Theogonia of Hesiod (8th century B.C.E.)

- Theogony The Hesiod is the oldest systematic cosmogony of the Greek secretariat. The work tells of the birth of the world from Chaos, the appearance of Earth and Heaven, the generation of Titans, Titan fighting and the final domination of Zeus. As the primary source of Greek mythology, Theogonia shaped the theological and cosmological thought of archaic Greece and was a foundation for the epic and tragic tradition.

Theogenia 1–52 — The Muses

Let's start with the Muses of Elikon,
residing in the great and holy mountain
And dance around the clear spring
And the altar of the mighty Cronos.

They bathe in the waters of Permissus,
the Hippocrine and the Holy Olmeion,
And upon Elikon they set up dances
Beautiful and full of grace.

At night, covered in thick fog,
They move and praise with a wonderful voice
Zeus who keeps the patronage,
Hera of Argos,
the blue-eyed Athena,
Phoebus Apollo and Artemis,
Poseidon that upsets the earth,
modest Themida and Afrodite,
Evie, Diony, Leto,
Iapetos, Saturn,
Eo, Sun and Moon,
Earth, Ocean and Night,
And all the sacred genus of immortals.

They once taught me, Hesiod,
Beautiful song,
When I was grazing the sheep
At the foot of the divine Helicon.

I was first told these words,
the goddesses of Olympus, the daughters of Zeus:

«We know how to lie a lot.
that look like truths·
But we also know, when we want,
declare the truth itself.»

So spoke the daughters of the great Zeus·
And they gave me a laurel branch,
Beautifully cut, for a scepter,
And they instilled a divine voice in me,
To praise what will be and what has happened,
And they ordered me to sing
the genus of the immortal gods,
But to start and finish
Always with them.

Theogenia 53–115 — Ancient Gods

The Muses were born in Pieria
from Zeus, the father of gods and men,
and the Mnemosine, reigning in the hills of Elefsina.
Nine nights Cronidis joined her,
far from the other gods,
Going up to her sacred bed.

When the weather was filled,
gave birth to nine daughters,
All alike, with love for the song
And with a carefree heart.
They reside on the high peaks of Olympus
And they have dances and bright rooms.

Near them are the Harites and Imerus,
And when they raise their voices,
praise the gods in harmony,
starting with Jupiter,
And tell how the immortals were born
and how everyone got their price and share.

He is blessed who the Muses love·
The word flows out of his mouth.
Even if one has a heavy sadness in the soul,
when an oyster, servant of the Muses,
Sing the exploits of the old
And the happy gods of Olympus,
immediately forgets his distresses
And he no longer remembers the pain.

Such gifts are given by the Muses to humans.

From Muses and Apollo
come the arid and the guitarists upon the earth,
while the kings come from Zeus.

Whoever the daughters of the great Zeus honor
And they see him born of a divine genus of kings,
sprinkle his tongue with sweet dew·
From his mouth run words like honey.

Everyone looks at him when he delivers justice.·
with firm and prudent words
It even solves major differences.
That is why kings are wise:
so that the people, when wronged,
to correct evil with mild words.

When walking towards the market,
They honor him like a god.·
And he stands out among the gathered.

Such are the sacred gifts of the Muses to humans.

So, from the Muses let's start singing
the sacred genus of the immortals,
those born of Earth and Heaven,
from Night and Sea,
And all who came from them.

First of all, Chaos was born·
Then the wide earth,
a solid and eternal foundation of all,
And the dark Tartaros
in the depths of the wide road,
and Eros, the most beautiful among the immortal gods,
bending the members
and tames mind and prudent thinking
Gods and people.

From Chaos were born Erebos and Black Night·
And from night came the Ether and the Day,
who gave birth to them after joining Erebus.

Theogenia 116–210 — Gaia, Heaven and Titans

After Chaos, Earth, Tartarus and Eros were born,
Earth first gave birth to starry Uranos,
equal to herself,
to cover her whole
And be for the happy gods
steady dwelling forever.

