Theogony

Before philosophy, before science, ancient Greeks looked to poetry to understand the universe. Hesiod's "Theogony" isn't just a poem—it's the foundational account of how the cosmos came to be, how the gods rose to power, and the intricate, often dramatic, family tree of the divine. Prepare to journey into a world where mountains and seas have parents, and battles for supremacy reshape the very fabric of existence. Hesiod's "Theogony" provides the most comprehensive ancient Greek narrative of creation and the origins of their complex pantheon. A central theme is the "succession myth," a violent generational power struggle ultimately culminating in Zeus's unchallenged rule. The poem meticulously details the vast and often intertwined genealogies of gods, primordial forces, and monstrous beings, shaping classical mythology.

Source: Wikipedia

AI Summary

Hesiod's "Theogony" provides the most comprehensive ancient Greek narrative of creation and the origins of their complex pantheon.
A central theme is the "succession myth," a violent generational power struggle ultimately culminating in Zeus's unchallenged rule.
The poem meticulously details the vast and often intertwined genealogies of gods, primordial forces, and monstrous beings, shaping classical mythology.

The Birth of the Gods

Imagine a world without a clear story of how it all began—no agreed-upon account of creation or the powers that shaped destiny. For the ancient Greeks, the poet Hesiod stepped into this void around the 8th to 7th century BC with his monumental work, "Theogony."

Its title, derived from Greek, literally means "the genealogy or birth of the gods." This epic poem, spanning over a thousand lines, wasn't just a collection of tales; it was one of the most important sources for understanding early Greek cosmology, defining the very structure of their divine world.

A Cosmic Power Struggle: The Succession Myth

At the heart of the "Theogony" lies what scholars call the "succession myth"—a dramatic saga of three generations of divine rulers locked in a relentless struggle for cosmic dominance. It chronicles how one ruler violently overthrew the next, each striving to secure their place as supreme power.

Uranus, the First Ruler

Our story begins with the primordial coupling of Gaia, the Earth, and Uranus, the Sky. They gave birth to eighteen immense children: twelve powerful Titans, three one-eyed Cyclopes, and three monstrous Hundred-Handers. But Uranus, despising his offspring, cruelly imprisoned them deep within Gaia's womb.

Distressed and burdened by her trapped children, Gaia forged a formidable sickle of adamant—an unbreakable material. She appealed to her progeny for help, urging them to punish their oppressive father. Only Cronus, the youngest and most cunning of the Titans, dared to answer her call.

Gaia set Cronus in ambush, armed with the sharp sickle. When Uranus descended to lie with Gaia, Cronus sprang forth and brutally castrated his father, separating Sky from Earth forever. This gruesome act freed the Titans and propelled Cronus to the throne as the new supreme ruler of the cosmos.

Cronus, the Devouring King

Yet, the cycle of fear and prophecy continued. Uranus and Gaia had warned Cronus that he, too, would be overthrown by one of his own children. To prevent this, Cronus, upon marrying his sister Rhea, adopted a chilling strategy: he swallowed each of their newborn offspring whole.

Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—one by one, they vanished into their father's gullet, much to Rhea's profound sorrow. When she became pregnant with Zeus, Rhea desperately sought help from her parents, Gaia and Uranus, to save her last child from this grim fate.

They advised Rhea to travel to Crete, where she secretly gave birth to Zeus. Gaia then took the infant, hiding him deep within a cave on Mount Aigaion to raise him in secret. Meanwhile, Rhea cleverly deceived Cronus by presenting him with a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he promptly swallowed, believing it to be his sixth child.

Zeus, the Victorious King

Years passed, and Zeus grew to adulthood, strong and determined. With the unspecified trickery of Gaia, he eventually forced Cronus to disgorge his swallowed siblings—who emerged fully grown and ready for battle. Zeus also liberated his uncles, the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers, whom Uranus had imprisoned long ago.

Grateful for their freedom, the Cyclopes forged for Zeus his most iconic weapon: the mighty thunderbolt. This act ignited the great war known as the Titanomachy, pitting the young Olympian gods—Zeus and his siblings—against Cronus and the older Titans for control of the universe.

After ten years of fierce fighting, Gaia once again offered counsel, urging Zeus to unleash the terrifying power of the Hundred-Handers. Their colossal strength turned the tide. With the thunderbolt's fury, Zeus defeated the Titans, casting them into the dark, abyssal prison of Tartarus, thus concluding the epic war.

One final challenge arose: the monstrous Typhon, a fearsome offspring of Gaia and Tartarus, threatened Zeus's reign. But with his thunderbolts, Zeus swiftly overpowered this colossal beast, also imprisoning him in the depths of Tartarus, cementing his status as the undisputed ruler.

