The Destructive Power of Love in Hesiod's Theogony

1149 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Hesiod's theogony simplified

The Destructive Power of Love in Hesiod's Theogony

Love is one of the most fundamental forces at work in Hesiod's Theogony.Ê Personified as Eros, Love is one of the first gods to appear.Ê Although he is parentless and fathers no children of his own, he plays catalyst to the reproductive creation of the world.Ê Just as the world is not perfect, however, so Eros is not an entirely benevolent power.Ê He affects all beings indiscriminately, which results in the proliferation of monsters and dark forces.Ê He is also persistent in his work, continuing to facilitate the production of new gods who threaten the established ones, causing tensions, rivalries, and all out war.Ê In fact, we find that Love?s creative power is the root cause of a lot of problems.

The most obvious destructive result of love is its role in the creation of both harmful powers and vicious creatures.Ê Echidna, daughter of Keto and Phorkys and great-granddaughter of Night, is one such monster.Ê Hesiod describes her as ?half fair-cheeked and bright-eyed nymph / and half huge and monstrous snake? (298-299).Ê Despite her dark nature, she is not immune to Eros? lure.Ê She ?[lies] in love / with Typhaon, that lawless and dreadful ravisher? (306-307) and ?[bears] a harsh-tempered brood? (308).Ê Evil begets evil, and the children of Echidna and Typhaon faithfully follow their parents? inclinations.Ê The best-behaved child of this union turns out to be Hades? fifty-headed watchdog Kerberos, who, despite being gainfully employed, is ?a stubborn and unspeakable creature?and shameless eater of raw flesh? (310-312).Ê The others, including the Hydra of Lerna and fire-breathing Chimaira, as well as the offspring Echidna bears to Orthos ? the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion ? are...

... middle of paper ...

... match? (896).Ê Instead of waiting for the dangerous son to be conceived and born, Zeus opts to prevent the creation of such a son in the first place.Ê While Metis is still pregnant with Athena, he tricks her and ?lodge[s] her in his belly? (891).Ê Kronos succumbs to Love?s pressure and continues to produce children with Rheia; Zeus sacrifices his lust for Metis and renders her inaccessible. By evading Love?s creative element, he eliminates the possibility that a new rival could destroy his power.

The focus of Eros? force is creativity ? he always brings new things into being.Ê However, he has a great deal of destructive potential through this creative tendency.Ê His uniform urgings result in the births of both wonderful gods and dreadful monsters.Ê In the Theogony, as many Greek texts, Love is a double-faced entity who is neither entirely good nor entirely evil.

Show More
Related

  • Tensions In Hesiod's Theogony

    355 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Hesiod’s Theogony, the tensions within a family seem to be an intensified version of issues that are relatable to people. The results of these tensions are also dramatic and have a tendency to have a fulfillment of the fears that were causing the tensions as a result. This implies that there is a natural cycle of destruction between father and son. Tension seems to arise with the implication of the woman’s creative nature juxtaposed to the destructive nature of her husband.

    Read More

  • The Thief Of Always Literary Analysis

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book shows good examples of this. Carna is one example of how evil is destroyed of love. Carna is attacking Harvey, but Harvey’s love holds Carna back and Barker wrote, “There was neither pain in the sound nor complaint. In fact it was almost a moan of gratitude, that for once it not be met with blows or with howls of horror. It turned its eyes up to Harvey's face, and a shudder of pleasure passed through its body. It seemed to know that the motion would prove fatal, because the instant after, it retreated from its comforter and as it did so it's shudders multiplied, and its body suddenly flew into a thousand pieces”(99). Here Barker is writing the scene just when how Harvey’s love destroys Carna. This is part of the book is perfectly describing how love is destroyed by evil. The phrase “a shudder of pleasure”, “pleasure” is not a terrible thing, so this is showing kindness and care. Lulu is another example of how love destroys evil. It is her love of Harvey that she helps him defeat Hood, and they defeat them. Even though Hood has become a horrible monster made up of the little bits of the House, Harvey still wanted to defeat him. Harvey wanted Lulu to escape, but instead Lulu went to find a weapon. With the weapon, Lulu hit Hood with it and Baker wrote, “Again, Hood snatched at the filched rags, and would have had both coat and thief in one fatal grasp had Lulu not run at him from behind, swinging the timber like a baseball bat. She struck the back of Hood's knee so hard her weapon shattered, the impact pitching her to the ground”(118). This scene is very important because without Lulu striking Hood with the baseball bat, Hood might have defeated Harvey. Lulu’s love for Harvey motivated her to not escape and run from the danger, but instead find something to defeat Hood. This is also a perfect example of how love destroys evil. The point of this paragraph was to tell that love destroys evil and that the Thief of Always