Then she gave birth to the great mountains,
homes of Nymphs living in the forests,
And the vast Ponto, the sea,
No sweet love union.

Then, united with Uranos,
gave birth to the deep oceans,
Koio, Creius, Hyperion, Japetus,
Theia and Rhea, Themida and Mnimosine,
Gold crowned Phoebe.
And dear Tethy.

Last born Cronos,
The youngest and most awesome of her children,
who hated his thriving father.

He still gave birth to the Cyclops,
Vrontis, Steropis and Argis,
that gave Zeus thunder and lightning.
And three more, the Hundred Hands,
Kottos, Briareos and Gyges,
with a hundred hands each
and fifty heads on their shoulders,
Great and powerful.

But Uranos hated his children
From the first moment they were born.
And every time Earth gave birth to someone,
She hid it deep inside her bowels
And he wouldn't let it see the light.

Earth groaning from pain
He thought deceitfully cunning and terrible.
He made out of grey steel a large scythe
And she invited her children to talk.

«My children and your lawless father,
If you want to obey me,
Let us punish your father's hubris·
Because first he came up with unfair works.»

So he spoke· But fear possessed them.
And no one dared answer.

Then the great and deceitful Saturn
He took courage and spoke to his mother:
«Mother, I will dare this play.
I don't respect our evil father.·
Because first he thought of wrongful deeds.»

The great Earth in it rejoiced.
He hid him in an ambush.
And gave him the sharp sickle,
teaching him the whole plan.

And when Heaven came,
Bringing the night,
It spread out on Earth
full of desire for love.

Then Cronus, from his hideout,
With his left hand he grabbed his father.
And on the right,
holding the large sharp scythe,
cut off his genitals.
And threw them behind him.

And they weren't wasted.
As much blood as he spilled on Earth,
She gave birth to Furies,
The great Giants with the brilliant weapons,
and the Nymphs called Melies.

The members, drawn to the sea,
They've been seduced for a long time in the sea.
Around them white foam formed·
And through the foam a daughter was born.

First he reached the Holy Kythira
And then in Cyprus, surrounded by waves.
There emerged the goddess,
beautiful and modest·
And around it grew grass under her feet.

They named her Afrodite,
because he was born of foam·
and Cyprus and Cyprus,
because he was born in Kythira and Cyprus.

Eros and Imerus followed her
from the moment he was born
And when he entered the circle of the gods.

Since then it has been an honor among the immortals:
rule love and smile,
sweet scams and pleasures,
and tender desire.

Theogenia 211–306 — The children of Night and the genealogy of Pontus

From the Night were born great powers:
Moros (the havoc),
The Kiras and Death,
Sleep and Dreams.

Without joining anyone,
The dark night still gave birth
(blindness of mind),
Uise (unfortunate),
The Esperides they guard
the golden apples beyond the Ocean,
The Fates and the ruthless Keres,
that they give to people
the share of good and evil.

He also gave birth to Nemesis,
punishment of the hubris of mortals,
and Fraud, Friendship,
The Old Man and the cruel Discord.

Discord in turn
She gave birth to Kopo, Oblivion,
Hunger, the Alges,
The Battles, the Murders,
the fights and the Lies,
Amphitology, Lawlessness,
and Orco,
which brings the greatest calamity
people when they're lying.

So from Night came forth
forces that burden the world of mortals.

The Children of Pontus

Point, united with Earth,
gave birth to Nerea,
old real and mild,
Who doesn't lie and knows fair thoughts.

She still gave birth to the wonderful Wonderman,
The mighty Forky and Cetus,
And Euryvia, who has an iron heart.

From Nerea and Dorid,
daughter of the Ocean,
The Nereides were born,
fifty daughters bright and cute,
resident in the sea
And they help sailors and people.

(Among them Thetis, Galatia, Kymothoe
and many more.)