With all threats vanquished, Zeus was elected king of the gods, establishing the Olympian order. He then married Metis, his first wife. But a new prophecy emerged: Metis was fated to bear a son who would one day overthrow him. Learning this, and following the advice of Gaia and Uranus, Zeus made a drastic choice.

He swallowed Metis whole, even while she was pregnant with Athena. This drastic action ended the violent cycle of succession once and for all. From his own head, Zeus later gave birth to Athena, fully armed and fully grown, securing his eternal and unchallengeable rule over the cosmos.

The Family Tree of the Cosmos

Beyond the power struggles, the "Theogony" meticulously outlines the origins and relationships of countless divine and monstrous beings, creating a comprehensive mythological lineage. It truly is the grand family album of the Greek pantheon.

The First Beings

In the beginning, there was not nothing, but four primordial entities that arose spontaneously: first, the vast emptiness of Chaos, then Gaia, the firm Earth, upon whom all else would stand. Deep beneath her lay dim Tartarus, and finally, the irresistible force of Eros, or Desire, the fairest among the deathless gods, responsible for all further procreation.

From Chaos sprang Erebus, representing Darkness, and Nyx, the Night. Nyx, in loving union with Erebus, then brought forth Aether, the Brightness of the upper air, and Hemera, the Day. Gaia, without male partner, independently produced Uranus, the starry Sky, the lofty Ourea, or Mountains, and Pontus, the restless Sea.

Children of Gaia and Uranus

Gaia and Uranus, the Earth and Sky, became the parents of the first great generation of cosmic forces. Their offspring included the twelve mighty Titans—such as Oceanus, Rhea, Cronus, and Prometheus's father Iapetus. They also gave birth to the three powerful Cyclopes—Brontes, Steropes, and Arges—who would later forge Zeus's thunderbolts.

Completing this initial family were the three Hecatoncheires, or Hundred-Handers—Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges—beings of immense strength, each with a hundred hands and fifty heads. These are the children Uranus so despised and imprisoned, setting the stage for the succession myth.

Birth from Mutilation

The violent castration of Uranus wasn't just a change of power; it was a creative act. From the blood that fell upon Gaia, three furious Erinyes—avenging deities—sprang forth, along with the race of Giants and the tree-nymphs known as the Meliae. From Uranus's severed genitals, cast into the sea, foam gathered, and from it emerged the radiant goddess of love, Aphrodite.

The Brood of Night and Discord

Nyx, the Night, was a prolific mother, giving birth to a host of abstract, often grim, personifications without a male partner. Her children include Moros (Doom), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Oneiroi (Dreams), Momus (Blame), Oizys (Pain), the Hesperides, the Moirai (Fates), Nemesis (Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Love), Geras (Old Age), and Eris (Discord).

And from Eris, Discord herself, came a staggering array of further troubles: Ponos (Hardship), Lethe (Forgetfulness), Limos (Starvation), Algea (Pains), Hysminai (Battles), Makhai (Wars), Phonoi (Murders), Androktasiai (Manslaughters), Neikea (Quarrels), Pseudea (Lies), Logoi (Stories), Amphillogiai (Disputes), Dysnomia (Anarchy), Ate (Ruin), and Horkos (Oath). Truly, discord begets more strife!

Gaia and Pontus: Lords of the Sea

After Uranus's demise, Gaia found a new partner in her son Pontus, the Sea. Their union gave rise to a line of deities primarily associated with the ocean and a host of fantastical monsters. Their first child was Nereus, the wise Old Man of the Sea, who with Doris, an Oceanid, sired the fifty beautiful Nereids, including the famous Thetis and Amphitrite.

Other children of Gaia and Pontus included Thaumas, who with Electra (another Oceanid) fathered Iris, the Rainbow, and the two Harpies, Aello and Ocypete. Then came Phorcys and Ceto, who married each other to produce the two grey Graiae and the three terrifying Gorgons—Stheno, Euryale, and the infamous Medusa.

From Medusa's gruesome death at the hands of Perseus, when her head was severed, sprang the winged horse Pegasus and the golden-sworded warrior Chrysaor. Chrysaor in turn mated with the Oceanid Callirhoe to father the three-headed monster Geryon. Also from this lineage came Echidna, the half-nymph, half-snake mother of monsters, and Ladon, the serpent guarding the golden apples.

Monsters of Echidna and Typhon

The monstrous Echidna, often described as a beautiful woman with a serpent's tail, mated with the fearsome Typhon, son of Gaia and Tartarus. Together, they spawned some of the most famous and terrifying creatures in Greek mythology. Their children include Orthus, the two-headed dog; Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hades; and the Lernaean Hydra, a multi-headed water serpent.

