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Showing posts from February, 2021

Misogyny in Mount Olympus

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 - A Reflection by Jane Segovia The Theogony is an ancient didactic poem composed by the Greek poet Hesiod around the year 700 BCE. It is considered to be one of the earliest works created about Greek mythology. Although its aim is to introduce the origins of the universe, the poet of this piece reveals a much darker side of Olympus - its misogynistic ways. Misogyny  is described to be the prejudice against women. Sadly, it is depicted in numerous parts of the 1,022 hexameter line poem that described the origin of the Greek Gods. This is not surprising since the said poem also contained greed, incest, and eating one's own babies in order to prevent one's downfall. Still, misogyny is prevalent in the piece of writing as well as in the current times which makes this topic relevant and still worth discussing. Origin of Aphrodite As the Goddess of Love and beauty, Aphrodite is someone a lot of woman look up to. She is the epitome of what they wanted to be and how they wanted to be

Zeus in the 21st Century

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     A word that first comes to mind upon hearing the concept of mythology is "power". I would often think before that gods and goddesses are always about them intervening in the lives of people by giving them aid when they are on the verge of danger. However, the poem Theogony , after reading it, has given me an epiphany that it is beyond my initial perception about powers and positions of these characters in mythology. And this story transcends time and has been shared from one generation to another.      Zeus, the Supreme Ruler of Olympus Photo:  https://www.ancient-literature.com/who-is-zeus-afraid-of/      One of the gods that caught my attention is Zeus, the father of the Muses of Mt. Olympus and a mighty one who could do whatever he wants with his own power. He is the god who was hidden by his mother when he was young because his father is threatened that his son could overthrow his own father. As the most famous saying states "like father, like son" and c

Theogony and Science: Will Science Approve or Disprove?

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By: Lip, Stephanie Joy M. (III-2 BEE) Humans are known to be passionately curious about almost everything. From the origins of the world to the end of human life – or if there is an end – people are always looking for answers. Literature and oral stories are mainly used to satisfy man’s curiosity in the early periods. In the 21st century world, we now have science to back up our claims. But today, we will see how both the power of literature and science were used in an 8th B.C. fictional work by Hesiod entitled “Theogony”, a piece of literature describing the origins and genealogy of the gods. This blog will explain how science is reflected in the specific parts of “Theogony”, if it does or does not support its claims, and its relevance in our modern times. Specifically, this will include the creation science, behavioural science, and the science of music. Creation Science Retrieved from: https://i1.wp.com/littales.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/H_War-of-the-Gods.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&

Chaos in Hesiod's Theogony

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  Certeza, Patrisha Bianca Y. III - 2 BEE Chaos in Hesiod’s Theogony https://media.creativemornings.com/uploads/theme/image/77/Chaos_Illustration_Layout_creativemornings.com_themepage.png   Chaos - as we define today, is complete disorder and confusion. Undeniably, when a concept becomes confusing, it leads us to more confusions and disorder, as if it is a mother giving birth. But, have you ever heard of the Theogony written by the great poet, Hesiod?   The Theogony of Hesiod may be described by my classmates as overwhelming, complex, scary, amazing, scandalous, revenge, peculiar, confusing, and complicated -- in short, chaotic, that we could even compare it to the issues and problems we are experiencing now that we are already in the 21 st  century. Ever wonder about some of these issues and problems?   https://bfksolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/QuestionMarks.jpg First, the power of the Greek Gods. Specifically, with Zeus because he is the most powerful one. I can’t imagine h

