Greek gods were flawed like humans do.
Greek gods were flawed like humans do.
III-2 BEE
Hesiod’s Theogony tells about the creation of the world and the origin of the Gods, just like any other world creation stories. But more than that, it is inevitable to notice how these gods act and reveal themselves in a particular situation, especially when it comes to omens about their children overtaking their godly position. Every god possesses different attitudes, rewards, and punishment, and insecurities disclose the fact that these are not alien to them and us.
Nothing we learn about them is alien to ourselves
(Hamilton, 1942, p. 10)
There was chaos at first to Erebus and Night’s existence. Later, Uranus and Gaea’s existence and everything follows —titans, cyclopes, and hecatoncheires—are the product of their procreation. In connection with other creation stories like the Book of Genesis to Theogony, well, they do share the same features about how both began in nothing but a mere form: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2) and the mentioned of Chaos in Theogony. Both also have the concept of the day and night. From a simple physical world to a complicated and complex one. Nevertheless, world creation stories carry its culture hence noting its uniqueness and variedness.
Moving forward to the latter parts of Theogony, this is where I will now discuss various attitudes, feelings, and the god’s insecurities. For attitudes, Nereus is known for being true and honest. Also, trustworthy and righteous. He is the very opposite of Typhaon, who is described as terrible, outrageous, and lawless. In the human context, these attitudes distinguish one from good to bad. Moreover, the physical appearances of all creatures vary from one another (Bestiary, p. 6). In the 21st century, this shows the variedness of race and physical appearances.
It is inevitable to observe that even though they are gods, there is a system to follow, and one of those is evenly distributing wealth and portion with reference to Hymn of Hecate, page 8. Hence, the concept of reward and punishment exists. When you show goodness, you will be reward with rich prizes and joy. Zeus will be generous of you, and he will honor you. However, when you do bad deeds like what Prometheus did when he unfairly divided the food’s portions and stealing the fire, Zeus punished him with Pandora’s creation. If we relate this with Skinner’s reinforcement theory, Zeus did reward fellow gods and mortals who reinforce positive behavior. Then, punish them, which weaken or diminish negative behavior. In the context of education, we also used this to improve student’s practice. However, this has its limitations, for Zeus displayed inconsistency and biases to other mortals he favored, for example, his dear son Perseus. Speaking of inconsistency and biases, which is a very human character. Uranus hated his “terrible” children and hid them in a secret place on Earth. However, Gaea cannot just take this easily, so she and Cronos punished him by castrating him. In today’s concept, Gaea displays a motherly action of protecting her children, but there is a moral dilemma in that case.
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| A convo between Zeus and you. A theogony meme. |
Now, for insecurities, there are a lot of accounts in the Theogony. First, Uranus feels “jealous” over his sons —Obriareus and Cottus and Gyes— manhood and comeliness and size. So, he kept them under the ground. Given the fact that Uranus is greater than his sons because he is credited with the world’s creation, what made him feel jealous? It seems like gods are just mere humans full of insecurities. Also, Cronus swallowing his magnificent children, namely Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, to avoid being overthrown in his place. Of course, Zeus is no exception. Zeus swallowed Metis out of fear that she might replace something stronger than thunderbolt. These insecurities have shown their weakness and that is —be replaced with someone greater than them. Also, it revealed how greedy the Gods are with power.
Theogony, as I viewed it as an account of flaws present in gods, goddesses, and mortals. It is still relevant today because this is what people is trying to overcome in the 21st century. To build a better place for everyone. For instance, Dove’s Self-Esteem Project, offering confidence-building workshops and educational activities for parents, mentors, and youth leaders. Also, BTS’ Love Myself campaign with UNICEF against violence towards children and teens around the world through music. Narrowing down in the Philippines’ context of corruption, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto received an award as an Anti-Corruption Champion Award with his aim to ‘Denormalize corruption’.
Therefore, we can overcome all these insecurities, and hopefully, we won’t feel “jealous” because we perceived others are better than us. Nor corrupt people because we are greedy with our power. Cheers to becoming better and not repeating the past!
In conclusion, the Theogony can be our very own reference as to why we are diverse. Also, provide explanations of how our insecurities originated as well as its sources. That, lessons and themes from Theogony is not alien from us. There is no single order because the world is naturally COMPLICATED.
La Santa Sede. (n.d.). The Book of Genesis. http://www.vatican.va/archive/bible/genesis/documents/bible_genesis_en.html
Lalu, G.P. (2021, February 25). ‘Denormalize corruption,’ says Vico Sotto after getting US State Department award. INQUIRER.net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1399898/denormalize-corruption-vico-sotto-hopes-citation-sparks-awareness-over-governance
Love Myself. (2017). Love Myself Campaign. https://www.love-myself.org/eng/home/
Management Mania. (n.d.). Skinner's Reinforcement Theory. https://managementmania.com/en/skinners-reinforcement-theory#:~:text=Reinforcement%20Theory%20was%20published%20by,by%20the%20type%20of%20reward.
Theoi Classical Texts Library. (n.d.). Hesiod, Theogony. https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodTheogony.html
Unilever. (n.d.). Building body confidence & self-esteem. https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/improving-health-and-well-being/health-and-hygiene
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