Further down this monstrous family tree, we find the Chimera, a fire-breathing hybrid beast, and from Orthus, the enigmatic Sphinx and the invincible Nemean Lion. This lineage illustrates the dark, chaotic forces that existed even after Zeus's ascension.

The Titan Generations

The Titans, too, had many offspring, weaving a complex web of divine relationships. Oceanus and Tethys, representing fresh and salt water, produced three thousand river gods and three thousand Oceanid nymphs, like Doris, Styx, and Metis. Hyperion and Theia brought forth Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), and Eos (Dawn).

Crius and Eurybia's children included Astraios, Pallas, and Perses. Astraios and Eos (Dawn) went on to father the mighty winds—Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notos—along with Eosphoros (the Morning Star) and all the stars in the heavens. Pallas, with the Oceanid Styx, bore personifications of victory and power: Zelus (Envy), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Power), and Bia (Force).

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Theogony

The Theogony (Ancient Greek: Θεογονία, romanized: Theogonía, lit. 'the genealogy or birth of the gods') is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed c. 730–700 BC. It is written in the epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one of the most important sources for the understanding of early Greek cosmology.

Description

Theogony

Hesiod's Theogony is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety of local Greek traditions concerning the gods, organized as a narrative that tells how they came to be and how they established permanent control over the cosmos. It is the first known Greek mythical cosmogony. The initial state of the universe is chaos, a dark indefinite void considered a divine primordial condition from which everything else appeared. Theogonies are a part of Greek mythology which embodies the desire to articulate reality as a whole, to describe the entire universe and its coming into being. This universalizing impulse was fundamental to the first later (and indeed ongoing) projects of speculative theorizing.

Further, in the "Kings and Singers" passage (80–103) Hesiod appropriates to himself the authority usually reserved to sacred kingship. The poet declares that it is he, where we might have expected some king instead, upon whom the Muses have bestowed the two gifts of a scepter and an authoritative voice (Hesiod, Theogony 30–3), which are the visible signs of kingship. It is not that this claim is meant to make Hesiod a king. Rather, the point is that the authority of kingship now belongs to the poetic voice, the voice that is declaiming the Theogony.

The nine muses on a Roman sarcophagus (second century AD)—Louvre, Paris

Although it is often used as a sourcebook for Greek mythology, the Theogony is both more and less than that. In formal terms it is a hymn invoking Zeus and the Muses: parallel passages between it and the much shorter Homeric Hymn to the Muses make it clear that the Theogony developed out of a tradition of hymnic preludes — the often sung, descriptive works with which an ancient Greek rhapsode would begin his performance at poetic competitions. It is necessary to see the Theogony not as the definitive source of Greek mythology, but rather as a snapshot of a dynamic tradition that happened to crystallize when Hesiod formulated the myths he knew — and to remember that the traditions evolved further since that time.

The written form of the Theogony was established in the 6th century BC. Even some conservative editors have concluded that the Typhon episode (820–68) is an interpolation.

Hesiod was probably influenced by some Near-Eastern traditions, such as the Babylonian Dynasty of Dunnum, which were mixed with local traditions, but they are more likely to be lingering traces from the Mycenaean tradition than the result of oriental contacts in Hesiod's own time.

The decipherment of Hittite mythical texts, notably the Kingship in Heaven text first presented in 1946, with its castration mytheme, offers in the figure of Kumarbi an Anatolian parallel to Hesiod's Uranus–Cronus conflict.

The succession myth

Theogony

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn: fresco by Giorgio Vasari and Cristofano Gherardi, c. 1560 (Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio)

One of the principal components of the Theogony is the presentation of what is called the "succession myth", which tells how Cronus overthrew Uranus, and how in turn Zeus overthrew Cronus and his fellow Titans, and how Zeus was eventually established as the final and permanent ruler of the cosmos.

Uranus (Sky) initially produced eighteen children with his mother Gaia (Earth): the twelve Titans, the three Cyclopes, and the three Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handers), but hating them, he hid them away somewhere inside Gaia. Angry and in distress, Gaia fashioned a sickle made of adamant and urged her children to punish their father. Only her son Cronus, the youngest Titan, was willing to do so. So Gaia hid Cronus in "ambush" and gave him the adamantine sickle, and when Uranus came to lie with Gaia, Cronus reached out and castrated his father. This enabled the Titans to be born and Cronus to assume supreme command of the cosmos.

