In Hesiod’s Theogony, the story of “First Beings” (Theog. 116-138) told by Hesiod himself provided a fundamental to understanding of the Greek conception of the early history of the universe. Hesiod illustrated that the creation of the universe and all life started with the four primal beings, Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. Throughout the passage, several lines provided an explanation on how the universe was first created, and how life first started. The passage chosen illustrates the importance of the four primal beings, and each playing a significant role of the creation of life. Throughout this essay, it will discuss, the four primal beings contribution to the early creation of the universe, Gaia’s contribution to the creation of life, such as her parthenogenesis creation and later leading to procreation, and Chaos’s input of early creation of life as well. The Greek’s conception of the creation of the universe started with the four primal beings. “First of all Chasm came into beings; but next wide-breasted Earth… and dim Tartarus … and Eros…” (Theog. 116-120). Chasm or also known as Chaos was perceived as a female parthenogenesis being, and represented unformed matter, an empty infinite space (Nelson, 26, 18) that surrounded Earth. The passage then introduces Earth or also known as Gaia as the second primal beings. The passage identified Gaia as a personification of Earth, providing a home to all immortals and mortals. Next, Tartarus was identified, “dim Tartarus in nook of the wide-pathed land” (Theog. 119), representing the lowest part of the underworld (Nelson, 26, 20). The term “nook” signifies a hidden or secluded spot (Merriam Webster, 2013), an area that is unknown, and deep below the surface of Earth. The Greeks c... ... middle of paper ... ...ted with the four primal beings, Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. Each of the four primal beings contributed to the creation of life. Beginning with the parthenogenic birth from both Gaia and Chaos, the children that were parthenogenetically born then began to procreate, and the cycle of life then slowly began. Works Cited "GAIA." GAEA EARTH & CULT : Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . Nelson, Stephanie. Hesiod Theogony& Works and Days. Newburyport MA: Focus Publishing, 2009. Print. "NYX : Greek Protogenos Goddess of Night." NYX : Greek Protogenos Goddess of Night. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . "URANUS : Greek Protogenos God of the Sky." URANUS : Greek Protogenos God of the Sky. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. .
Roman and Greek mythology are filled with multiple interpretations of how the creator, be it the gods or nature, contributed to the birth of the world. These stories draw the backgrounds of the gods and goddesses that govern much of classical mythology. Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Hesiod’s Theogony are two pieces of work that account for how our universe came to be. A comparison of Theogony with Metamorphoses reveals that Hesiod’s creation story portrays the deities as omnipresent, powerful role whose actions triggered the beginning of the universe whereas in Metamorphoses, the deities do not play a significant role; rather the humans are center of the creation. The similarities and differences are evident in the construction of the universe, ages of man, and the creation of men and women on earth.
The second creation myth I will examine in this essay is of Greek origin and is known as The Five Ages of Man. This myth begins wit...
Rosenberg, Donna. "The Creation of the Titans and the Gods." World Mythology. 3rd ed. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc., 1999. 82-89. Print.
The Greeks believed that the earth was formed before any of the gods appeared. The gods, as the Greeks knew them, all originated with Father Heaven, and Mother Earth. Father Heaven was known as Uranus, and Mother Earth, as Gaea. Uranus and Gaea raised many children. Amoung them were the Cyclopes, the Titans, and the Hecatoncheires, or the
"Gods and Men in Greek Religion." Gods and Men in Greek Religion. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr.
There are many different Pagan gods and goddesses, but two primary deities that are worshipped. Gaia, and The Horned God; Cernunnos. The goddess Gaia is the mother of all primordial goddesses, and life on Earth. Little is known about Cernunnos and his role in traditional Pagan beliefs, but it has been suspected that he symbolizes nature or fertility. Gaia’s is characterized as a feminine woman, with green skin, the planet Earth for a belly (or a spiral on Her stomach), and plants for hair. Often times, Gaia is shown sitting cross legged, symbolizing Her connection with Earth. The goddess Gaia is also called Mother Earth and Mother. Her influences on Pagan culture are rituals, worship, and prayers. The Horned God, Cernunnos, is depicted as theriocephalic (having a beast's head), with horns or or antlers on his head. Cernunnos is often associated with na...
It is ironic that the entity in existence was the being called Chaos, for although it's Greek translation is Chasm, or emptiness, I believe that chaos and disorder will be their fate if the gods continue this eternal cycle of increasing self destructive behavior. All of this, however, was created as through the beliefs and imagination of Hesiod. Historians and mythologists still can not concretely separate, in his two stories, the Theogony and the Works and Days, which parts were of his imagination and which were not; it is therefore difficult to determine what the author's overall message was to the readers. It is possible that Hesiod wrote these stories in order to discredit the gods with gossip of their alleged human-like violence and sexual transgressions.
Have you ever wonder how the universe was created? Some people believe in the Earth creation by the Supreme Being, some believe in the scientific explanation of Big Bang explosion theory. Every civilization in the world has its own story of how things are created. Each story reflects how people see and think the world at their time. In this essay, I am going to compare two myths of how man was created – the creation tale of Mohawk Tribe and the Hebrew Bible creation story. There are a lot of similarities as well as differences between these legends. While some differences between the two tales are the development of the stories and the meaning behind the stories, the similarities between them is the concept of creationism.
But all share common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “. the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the Near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed.
As the first book of the Old Testament convey, Genesis, and its Greek meaning “in the beginning,” life originated with God in the Garden of Eden. Accor...
...is higher than “physical, natural, or elemental accounts of creation by accretion, excretion, copulation, division, dismemberment, or parturition" (Leonard & McClure, 2004). If, however, we are self-conscious about our culture’s assumptions about what is “normal,” we see that at least as many cosmogonic myths have presented creation as part of a natural process as have conceived it as an exercise of divine and creative will. That is, many creation myths depict the birth of the cosmic order as an organic, natural, and evolutionary process rather than as an engineering project or the act of a master magician. Ranking one kind of myth as lower or more primitive and our own myths as higher or more cultured derives from a cultural bias. To study myth effectively, we need to free ourselves as much as possible from the prejudices we inherit from our cultural surroundings.
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
Athena was the goddess of war and wisdom. Daughter of Zeus and Metis, but born from only Zeus. Gaea the Earth goddess told Zeus that his child would u...
the Vedic poets and theologians. They are as followed: (1) creation by fecundation of the original waters; (2) creation by the dismembering of a primordial giant, Purusa; (3) creation out of a unity-totality, at once being and nonbeing; (4) creation by the separation of heaven and earth.[2] [Image] The first cosmogony relates to the celebrated hymn of the Rg Veda. The god imagined as Hiranyagarbha (the Golden Embryo) hovers over the Waters, Hiranyabarbha enters the waters and fecundates them. This gave birth to Agni (the god of fire).[3] The second cosmogony can be found in a hymn, the Purusasukta. Purusa is represented at once as cosmic totality and as an androgynous being.
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.