Hesiod's "Theogony"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Hesiod's "Theogony," and its place as a Greek myth. The paper discusses how "Theogony" is a more than a simple collection of divine mythology. The paper refers to the works of scholars such as N. O. Brown and P. Walcot and explains their varying views on the role of "Theogony." The author concludes by explaining how Hesiod's "Theogony" is a move towards monotheism within the ancient Greek traditions.

From the Paper:

"Hesiod's Theogony functions as the large-scale poetic synthesis of the plethora of Greek traditions into a singular creation myth depicting the origins of the gods. The 5th Century BCE rhapsode honed what he believed to be a gift from the gods while napping on the mythological home of the Muses on Mount Helicon, where he tended sheep near his Boeotian home. Just as he accomplished more than agrarian how-to in his first lyrical production, Works and Days, Theogony surmounts the divine myth. Herodotus called it little more than an authoritative list of divine names, attributes and functions, but the continuing debate in its translation, interpretation and Typhoeus episodic interpolation reveals a great story that not only grounds the scholar in Hesiodic debate but the individual in a great historical context."

More papers on Hesiod's "Theogony":

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• Analytical Essay # 87654 : "The Book of Genesis and Hesiod's Theogony"
• Analytical Essay # 29254 : "Theogony"

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