In Hesiod
…complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life.
Read More
In study of religion: Early attempts to study religion…chaotic Greek tradition was the Theogony of the Greek poet Hesiod (flourished c. 700 bce), who rather laboriously put together the genealogies of the gods. His work remains an important source book of ancient myth. The rise of speculative philosophy among the Ionian philosophers, especially Thales of Miletus, Heracleitus
Read More
In dualism: Greece and the Hellenistic world…found in the early Greek Theogony of Hesiod in his myths of the gods Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus and the conflict between primordial and later gods. It was in the later, Classical Greek world, however, that dualism was most evident. Many of the pre-Socratic philosophers (6th and 5th centuries bce)…
Read More
literature
- Greek
In Greek literature: Epic narrativeHesiod’s other surviving poem, the Theogony, attempts a systematic genealogy of the gods and recounts many myths associated with their part in the creation of the universe.
Read More
- interpretation of creation
In fable, parable, and allegory: Allegory…Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (and the later Roman version of the same event given in Ovid’s Metamorphoses). The two traditions thus start with an adequate source of cosmic imagery, and both envisage a universe full of mysterious signs and symbolic strata. But thereafter the two cultures diverge. This…
Read More
mythology
Greek
In Greek religion: Cosmogony…cosmogonies in Archaic Greece, Hesiod’s Theogony is the only one that has survived in more than fragments. It records the generations of the gods from Chaos (literally, “Yawning Gap”) through Zeus and his contemporaries to the gods who had two divine parents (e.g., Apollo and Artemis, born of Zeus and…
Read More
In Greek mythology: The works of Hesiod: Theogony and Works and DaysThe fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 bce). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some…
Read More
In Greek mythology: Myths of origin…though the aim of Hesiod’s Theogony is to describe the ascendancy of Zeus (and, incidentally, the rise of the other gods), the inclusion of such familiar themes as the hostility between the generations, the enigma of woman (Pandora), the exploits of the friendly trickster (Prometheus), and the struggles against powerful…
Read More
- Latinus
- In Latinus
…Hesiod (7th century bc), in Theogony, calls him the son of the Greek hero Odysseus and the enchantress Circe. The Roman poet Virgil, in the Aeneid, makes him the son of the Roman god Faunus and the nymph Marica. Latinus was a shadowy personality who was perhaps invented to explain…
Read More
- In Latinus
Mediterranean
- Aphrodite
In Aphrodite…and Hesiod relates in his Theogony that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured…
Read More
- Eros
In ErosIn the Theogony of Hesiod (fl. 700 bce), Eros was a primeval god, son of Chaos, the original primeval emptiness of the universe, but later tradition made him the son of Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love and beauty, by either Zeus (the king of the gods), Ares…
Read More
- Titans
In TitanAccording to Hesiod’s Theogony, there were 12 original Titans: the brothers Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus and the sisters Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. At the instigation of Gaea the Titans rebelled against their father, who had shut them up in the underworld (Tartarus).…
Read More
- Uranus
- In Uranus
According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Gaea (Earth), emerging from primeval Chaos, produced Uranus, the Mountains, and the Sea. From Gaea’s subsequent union with Uranus were born the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires.