    Read More

  • Revenge in The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    With a premeditated motive to commit such an act, the culprit, Montressor, thinks, constructs and orchestrates a presumed murder against his insulter, Fortunado. “Poe begins by describing, in characteristically precise and logical detail, Montresor’s (and Poe’s) idea of perfect revenge. At the same time, he needed to end his story by telling how his revenge had affected him. When Fortunatosays, “For the love of god, Montresor!” and Montresor repeats, “Yes, for the love of God,” Poe is indicating that Montresor is already experiencing the closure he sought”(Delaney 39) Unbeknownst why he wants retribution, or what it is that his victim has done to compel Montressor to kill him. What is given is a recount of the night under discussion.

    Read More

  • Overview and History of the Great Wall of China

    2923 Words  | 6 Pages

    The history of the Great Wall dates back to long before 221BC when people settled in vast China territory. The settlers adopted two main lifestyles; Farming and Nomadic lifestyles. According to O'Neill (18), the farmers planted crops and grains such as wheat, millet and barley. They also kept animals such as sheep and dogs. After the harvest, the farmers stored surplus food in their granaries, enabling them to have food throughout; even when the growing season was over. Due to their farming activities, the farmers were stationed in one place. On the other hand, the nomads travelled the land in search for food for themselves and pasture for their animals. Farmers’ villages became attractive location for the nomads to get food because farmers had stores of grains. As a result, nomads began invading the villages to take food. Invasion by the nomads and other neighbors caused the farmers to group themselves in villages and develop mechanisms of protecting themselves against the...

    Read More

  • The Cold War: A New History by John Lewis Gaddis

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    With this book, a major element of American history was analyzed. The Cold War is rampant with American foreign policy and influential in shaping the modern world. Strategies of Containment outlines American policy from the end of World War II until present day. Gaddis outlines the policies of presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, including policies influenced by others such as George Kennan, John Dulles, and Henry Kissinger. The author, John Lewis Gaddis has written many books on the Cold War and is an avid researcher in the field. Some of his other works include: The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941-1947, The Long Peace: Inquiries into the History of the Cold War, We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past, Surprise, Security, and the American Experience, and The Cold War: A New History. Dr. Gaddis received his PhD from the University of Texas in 1968; he currently is on a leave of absence, but he is a professor at Yale . At the University, his focus is Cold War history. Gaddis is one of the few men who have actually done a complete biography of George Kennan, and Gaddis even won a Pulitzer Prize in 2012.

    Read More

  • Aristophanes Views On Love

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Symposium, a most interesting view on love and soul mates are provided by one of the characters, Aristophanes. In the speech of Aristophanes, he says that there is basically a type of love that connects people. Aristophanes begins his description of love by telling the tale of how love began. He presents the tale of three sexes: male, female, and a combination of both. These three distinct sexes represented one’s soul. These souls split in half, creating a mirror image of each one of them. Aristophanes describes love as the search for the other half of your soul in this quote: “When a man’s natural form was split in two, each half went round looking for its other half. They put their arms around one another, and embraced each other, in their desire to grow together again. Aristophanes theme is the power of Eros and how not to abuse it.

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of women in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days is outstandingly subordinate. There are a number of times in Hesiod's text that despises women, being mortal, immortal, or flesh-eating monsters. The overall impression of women from Theogony and Works and Days, leads one to believe that Hesiod is a misogynist.

    Read More

  • True Love In Edith Hamilton's Mythology

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Love is often misconstrued as an overwhelming force that characters have very little control over, but only because it is often mistaken for the sum of infatuation and greed. Love and greed tread a blurred line, with grey areas such as lust. In simplest terms, love is selfless and greed is selfish. From the agglomeration of mythological tales, people deduce that love overpowers characters, even that it drives them mad. However, they would be wrong as they would not have analyzed the instances in depth to discern whether or not the said instance revolves around true love. Alone, true love help characters to act with sound reasoning and logic, as shown by the tales of Zeus with his lovers Io and Europa in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology.