From Wonderman and Electra
Iris, the messenger of the gods, was born,
And the feathered harpies.

From Forky and Cetus
The Elders were born,
who from birth were old,
and the Mermaids,
residing beyond the Ocean,
near Night.

Of these, Medusa was mortal·
The other immortals.
When Perseus cut her head off,
They jumped out of her blood.
Chrysaor and the winged Pegasus.

Chrysaor joined his generation
With Calliroy, daughter of the Ocean,
And they gave birth to the three-headed Geryon.

He was killed later by Hercules.
For his cattle, in Erythia.

Keateau also gave birth to the terrible monster
who kept the golden apples of the Esperides:
the dragon Ladon,
Unscathed and terrible.

Theogenia 307–452

The descendants of Iapetus – Prometheus – The birth of Zeus

The descendants of Japet

Japanese joined the Ocean Clown
And they gave birth to Atlas, Menoite,
the resourceful Prometheus
And the reckless Epithea.

Atlas was punished by Zeus
And stands to the ends of the earth,
holding the wide sky on his shoulders.

Menoitus, arrogant and violent,
He was struck by Jupiter's lightning
And he was thrown into the dark Erebus.

Epimetheus accepted from Zeus
The first woman, Pandora,
without thinking of the evil that would bring people.

Prometheus, wise and deceitful,
dared to deceive Zeus
sharing the sacrificial animal:
The good pieces hid them
And covered them with a bad look,
While the bones were decorated with fat shiny.

Zeus chose the bones
And he understood the fraud.

Angry, he took the fire from people.
But Prometheus stole it again.
inside a hollow reed
And brought her back to the mortals.

Zeus then became more ferocious.
Command Hephaestus
to make out of soil a beautiful woman·
The gods gave her gifts:
Athena art,
Venus grace and desire,
Mercury is deceitful and deceitful.

That's how Pandora was born,
The «gift of all gods»,
And from it came the genus of women,
weight for men mortals.

Prometheus Zeus
He tied him up with chains.
on steep rock·
And an eagle came every day
And ate his liver,
That grew back at night.

Only later he released him.
Hercules, of Zeus' will.

Jupiter's birth and rise

Saturn, learning from Earth and Heaven
That a child would dethron him,
He swallowed his children as soon as they were born:
Hestia, Demeter, Hera,
Hades and Neptune.

Rhea, full of pain,
She asked her parents for help.
She was secretly instructed to give birth in Crete
and give Saturn a stone
Wrapped in the assortments.

He did.
Saturn swallowed the stone
thinking he was his kid.

Little Zeus grew up hidden
in a cave in Crete·
He was raised by Amalthia
And the Curites hit their shields
so his crying can't be heard.

When he was manned,
He forced Saturn to puke.
First the stone
And then his brothers.

So the great conflict began
between Olympians and Titans —
Titan fighting.

Theogenia 453–617

The Titanic Battle — Jupiter’s prevalence

After Zeus forced Saturn
to bring his children back into the light,
stood in charge of his brothers
and claimed the sovereignty of the world.

For ten whole years
Titans and Olympians
They fought incessantly,
without overpowering any side.

The Titans were fortified.
On the tall Authy,
while the gods of Olympus
They were holding the tops of Olympus.

The battle was terrible.
The earth was shaken,
The sky rained,
And the Ocean was shaken.

Then Zeus, on Earth's advice,
freed from Tartarus
The Hundred Hands —
Kotto, Briarez and Gyges —
Saturn had chained up.

He offered them nectar and ambrosia.
And invited them to stand by him.

With a hundred hands each
They hurled rocks without stopping.
against the Titans.

Then Zeus unleashed
its thunder and lightning·
The fire burned the earth,
The air was burning,
The sea was boiling.

The conflict was secular:
The earth, heaven and Tartarus
They spoke from the floor.

Finally the Titans broke.
The Olympians tied them up.
with hard chains
And threw them into the deep Tartarus,
far from sunlight.

