The Greeks Olympic gods have been the object of study and story telling for centuries. The tangled family tree that the gods share can be quite confusing. It was Homer and Hesiod that gave there people many stories of their gods, describing the heritage and much of the conflict the Olympian family faced. Hesiod’s work the “Theogony” traces the lineage of the gods Chaos and Gaia to their descendants through Zeus. The “Theogony” can help to understand the Greek myths and many Greek Values.
The Myths in the “Theogony” can explain much about the Greek gods. First, the myths show that the Gods are hungry for power. Hesiod informs that Kronos would swallow his children so that they might not over take him one day, Kronos himself having seized power from his father after he “hacked off his father’s genitals” (180 - 81). A second lesson that can be learned from the myths is that the goddesses can not be trusted. This is evident because it was Gala, Kronos’ mother who “devised a crafty and evil scheme” that led to Kronos’ rebellion against his father. Another example of an untrustworthy goddess is when Rhea wife of Kronos, deceived her husband. Kronos had been innocently swallowing his children ,but now was given a “huge stone wrapped in swaddling clothes” from his wife (486). Kronos through the stone in his stomach like he would any other child not knowing he had been deceived.
The Greeks Olympic gods have been the object of study and story telling for centuries. The tangled family tree that the gods share can be quite confusing. It was Homer and Hesiod that gave there people many stories of their gods, describing the heritage and much of the conflict the Olympian family faced. Hesiod’s work the “Theogony” traces the lineage of the gods Chaos and Gaia to their descendants through Zeus. The “Theogony” can help to understand the Greek myths and many Greek Values.
The values and character qualities of ,or lack there of , the “Theogony” are reflected repeatedly in Greek literature. In “Lysistrata” the theme of deceitful scheming women is vital to the story. In “Antigone” Creon displays a familiar lack of compassion and love toward women and their wishes. When a character exercises one of their unmoral qualities they never benefit in the long run. Kronos destroying his father only to meet a similar fate by one of his own sons is one poetic instance of a negative ramification for an unmoral action.
The theme of a overthrowing a father is a common motif among Greek literature. It is likely so common for one of two reasons. The first explanation is the authors were using their writing as wish or fantasy fulfillment. It could be the authors were alluding to an oppressive government, leader or master that they or their audience endured and wished of overthrowing. The second explanation is the authors wrote about what they saw. Perhaps it was common for a son to overthrow his father or leader. So, the theme inevitably found its way on to pages of plays and books of that period.
Myths - good
ReplyDeleteGreek Values - needs more development, on the right track though