Hesiod’s Theogony is a poem describing what the citizens of ancient Greece believed to be how the Gods were created. The story starts with Gaea, who represents the Earth. She has many children, each one representing an element of the world. The feminist theory of interpreting myths states that myths reflect aspects of women’s place in society. Theogony contains many examples of goddesses being mistreated by gods, and it is clear that this theme is normalized. Therefore, Hesiod’s Theogony reflects the frequent mistreatment of women by men in ancient Greece. The first example of a god disrespecting a goddess is what Uranus does to Gaea. Gaea mates with her son, Uranus, and bears many of his children, an act which she deserves his utmost respect …show more content…
Extremely similar to the story of Uranus and Gaea, Cronus attempts to prevent his children from overthrowing him in a violent manner, causing Rhea, the mother, agony. Although, instead of pushing his children back into the womb, Cronus “kept no blind watch, but ever wary / he gulped down his children to Rhea’s endless grief” (Theog. 466-467. See the CCPA website for more information. Cronus’ selfish act causes Rhea pain, but Cronus is determined to maintain his power, however much it upsets Rhea. Not only does the theme of a father attempting to wipe out his children without the mother’s consent represent the pain that mothers go through in the story, but also the recklessness and corrupt actions of the fathers, towards both their children and their wives. Aside from Cronus devouring his and Rhea’s offspring, he may have also pressured, or possibly even forced Rhea to be his wife. The quote “Rheia succumbed to Kronos’s love and bore him illustrious children” (Theog. 453) shows that Rhea is not enthusiastic about being Cronus’s wife and bearing his children. Since Cronus was the most powerful god at the time, it is possible that he used his power to force Rhea to “succumb” to a
Prometheus Bound and Hesiod's Prometheus Prometheus Bound is quite different from other tragedies in that it is peopled entirely by gods. The play focuses on the story of Prometheus, and we have versions of this myth in Hesiod's famous works. There is reason to think that the author of Prometheus Bound was not only acquainted with Hesiod's version but actually drew on Hesiod directly in this play. This essay therefore aims to establish in what ways the author of Prometheus Bound seems to
cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s). This essay will compare and contrast Greek mythology’s The Theogony by Hesiod and the Babylonian creation story found in the Enuma Elish. Both creation myths start off with an empty universe in a formless state. Two chief god entities materialize from this state of nothingness, one represented as a male and the other as a female. “Theogony” which means “birth of the gods,” a poem written by Hesiod meant to be sung to tell
shared characteristics in the myths of Pandora, Persephone and Helen as presented in some of our earliest ancient Greek literary sources. Specifically, I shall look at those dating from the 8th to 6th centuries BCE: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days; the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite; and finally, the Greek epic fragments. Pandora, Persephone and Helen have been chosen because their stories reflect the ongoing mythic preoccupation regarding the
common is needing a reason how and why. A common theme in mythology is that there is always an explanation for something that others couldn't understand. Most of the time it is how their world and lifestyle came to be and sometimes how it ended. This essay will include getting into more depth about the different creation myths within different cultures. It will incorporate the Hebrew/ Christian creation story, the Greek creation story, and lastly the Egyptian creation story. Within each myth, there are
that this subject had a large impact on day-to-day life. One text that explores the many faces of love in everyday life is Plato’s Symposium. In this text we hear a number of views on the subject of love and what the true nature of love is. This essay will focus on a speech by Pausanius. Pausanius’s speech concentrates on the goddess Aphrodite. In particular he looks at her two forms, as a promoter of “Celestial Love” as well as “Common Love.” This idea of “Common Love” can be seen in a real
divine. The main characters in myths are usually gods, supernatural heroes and humans. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures for example griffins, dragons and unicorns. In this essay I am going to focus in the Greek Mythology. In the Greek Mythology there is no single text that introduces all of the myth’s characters and stories because the myths were part of an oral tradition that unfolded gradually in the written literature of
myth of Hinduism as I am a Hindu myself. I shall begin by creating a clear understanding of Hinduism thereafter proceeding on to discuss the various creation myths of this culture as well as its many religious beliefs. Finally, I will conclude my essay. Hinduism is currently followed by one fifth of humankind. (A Michaels, 2004: 12) It is a religious tradition of Indian origin, embracing the beliefs and practices of Hindus. Hinduism is a religion of diverse gods and goddesses. It comprises elaborate