On the bronze threshold of Hades,
beyond the ocean,
That's where the Hundred Hands kept them,
loyal guards.

So Zeus established his authority
and the gods of Olympus
They recognized his sovereignty.

The new secular class

After winning,
The immortals shared the honors among themselves:
Poseidon took the sea,
Hades the dark underworld,
and Zeus held the sky and supreme authority.

Earth and Olympus
remained common to everyone.

So the kingdom of Zeus was established,
And the new era of the gods began.

Theogenia 618–735

The Hurricane — The last cosmic threat

After Titans were thrown into Tartarus
And Jupiter's power was established,
Earth, angry at the defeat of its children,
joined with the deep Tartar
And she gave birth to the terrible Hurricane.

He was a creature terrible and irresistible.
From his shoulders they leaped
a hundred snake heads,
That made sounds strange. —
once human voices,
sometimes roaring beasts,
Sometimes whistles blazing.

Fire flew out of his eyes·
The flames were shining
as he spoke with voices incomprehensible.

All the gods were frightened.
For a while even Zeus himself
It was found in front of a force equivalent.

But soon the wrath of Cronides lit.
Grab the lightning and the thunder·
His lightning broke the sky.
The earth trembled,
The sea roared,
Tartarus echoed.

The crash was terrible.
The flames wrapped the mountains·
The earth melted like metal in a furnace.

Finally Zeus crushed Typhon
And threw him at Tartarus.

They were born of him.
the wild and violent winds —
except for the South, North and Zephyr,
that are beneficial to people.
Others bring destruction to ships
And calamities to mortals.

So this last threat
He submitted to Zeus' power.

The definitive order of the world

After Typhon's defeat,
No creature ever questioned again.
Zeus' rule.

Heaven, earth and the underworld
They stabilized in their class.
The gods have received their honors,
And Olympus became
Unshakable center of divine power.

Theogenia 736–end

The stabilisation of the world and divine marriages

In the depths of Tartarus,
where the roots of the earth and the sea lie,
Walls of copper and gates are raised heavy,
The work of Poseidon.

Beyond these are the Titans,
bound in the dark,
while the Hundred-Handed stand guard.

The springs are nearby
Earth, Ocean and Heaven —
places terrible and inaccessible,
that neither the gods are easy to approach.

Zeus' marriages and new divine generations

After Jupiter's power was established,
began to join goddesses and give birth
the new Olympian class.

First he joined his fate with Mitida,
goddess of wisdom and understanding.
But he found out he was having a baby.
that would overcome him in power.
That's why he swallowed her.

Later, from the head of Zeus
Athena was born,
All armed and awesome,
goddess of wisdom and war.

Then he joined Themida
And the Hours were born —
Sociability, Trial, and Peace —
and the Fates,
who share people's destiny.

With Eurynome, daughter of the Ocean,
She gave birth to the three graces.

With Demeter he acquired Persephone,
who became queen of the underworld.

With the Memorial she gave birth to the Muses,
They give songs and wisdom.

With Leteau she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis.

With Hera, his wife,
She gave birth to Mars, Evie, and Ilithyia.

And by Zeus himself
Hera was born and Hephaestus was born.

The completion of divine genealogy

Hesiod still lists
sulphides and offspring:

• Neptune and Amphitrite,

• Mars and Venus,

• the Sun and the Persian,

• and many other gods and heroes
  born to divine compounds.

So the entire genealogical tree forms
Immortals and first half-gods.

The meaning of Theogenia

- Theogony It's not just a list of names.
It's the narrative of the transition:

• from Chaos to Order,

• from the primary conflict in divine justice,

• From the raw power of Titans
  Jupiter's wise rule.

With Jupiter established
a world where power is combined with Trial
and divine power organizes the universe.

This concludes the cosmogony of Hesiod —
the first major systematic theological work
of Greek antiquity.