Cronus, having now taken over control of the cosmos from Uranus, wanted to ensure that he maintained control. Uranus and Gaia had prophesied to Cronus that one of Cronus' own children would overthrow him, so when Cronus married Rhea, he made sure to swallow each of the children she birthed: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus (in that order), to Rhea's great sorrow. However, when Rhea was pregnant with Zeus, Rhea begged her parents Gaia and Uranus to help her save Zeus. So they sent Rhea to Lyctus on Crete to bear Zeus, and Gaia took the newborn Zeus to raise, hiding him deep in a cave beneath Mount Aigaion. Meanwhile, Rhea gave Cronus a huge stone wrapped in baby's clothes which he swallowed thinking that it was another of Rhea's children.

The Fall of the Titans by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (1596–1598)

Zeus, now grown, forced Cronus (using some unspecified trickery of Gaia) to disgorge his other five children. Zeus then released his uncles the Cyclopes (apparently still imprisoned beneath the earth, along with the Hundred-Handers, where Uranus had originally confined them) who then provide Zeus with his great weapon, the thunderbolt, which had been hidden by Gaia. A great war was begun, the Titanomachy, between the new gods, Zeus and his siblings, and the old gods, Cronus and the Titans, for control of the cosmos. In the tenth year of that war, following Gaia's counsel, Zeus released the Hundred-Handers, who joined the war against the Titans, helping Zeus to gain the upper hand. Zeus then cast the fury of his thunderbolt at the Titans, defeating them and throwing them into Tartarus, thus ending the Titanomachy.

A final threat to Zeus' power was to come in the form of the monster Typhon, son of Gaia and Tartarus. Zeus with his thunderbolt was quickly victorious, and Typhon was also imprisoned in Tartarus.

Zeus, by Gaia's advice, was elected king of the gods, and he distributed various honors among the gods. Zeus then married his first wife Metis, but when he learned that Metis was fated to produce a son which might overthrow his rule, by the advice of Gaia and Uranus, Zeus swallowed Metis (while still pregnant with Athena). And so Zeus managed to end the cycle of succession and secure his eternal rule over the cosmos.

The genealogies

The first gods

The world began with the spontaneous generation of four beings: first arose Chaos (Chasm); then came Gaia (Earth), "the ever-sure foundation of all"; "dim" Tartarus, in the depths of the Earth; and Eros (Desire) "fairest among the deathless gods". From Chaos came Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). And Nyx "from union in love" with Erebus produced Aether (Brightness) and Hemera (Day). From Gaia came Uranus (Sky), the Ourea (Mountains), and Pontus (Sea).

<table><thead><tr><th>The first gods</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Chaos</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Tartarus</td><td></td><td>Eros</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Erebus</td><td></td><td>Nyx</td><td></td><td>Uranus</td><td></td><td>The Ourea</td><td></td><td>Pontus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Aether</td><td></td><td>Hemera</td></tr></tbody></table>

Children of Gaia and Uranus

Uranus mated with Gaia, and she gave birth to the twelve Titans: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys and Cronus; the Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes and Arges; and the Hecatoncheires ("Hundred-Handers"): Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges.

<table><thead><tr><th>Children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td>Uranus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Oceanus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Crius</td><td></td><td></td><td>Iapetus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Rhea</td><td></td><td></td><td>Mnemosyne</td><td></td><td></td><td>Tethys</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Coeus</td><td></td><td>Hyperion</td><td></td><td>Theia</td><td></td><td>Themis</td><td></td><td>Phoebe</td><td></td><td>Cronus</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Titans</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Brontes</td><td></td><td>Steropes</td><td></td><td>Arges</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Cyclopes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Cottus</td><td></td><td>Briareos</td><td></td><td>Gyges</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Hundred-Handers</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Children of Gaia and Uranus' blood, and Uranus' genitals

The Birth of Venus by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (c. 1879)

When Cronus castrated Uranus, from Uranus' blood which splattered onto the earth, came the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, and the Meliai (the nymphs of the ash tree). Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea, around which foam developed and transformed into the goddess Aphrodite.

<table><thead><tr><th>Children of Gaia and Uranus' blood, and Uranus' genitals</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td>Uranus' blood</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Uranus' genitals</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Erinyes</td><td></td><td>The Giants</td><td></td><td>The Meliae</td><td></td><td></td><td>Aphrodite</td></tr></tbody></table>

Descendants of Nyx

Meanwhile, Nyx (Night) alone produced children: Moros (Doom), Ker (Destiny), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), Oneiroi (Dreams), Momus (Blame), Oizys (Pain), Hesperides (Daughters of Night), Moirai (Fates), Keres (Destinies), Nemesis (Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Love), Geras (Old Age), and Eris (Discord).

And from Eris alone, came Ponos (Hardship), Lethe (Forgetfulness), Limos (Starvation), Algea (Pains), Hysminai (Battles), Makhai (Wars), Phonoi (Murders), Androktasiai (Manslaughters), Neikea (Quarrels), Pseudea (Lies), Logoi (Stories), Amphillogiai (Disputes), Dysnomia (Anarchy), Ate (Ruin), and Horkos (Oath).