Hesiod's Poetry and Yahwist History

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  The Creation To begin, the cosmos was described in similar terms by Hesiod and Genesis I—“void” and “chaos”, the creation of light and darkness, the sky above, the ocean below, and the earth. In Theogony, it says that Chaos came first, then Gaia (earth); in Genesis 1:2, it stated that “the earth was a formless void”. Both statements show that the creation came from nothing; these also depict an allusion to the Mesopotamian goddess of chaos in the Enuma Elish, Tiamat. With this, scholars argue that both Hesiod’s Theogony and Genesis I was familiar with the ancient Near Eastern accounts of creation. There are other statements that were found similar such as Hesiod’s use of “Erebos” (darkness) and “Aether” (day) and the Bible’s (Genesis 1:4-5) separation of “light and darkness”, the concept of “starry Sky”, “the barren sea seething with its swell, Pontus” from Theogony and the “sky above”, “seas below” of Genesis 1. The similarities between the two ended as Hesiod speaks of the gods,

Human and Divine

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  Mythology is a vital part of Ancient Greece. For years, this rich and complex tale has been passed down orally among generations. Hesiod is the first poet who put an order in this complex mythology. In his poem Theogony, the Greek poet offers an account of the world's creation in a lengthy 1,028-versed lyric describing the creation of the universe and battles amongst Greek deities (Solmsen, 2019; Wasson, 2017). In this literature, Hesiod does not only narrate the genealogy of the gods but as well as their flaws, vices and betrayals. Like humans, Greek deities are imperfect and flawed. They are sensitive, emotional and immoral--capable of committing murder, adultery, betrayal and even incest. In Uranus, Cronus and Zeus' succession story, Hesiod showcased these human characteristics. In Theogony, Uranus is described as a primordial god. His subsequent union with his mother Gaea resulted in the birth of the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires. Despite his familial conne

The power vested to woman.

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Vere, Angelica V. III - 2 BEE The Power vested to woman. It is evident in Hesoid's Theogony how much power men has, they were even capable of bearing a child on their own. But, we can't also deny the cleverness and power the women possessed in the story. One of the examples is how Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was able to nurture her daughter, Athena, inside Zeus body when Zeus swallowed Metis to prevent her from giving birth because to avoid the prophecy that any offspring of his union with Metis would be greater than he. In the end, Athena burst forth from Zeus' forehead, fully armed. The cleverness and power of woman to influence the people around her was further manifested when Rhea, the sister and wife of Kronos, was able to tricked his husband with the help of Gaia and Ouranos, to save  her children from their fate of being swallowed by their father because of the prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him. Lastly, the creation of the beautiful woman named

Hesiod’s Theogony: The Complicacy of Greek Mythology

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  III-2 BEE Hesiod’s Theogony: The Complicacy of Greek Mythology   Upon reading the Theogony, here are my sentiments, reactions, and possibly confusions that I come to solve and figured out. Names and Characters The complexity may start with the confusion on their names. It’s not surprising that you find the gods and goddesses’ names difficult to sort out and memorize-- there were hundreds of them! Their names’ construction, as well as pronunciations and spellings are truly Greeks. I find it good to pronounce but hard to remember, most especially that they have a complicated relationship to one another.                                                    Family Tree of the Greek Gods https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffamily-tree-template.org%2Fgreek-mythology-family-tree%2F&psig=AOvVaw30EG9JzbrllCPkVXgWjgFe&ust=1614436470288000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOi529fih-8CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAO Relationship s In Greek mythology, the

Women Representation in Hesiod's Theogony

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Women Representation in Hesiod's Theogony Samantha Louise R. Carimpong III-2 BEE          The Theogony is a poem written by Hesiod in 8th-century BCE. It narrates the origin of the world and the lineage of the Greek gods starting from Chaos until the Olympian gods became the ruler of the world (Wasson, 2017). In the poem, Hesiod described the genealogy of each supreme being incorporating the events happened during that time as well as the significant roles they played in each event. However, in the entirety of the text, men had dominated the significant parts and was celebrated whereas women behaved only in response to the actions of men. Hence, women representation in Hesiod's Theogony can be seen in terms of motherhood and source of evil. Motherhood           Source:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/b/ba/Feuerbach_Gaea.jpg Source:  https://www.greekmythology.com/images/mythology/ rhea_large_image_16.jpg                There are plenty of goddesses who are moth