    Read More

  • Forms of Love in Plato's Symposium

    2571 Words  | 6 Pages

    Love, in classical Greek literature, is commonly considered a prominent theme. Love, in present days, always appears in the categories of books, movies, music, etc. Interpreted differently by different people, Love turns into a multi-faceted being. In Plato’s work Symposium, Phaedrus, Pausania, Eryximachus, Aristophane and Agathon, each of them presents a speech to either praise or definite Love. Phaedrus first points out that Love is the primordial god; Pausanias brings the theme of “virtue” into the discussion and categorizes Love into “good” one or “bad” one; Eryximachus introduces the thought of “moderation’ and thinks that Love governs such fields as medicine and music; Aristophanes draws attention to the origin and purposes of Love; Agathon enunciates that the correct way to present an eulogy is first to praise its nature and gifts.

    Read More

  • The Danger of Love: Antigone by Sophocles

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nearly everyone experiences the feeling of love. Whether it’s for another person or for food, almost everyone feels love during their lifetime. In the play Antigone, the writer, Sophocles, illustrates a very important fact regarding love: love is our most important and most dangerous motivation for doing anything, and without moderation, love can be deadly.

    Read More

  • Love and Duty in Virgil’s Aeneid and Augustine’s Confessions

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Aeneid, love is depicted as an uncontrollable emotion. Venus and Juno promote the romance between Dido and Aeneas. Dido, the queen of Carthage, begins to fall in love with Aeneas, even though she has vowed to her late husband that she would set her “face against marriage” (Virgil 975). Aeneas falls in love with Dido and remains with her in Carthage, even though he knows that he must continue his travel to Rome. Love is a passion which consumes the soul in spite of its will. It is an “inward fire” (Virgil 976). Juno arranges it so that Dido and Aeneas consummate their love in a cave during a storm. Again, mortals have little or no control over their loves. The gods are the ones who cause people to fall in love.

    Read More

  • The Triumph Of The Great Wall Of China

    2603 Words  | 6 Pages

    There is a large dispute over how long The Great Wall of China really is. Estimates are given anywhere between 1,500 miles and 13,250 miles1. This is because many people disagree to what The Great Wall is. Many historians argue that The Great Wall is only the wall built by Qin Shin Huangdi. Others believe that The Great Wall includes all of the walls built in China including the wall started by Qin Shin Huangdi. If The Great Wall of China is all of the defensive walls built since 214 BC2, then it is impossible to talk about it as one entity. There are hundreds of separate pieces of the wall, because there was never one full encompassing Great Wall built. When Qin Shin Huangdi began to build The Great Wall for China, he had no idea the amount of manpower and supplies he would need to even come close to completing his dream.

    Read More

  • The Metamorphoses And The IIlad

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    I 'm both stories the gods help mortals, and don 't even attempt to destroy them unless they do something outrageous. In both stories morals disrespected a god, In The Metamorphoses, Arachne and Marsyas challenged gods to a weaving and musical contest. That was the part where the story talked about The Role Of Art. It was much more characteristic in this story because of all the themes than in The Odyssey. For example, Love makes all Gods and to Mortals alike because we all have a soft spot for it. Ovid demonstrates that love is dangerous because it has power over everyone. Nobody can avoid the affects of love, or the danger it brings. In my opinion you could avoid some effects of love by not loving to hard. People get hurt inside all the time and the more they get hurt the more they don 't feel when it comes to love. They start to stop showing emotion outside. That is just how it goes now a days. The god of death, PLuto is attracted to love. Love and happiness are the reasons why we as people live. Woman being impregnant is a common relationship in love. They instantly fall in love with their baby. Augustus made an attempt to create legal and illegal forms of love to regulate

    Read More

  • Greek Mythology and the Seven Deadly Sins

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    allowed her to have Ares. Zeus really didn't care for Ares, once during infancy Ares had been

    Read More

  • Socrates' View Of Love

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    with some very different views of love as brought to us by Agathon, Phaedrus and

    Read More

More about The Destructive Power of Love in Hesiod's Theogony

Open Document