<table><thead><tr><th>Children of Nyx (Night) and Eris (Discord)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Nyx</td></tr><tr><td>Moros</td><td></td><td></td><td>Thanatos</td><td></td><td></td><td>Oneiroi</td><td></td><td></td><td>Oizys</td><td></td><td></td><td>Moirai</td><td></td><td></td><td>Nemesis</td><td></td><td></td><td>Philotes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Ker</td><td></td><td>Hypnos</td><td></td><td>Momus</td><td></td><td>Hesperides</td><td></td><td>Keres</td><td></td><td>Apate</td><td></td><td>Geras</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Eris</td></tr><tr><td>Ponos</td><td></td><td></td><td>Limos</td><td></td><td></td><td>Hysminai</td><td></td><td></td><td>Phonoi</td><td></td><td></td><td>Neikea</td><td></td><td></td><td>Logoi</td><td></td><td></td><td>Dysnomia</td><td></td><td></td><td>Horkos</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Lethe</td><td></td><td>Algea</td><td></td><td>Makhai</td><td></td><td>Androktasiai</td><td></td><td>Pseudea</td><td></td><td>Amphillogiai</td><td></td><td>Ate</td></tr></tbody></table>

Descendants of Gaia and Pontus

After Uranus's castration, Gaia mated with her son Pontus (Sea) producing a descendent line consisting primarily of sea deities, sea nymphs, and hybrid monsters. Their first child Nereus (Old Man of the Sea) married Doris, one of the Oceanid daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and they produced the Nereids, fifty sea nymphs, which included Amphitrite, Thetis, and Psamathe. Their second child Thaumas married Electra, another Oceanid, and their offspring were Iris (Rainbow) and the two Harpies: Aello and Ocypete.

Gaia and Pontus' third and fourth children, Phorcys and Ceto, married each other and produced the two Graiae: Pemphredo and Enyo, and the three Gorgons: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa. Poseidon mated with Medusa and two offspring, the winged horse Pegasus and the warrior Chrysaor, were born when the hero Perseus cut off Medusa's head. Chrysaor married Callirhoe, another Oceanid, and they produced the three-headed Geryon. Next comes the half-nymph half-snake Echidna (her mother is unclear, probably Ceto, or possibly Callirhoe). The last offspring of Ceto and Phorcys was a serpent (unnamed in the Theogony, later called Ladon, by Apollonius of Rhodes) who guards the golden apples.

<table><thead><tr><th>Descendants of Gaia and Pontus (Sea), and Phorcys and Ceto</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td>Pontus</td></tr><tr><td>Nereus</td><td></td><td>Doris</td><td></td><td>Thaumas</td><td></td><td>Electra</td><td></td><td>Phorcys</td><td></td><td>Ceto</td><td></td><td>Eurybia</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>The Nereids</td><td></td><td>Iris</td><td></td><td>Aello</td><td></td><td>Ocypete</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Harpies</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Pemphredo</td><td></td><td>Enyo</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Echidna?</td><td></td><td>(Ladon)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Graiai</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Sthenno</td><td></td><td>Euryale</td><td></td><td>Medusa</td><td></td><td></td><td>Poseidon</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Gorgons</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Pegasus</td><td></td><td>Chrysaor</td><td></td><td>Callirhoe</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Geryon</td></tr></tbody></table>

Descendants of Echidna and Typhon

Gaia also mated with Tartarus to produce Typhon, whom Echidna married, producing several monstrous descendants. Their first three offspring were Orthus, Cerberus, and the Hydra. Next comes the Chimera (whose mother is unclear, either Echidna or the Hydra). Finally Orthus (his mate is unclear, either the Chimera or Echidna) produced two offspring: the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion.

<table><thead><tr><th>Descendants of Echidna and Typhon</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td>Tartarus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Echidna</td><td></td><td>Typhon</td><td></td><td></td><td>Echidna (or Hydra?) </td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Orthus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Cerberus</td><td></td><td>Hydra</td><td></td><td>Chimera</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Chimera (or Echidna?) </td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Sphinx</td><td></td><td>Nemean lion</td></tr></tbody></table>

Descendants of the Titans

The Titans, Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, and Cronus married their sisters Tethys, Theia, Phoebe and Rhea, and Crius married his half-sister Eurybia, the daughter of Gaia and her son, Pontus. From Oceanus and Tethys came the three thousand river gods (including Nilus [Nile], Alpheus, and Scamander) and three thousand Oceanid nymphs (including Doris, Electra, Callirhoe, Styx, Clymene, Metis, Eurynome, Perseis, and Idyia). From Hyperion and Theia came Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), and Eos (Dawn), and from Crius and Eurybia came Astraios, Pallas, and Perses. From Eos and Astraios came the winds: Zephyrus, Boreas and Notos, Eosphoros (Dawn-bringer, i.e. Venus, the Morning Star), and the Stars. From Pallas and the Oceanid Styx came Zelus (Envy), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Power), and Bia (Force).

