explore the idea of social hierarchy and status in ancient Greek times, reflecting the central structure of religious practice. In particular, the Theogony, meaning genealogy of birth of the gods, can be seen as very patriarchal, with the gods as family, being ruled by a father, to then have the fathers overthrown by their sons. (Hornblower and Antony, 2004, 337) The main theme presented in the Theogony is world order, established by the ascent of Zeus as chief god. The coming of the Olympians were through the succession of the first …show more content…
Arthur Fairbanks, author of Literary Influence in the Development of Greek Religion, notes that Homer tends to focus more on the humanization of figures, rather than giving them religious significance. (Fairbanks, 1898, 294) He raises the typical conception of God, in particular Zeus, to be elevated above those of local worship. (Fairbanks, 1898, 295) Homer attempts to make gods more universal, and less subject to the restrictions of the human body. (Fairbanks, 1898, 297-298) The status of an individual god, as seen through their iconography of traits, is determined by the relationship of the deity and the human beings. Established from the idea of exchange, gods and goddesses were expected to contribute votive offerings. (Fairbanks, 1898, 297) Furthermore, family relationships, specifically incest, determined the outcome of the gods. An example of this is the incest of Gaia and her son Ouranos, producing the three terrible monsters of Kottos, Gyges and Briareus. (Fairbanks, 1898,