Hesiod And The Ascent Of Zeus
The Theogony, attributed to the Greek poet, Hesiod, is a description of the creation of the world and Zeus's rise to power through the succession of fathers to sons. It starts with Ouranos and ends when Zeus prevents the succession from continuing to his own son.
The very first being is Chaos. Next is Gaia, the earth. She is "the ever-immovable base for all the immortals" (Theog. 117). Then Tartaros, Eros, Erebus, and Night arose. After these, Gaia created "star-studded" (Theog.127) Ouranos, "him who is equal to her" (Theog. 157), and Pontos, the sea, from herself.
With Ouranos, her son, Gaia had eighteen other children. Among them are Okeanos, Iapetos, Rhea, Tethys, Kronos, the ...
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the three Erinyes or furies, the giants, and the Melian nymphs. Then "foam" (Theog. 191) rising from the sea out of the genitals, forms Aphrodite, goddess of love. After these events, Ouranos called his children the Titans. Hesiod explains this as being derived from titainontes, or straining, and tisis, the vengeance "destined to follow" (Theog. 210).
Gaia also had children with her other son, Pontos. Their names are Nereus, Thaumas, Phorkys, Keto, and Eurybia.
Among Night's children are Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), and Eris (Strife). The youngest child, Eris, a "hardhearted demon" (Theog. 225) gave birth to such evils as Murder, Lies, and Ruin.
The first son of Pontos, Nereus, the "knower of just and gentle proposals" (line 236) married one of Okeanos's daughters. These two gave birth to fifty daughters known as the Nereids. The Nereids preside over the sea and the councils of men.
Phorky and his sister Keto conceived children who along with their descendants are ...
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child, swallows the stone. Zeus, "unconquered and carefree" (Theog. 489), grows quickly and returns to avenge himself and his siblings. Kronos, "by the trickery and force of his son" (Theog. 494), regurgitates the stone and then his siblings. The stone is placed as a memorial at Pytho. After this, Zeus frees his uncles, the Kyklopes. These three are so grateful they give Zeus thunder, lightning, and the bolt, to be used as a weapon.
Iapetos and Klymene, another Okeanid, produced four sons: Atlas, Menoitios, "forethoughtful" (Theog. 510) Prometheus, and "erring-in-thought" (Theog. 511) Epimetheus. All four sons are punished by Zeus for their misdeeds, but the Hesiod describes the ...
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"Hesiod And The Ascent Of Zeus." Essayworld.com. October 23, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Hesiod-And-The-Ascent-Of-Zeus/54390.
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