Theogony

interpreting Greek mythology has been long debated among various theories, including allegory, comparative mythology, myth-ritual, psychoanalysis and structuralism (Dowden 17-24). As regard to the myth of Pandora by Hesiod in his masterpieces of Theogony (573-620, translated by Trzaskoma et al. 131-160) and Works and Days (75-125, translated by Trzaskoma et al. 160-167), two particular theories stand out along with my interpretation: comparative mythology (Dowden 21) and philosophical allegory…

uncertain who was born first, but both lived around the same time due to the similar epic dialect of Homeric Greek. It is believed that the Theogony was probably influenced by some Near-Eastern traditions such as the Babylonians, who were mixed with local traditions; while some suggest that the Mycenaean traditions might also have an impact on the Theogony. The poem is most likely the peace of work that gave Hesiod the name as a poet, as it is…

After being given their sentence, “Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). It is difficult not to connote the etymology of Eve’s name (meaning “Living”) with God’s condemnation, as the title suggests she is responsible for what has become of living after God’s punishment. Although, as Paul wrote in Romans 5:12, “it was by one man that sin came into the world”, meaning the responsibility of having been cast out of Eden is a shared one. However,…

negotiates with her. Circe may have expressed xenia initially (the welcoming of guests), but is discovered to be an evil entity as she “laced [a] potion with insidious drugs” when the crew is invited to feast (253). Since the creation of Pandora in Theogony: Work and Days, women have been portrayed as heinous and deceitful, where Circe is no different when it comes to using her appearance to destroy lives of men. Of course, the female seems to be the blight to humankind and is to be blamed for…

Homer and Hesiod were considered by some to be the founding fathers of ancient Greek epos, or epic poetry. Both poets used dactylic hexameter and oral poetry to convey their ideas on the way of the world. While we know both poets lived around the same time, as they reference each other in their works, it is very difficult to say who wrote first and responded to whom made harder by the fact that they used oral traditions to get their poetry and ideas across all of Greece attempting to appeal to…

no better. As this is true in the case of mortals due to Pandora, this is also true in the case of Gods. This same trickery and doom-bringing quality is also present in the Goddess, Rhea. Rhea, like Gaia, uses cunning against her husband. In the Theogony, Hesiod details the trick of Rhea in which she saves Zeus against the will of Kronos. Rhea would have given birth to many of the Olympians, but “majestic Kronos swallowed each child” (Th. 459). As a result, Rhea devised a scheme to free her son,…

Lets start with Hesiod. He claims to have written his poems when he was inspired by the gods, also known as divine inspiration. In his poem, Theogony, he writes about how it all started. He describes it like this, “First they celebrate the august race of first-born gods, whom Earth bore to broad Heaven, then their progeny, giver of good things.” –Theogony, 43-46.…

Semele was one of Zeus’s many lovers, and fell pregnant with Dionysus after a risqué rendezvous with Zeus. While the reason for Semele’s death is not discussed in Theogony, Semele is mentioned as becoming divine (Theogony lines 946-949). As Semele was not a goddess nor was she created by a god, her story is largely overlooked by Hesiod, indicating that Hesiod does not give importance to regular, mortal women. When looking at theEpic of Gilgamesh…

father a son is a symbol of the transience of his power. The fear of his child’s potential opposition to his reign causes the father to not collaborate with his son which leads to instability that usurps the pre-existing hierarchy. Antigone and Theogony offer…

especially, when looking at the mythology that explains the creation and establishment of the human race. The stories examined in this paper include, Sumerian/Babylonian’s When on High “Creation and Marduk” (composed circa 2000 BC), Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony and the Works and Days (composed circa 700 BC), Judaism and Christianity’s Genesis “Creation” (composed circa 700-400 BC), and Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses (composed circa 43 BC). Further inspection into these myths suggests that an…