From Coeus and Phoebe came Leto and Asteria, who married Perses, producing Hekate, and from Cronus and his older sister, Rhea, came Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. The Titan Iapetos married the Oceanid Clymene and produced Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus.

<table><thead><tr><th>Descendants of the Titans</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Uranus</td><td></td><td>Gaia</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Pontus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>Oceanus</td><td></td><td>Tethys</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hyperion</td><td></td><td>Theia</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Crius</td><td></td><td>Eurybia</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>The Rivers </td><td></td><td>The Oceanids </td><td></td><td>Helios</td><td></td><td>Selene</td><td></td><td>Eos</td><td></td><td>Astraeus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Pallas</td><td></td><td></td><td>Perses</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Zephyrus</td><td></td><td>Boreas</td><td></td><td>Notos</td><td></td><td>Eosphoros</td><td></td><td>Stars</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Styx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Zelus</td><td></td><td>Nike</td><td></td><td>Kratos</td><td></td><td>Bia</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Coeus</td><td></td><td>Phoebe</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Leto</td><td></td><td>Asteria</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hecate</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Cronus</td><td></td><td>Rhea</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hestia</td><td></td><td>Demeter</td><td></td><td>Hera</td><td></td><td>Hades</td><td></td><td>Poseidon</td><td></td><td>Zeus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Iapetus</td><td></td><td>Clymene</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Atlas</td><td></td><td>Menoetius</td><td></td><td>Prometheus</td><td></td><td>Epimetheus</td></tr></tbody></table>

Children of Zeus and his seven partners

The Birth of Minerva by René-Antoine Houasse (before 1688)

Zeus mated then with seven goddesses, of whom three - Metis, Themis and Hera - are explicitly stated to be married to him. His first wife was the Oceanid Metis, whom he impregnated with Athena, then, on the advice of Gaia and Uranus, swallowed Metis so that no son of his by Metis would overthrow him, as had been foretold. Zeus' second wife was his aunt the Titan Themis, who bore the three Horae (Seasons): Eunomia (Order), Dikē (Justice), Eirene (Peace); and the three Moirai (Fates): Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Allotter), and Atropos (Unbending). Zeus then had relationship with another Oceanid, Eurynome, who bore the three Charites (Graces): Aglaea (Splendor), whom Hephaestus married, Euphrosyne (Joy), and Thalia (Good Cheer).

Zeus' fourth partner was his sister, Demeter, who bore Persephone. The fifth partner of Zeus was another aunt, the Titan Mnemosyne, from whom came the nine Muses: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Urania, and Calliope. His sixth partner was the Titan Leto, who gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. Zeus' seventh partner and final wife was his sister Hera, the mother by Zeus of Hebe, Ares, and Eileithyia.

Zeus finally "gave birth" himself to Athena, from his head, which angered Hera so much that she produced, by herself, her own son Hephaestus, god of fire and blacksmiths.

<table><thead><tr><th>Children of Zeus and his seven partners</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Zeus</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Metis</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Athena</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Themis</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Eunomia</td><td></td><td>Dike</td><td></td><td>Eirene</td><td></td><td></td><td>Clotho</td><td></td><td>Lachesis</td><td></td><td>Atropos</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Horae</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Moirai </td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Eurynome</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Demeter</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Aglaea</td><td></td><td>Euphrosyne</td><td></td><td>Thalia</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Persephone</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Charites</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Mnemosyne</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Clio</td><td></td><td></td><td>Thaleia</td><td></td><td></td><td>Terpsichore</td><td></td><td></td><td>Polyhymnia</td><td></td><td></td><td>Calliope</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Euterpe</td><td></td><td>Melpomene</td><td></td><td>Erato</td><td></td><td>Urania</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>The Muses</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Leto</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hera</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Apollo</td><td></td><td>Artemis</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hebe</td><td></td><td>Ares</td><td></td><td>Eileithyia</td><td></td><td>Hephaestus </td></tr></tbody></table>

Other descendants of divine fathers

From Poseidon and the Nereid Amphitrite was born Triton, and from Ares and Aphrodite came Phobos (Fear), Deimos (Terror), and Harmonia (Harmony). Zeus, with Atlas's daughter Maia, produced Hermes, and with the mortal Alcmene, produced the hero Heracles, who married Hebe. Zeus and the mortal Semele, daughter of Harmonia and Cadmus, the founder and first king of Thebes, produced Dionysus, who married Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete. Helios and the Oceanid Perseis produced Circe, Aeetes, who became king of Colchis and married the Oceanid Idyia, producing Medea.

<table><thead><tr><th>Other descendants of divine fathers</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Poseidon</td><td></td><td>Amphitrite</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Ares</td><td></td><td>Aphrodite</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Triton</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Phobos</td><td></td><td>Deimos</td><td></td><td>Harmonia</td><td></td><td>Cadmus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Zeus</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Maia</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Alcmene</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Semele</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Hermes</td><td></td><td></td><td>Heracles</td><td></td><td>Hebe</td><td></td><td>Dionysus</td><td></td><td>Ariadne</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Helios</td><td></td><td>Perseis</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Circe</td><td></td><td>Aeetes</td><td></td><td>Idyia</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Medea</td></tr></tbody></table>

Children of divine mothers with mortal fathers

Venus and Anchises by William Blake Richmond (1889 or 1890)

The goddess Demeter joined with the mortal Iasion to produce Plutus. In addition to Semele, the goddess Harmonia and the mortal Cadmus also produced Ino, Agave, Autonoë and Polydorus. Eos (Dawn) with the mortal Tithonus, produced the hero Memnon, and Emathion, and with Cephalus, produced Phaethon. Medea with the mortal Jason, produced Medius, the Nereid Psamathe with the mortal Aeacus, produced the hero Phocus, the Nereid Thetis, with Peleus produced the great warrior Achilles, and the goddess Aphrodite with the mortal Anchises produced the Trojan hero Aeneas. With the hero Odysseus, Circe would give birth to Agrius, Latinus, and Telegonus, and Atlas' daughter Calypso would also bear Odysseus two sons, Nausithoos and Nausinous.

<table><thead><tr><th>Children of goddesses with mortals</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Demeter</td><td></td><td>Iasion</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Harmonia</td><td></td><td>Cadmus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Plutus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Ino</td><td></td><td>Semele</td><td></td><td>Agave</td><td></td><td>Autonoë</td><td></td><td>Aristaeus</td><td></td><td>Polydorus</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Tithonus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Eos</td><td></td><td></td><td>Cephalus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Medea</td><td></td><td>Jason</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Memnon</td><td></td><td>Emathion</td><td></td><td></td><td>Phaethon</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Medeius</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Psamathe</td><td></td><td>Aeacus</td><td></td><td>Thetis</td><td></td><td>Peleus</td><td></td><td>Aphrodite</td><td></td><td>Anchises</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Phocus</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Achilles</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Aeneas</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Circe</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Odysseus</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Calypso</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>Agrius</td><td></td><td>Latinus</td><td></td><td>Telegonus</td><td></td><td></td><td>Nausithous</td><td></td><td>Nausinous</td></tr></tbody></table>

Prometheus

Theogony

Laconic bowl depicting Prometheus and Atlas enduring their respective punishments, circa 550 BC

The Theogony, after listing the offspring of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene, as Atlas, Menoitios, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, and telling briefly what happened to each, tells the story of Prometheus. When the gods and men met at Mekone to decide how sacrifices should be distributed, Prometheus sought to trick Zeus. Slaughtering an ox, he took the valuable fat and meat, and covered it with the ox's stomach. Prometheus then took the bones and hid them with a thin glistening layer of fat. Prometheus asked Zeus' opinion on which offering pile he found more desirable, hoping to trick the god into selecting the less desirable portion. Though Zeus saw through the trick, he chose the fat covered bones, and so it was established that ever after men would burn the bones as sacrifice to the gods, keeping the choice meat and fat for themselves. But in punishment for this trick, an angry Zeus decided to deny mankind the use of fire. But Prometheus stole fire inside a fennel stalk, and gave it to humanity. Zeus then ordered the creation of the first woman Pandora as a new punishment for mankind. And Prometheus was chained to a cliff, where an eagle fed on his ever-regenerating liver every day, until eventually Zeus' son Heracles came to free him.

Manuscripts

Theogony

The earliest existing manuscripts of the Theogony date from the end of the 13th century. An early example is found in Vaticanus gr. 1825. This manuscript dates to about 1310 based on watermarks. There are about 64 known manuscripts that date from 1600 AD or earlier.

Influence on earliest Greek philosophy

Theogony

Ancient Roman mosaic from Johannisstraße, Trier, dating to the early third century AD, showing the Pre-Socratic philosopher Anaximander of Miletus holding a sundial

The heritage of Greek mythology already embodied the desire to articulate reality as a whole, and this universalizing impulse was fundamental for the first projects of speculative theorizing. It appears that the order of being was first imaginatively visualized before it was abstractly thought. Hesiod, impressed by necessity governing the ordering of things, discloses a definite pattern in the genesis and appearance of the gods. These ideas made something like cosmological speculation possible. The earliest rhetoric of reflection all centers about two interrelated things: the experience of wonder as a living involvement with the divine order of things; and the absolute conviction that, beyond the totality of things, reality forms a beautiful and harmonious whole.

In the Theogony, the origin (arche) is Chaos, a divine primordial condition, and there are the roots and the ends of the earth, sky, sea, and Tartarus. Pherecydes of Syros (6th century BC), believed that there were three pre-existent divine principles and called the water also Chaos. In the language of the archaic period (8th – 6th century BC), arche (or archai) designates the source, origin, or root of things that exist. If a thing is to be well established or founded, its arche or static point must be secure, and the most secure foundations are those provided by the gods: the indestructible, immutable, and eternal ordering of things.

In ancient Greek philosophy, arche is the element or first principle of all things, a permanent nature or substance which is conserved in the generation of the rest of it. From this, all things come to be, and into it they are resolved in a final state. It is the divine horizon of substance that encompasses and rules all things. Thales (7th – 6th century BC), the first Greek philosopher, claimed that the first principle of all things is water. Anaximander (6th century BC) was the first philosopher who used the term arche for that which writers from Aristotle on call the "substratum". Anaximander claimed that the beginning or first principle is an endless mass (Apeiron) subject to neither age nor decay, from which all things are being born and then they are destroyed there. A fragment from Xenophanes (6th century BC) shows the transition from Chaos to Apeiron: "The upper limit of earth borders on air. The lower limit of earth reaches down to the unlimited (i.e the Apeiron)."

Christian views of the Theogony

Theogony

John Milton viewed the Theogony as inspired by Satan. Milton's view, as articulated in Paradise Lost, was that once Satan was cast out from heaven, he became the muse that inspired Hesiod. What Hesiod wrote, therefore, was a corruption of the "actual" events that happened in the cosmological struggle of Satan against God. In particular, Milton asserted that the triumph of Zeus (i.e., the supreme deity) through guile, negotiation and alliances, was a corruption of God's omnipotence which did not require any ally.

Milton's view echoes the views of early Christian patristic writers. Justin Martyr and Athenagoras of Athens, for example, asserted that heathen mythologies in general are demonic distortions of the "true" cosmological history.

Other cosmogonies in ancient literature

Theogony

In the Theogony the initial state of the universe, or the origin (arche) is Chaos, a gaping void (abyss) considered as a divine primordial condition, from which appeared everything that exists. Then came Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (the cave-like space under the earth; the later-born Erebus is the darkness in this space), and Eros (representing sexual desire—the urge to reproduce—instead of the emotion of love as is the common misconception). Hesiod made an abstraction because his original chaos is something completely indefinite.

By contrast, in the Orphic cosmogony the unaging Chronos produced Aether and Chaos and made a silvery egg in divine Aether. From it appeared the androgynous god Phanes, identified by the Orphics as Eros, who becomes the creator of the world.

Some similar ideas appear in the Vedic and Hindu cosmologies. In the Vedic cosmology the universe is created from nothing by the great heat. Kāma (Desire) the primal seed of spirit, is the link which connected the existent with the non-existent In the Hindu cosmology, in the beginning there was nothing in the universe but only darkness and the divine essence who removed the darkness and created the primordial waters. His seed produced the universal germ (Hiranyagarbha), from which everything else appeared.

In the Babylonian creation story Enûma Eliš the universe was in a formless state and is described as a watery chaos. From it emerged two primary gods, the male Apsu and female Tiamat, and a third deity who is the maker Mummu and his power for the progression of cosmogonic births to begin.

Norse mythology also describes Ginnungagap as the primordial abyss from which sprang the first living creatures, including the giant Ymir whose body eventually became the world, whose blood became the seas, and so on; another version describes the origin of the world as a result of the fiery and cold parts of Hel colliding.

Editions

Selected translations

• Athanassakis, Apostolos N., Theogony; Works and days; Shield / Hesiod; introduction, translation, and notes, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-8018-2998-4 • Cook, Thomas, "The Works of Hesiod," 1728. • Frazer, R.M. (Richard McIlwaine), The Poems of Hesiod, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983. ISBN 0-8061-1837-7 • Most, Glenn, translator, Hesiod, 2 vols., Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2006–07. • Schlegel, Catherine M., and Henry Weinfield, translators, Theogony and Works and Days, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2006 • Johnson, Kimberly, Theogony and Works and Days: A New Critical Edition, Northwestern University Press, 2017. ISBN 081013487X.