Read MoreSee AlsoLitCharts15. The End of the Heroic Age in Homer, Hesiod and the CycleFour Ages | Greek mythologyHesiod's Theogony: The Creation Of The World
- In Uranus
- Chaos
- In Chaos
Both concepts occur in the Theogony of Hesiod. First there was Chaos in Hesiod’s system, then Gaea and Eros (Earth and Desire). Chaos, however, did not generate Gaea; the offspring of Chaos were Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx. Nyx begat Aether, the bright upper air, and Day. Nyx later begat the…
Read More
- In Chaos
- Hittite
In epic: Eastern influences…divine kingship told in the Theogony of Hesiod and elsewhere is paralleled in a Hittite version of a Hurrian myth. In it, Anu, Kumarbi, and the storm god respectively, parallel Uranus, Cronos, and Zeus in the Theogony. The Hittites had continuous diplomatic relations with the Achaeans of Greece, whose princes…
Read More
","url":"Introduction","wordCount":0,"sequence":1,"headerCarousel":null},"imarsData":{"INFINITE_SCROLL":"590818|1,264059|2,191796|1,106011|1,40681|1","HAS_REVERTED_TIMELINE":"false"},"npsAdditionalContents":{},"templateHandler":{"name":"INDEX"},"paginationInfo":{"previousPage":null,"nextPage":null,"totalPages":1},"uaTemplate":"INDEX","infiniteScrollList":[{"p":1,"t":590818},{"p":2,"t":264059},{"p":1,"t":191796},{"p":1,"t":106011},{"p":1,"t":40681}],"topicLeftRail":{"topicInfo":{"id":590818,"title":"Theogony","url":"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Theogony-by-Hesiod","description":"Hesiod: …complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life.","type":"TOPIC","titleText":"Theogony","urlTitle":"Theogony-by-Hesiod","metaDescription":"Other articles where Theogony is discussed: Hesiod: …complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life.","identifierHtml":"work by Hesiod","identifierText":"work by Hesiod","topicClass":"topic","topicKey":"Theogony-by-Hesiod","articleContentType":"INDEX","ppTecType":"THING","gaTemplate":"INDEX","topicType":"INDEX","relativeUrl":"/topic/Theogony-by-Hesiod","assemblyLinkPrefix":"/media/1/590818/"},"topicLink":{"title":"Theogony","url":"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Theogony-by-Hesiod"},"tocTitle":"Directory","tocEntry":"References","toc":null,"quoteLink":null,"indexLink":null,"factsLink":null,"mediaLink":null,"media":null,"studentLinks":null,"relatedQuizzes":null,"topQuestions":null,"readNext":null,"discover":[{"id":5778,"title":"12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”","url":"/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written","description":"How many of these great novels have you read?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/55/142355-131-EFF621AF/books-Stack-literature-pile-reading-entertainment-society-2010.jpg","altText":"Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society","credit":"© Hemera/Thinkstock","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/55/142355-131-EFF621AF/books-Stack-literature-pile-reading-entertainment-society-2010.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Literature","url":"/list/browse/Literature"}],"lastItemTitle":"Literature"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["novels","literature","books","Anna Karenina","To Kill a Mockingbird","Invisible Man","The Great Gatsby","A Passage to India","Don Quixote","Beloved","Mrs. Dalloway","The Color Purple","Jane Eyre","Charlotte Brontë","Alice Walker","Toni Morrison","Miguel de Cervantes","F. Scott Fitzgerald","E.M. Forster","Ralph Ellison","Harper Lee","Leo Tolstoy","best","greatest","top","Chinua Achebe","Gabriel García Márquez","Things Fall Apart","One Hundred Years of Solitude","Nobel Prize for Literature","African literature","Latin American literature "],"hashtagsString":"novels, literature, books, Anna Karenina, To Kill a Mockingbird, Invisible Man, The Great Gatsby, A Passage to India, Don Quixote, Beloved, Mrs. Dalloway, The Color Purple, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Miguel de Cervantes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E.M. Forster, Ralph Ellison, Harper Lee, Leo Tolstoy, best, greatest, top, Chinua Achebe, Gabriel García Márquez, Things Fall Apart, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Nobel Prize for Literature, African literature, Latin American literature ","displayDate":[2023,6,23],"urlTitle":"12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":12000,"title":"Literature","url":"Literature","description":"With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg","altText":"Literature","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":12000,"title":"Literature","url":"Literature","description":"With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg","altText":"Literature","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"},{"id":6434,"title":"9 American Political Scandals","url":"/list/9-american-political-scandals","description":"Are you ready to be scandalized?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/64/164764-131-89DFC4D4/Richard-M-Nixon-scandal-press-conference-March-12-1971.jpg","altText":"Watergate scandal. Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon gives a press conference and talks to the press, March 12, 1971.","credit":"Oliver F. Atkins—White House Photo/Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/64/164764-131-89DFC4D4/Richard-M-Nixon-scandal-press-conference-March-12-1971.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Politics, Law & Government","url":"/list/browse/Politics-Law-Government"}],"lastItemTitle":"Politics, Law & Government"},"superCategory":{"id":5,"title":"History & Society","url":"History-Society","description":"Explore history and society; accidents and disasters; the age of revolutions; the ancient world; historic dynasties; global exploration; the middle ages; the modern world; prehistory; US history; world history; wars and battles; sociology; religion and philosophy; humanities; ethics; anthropology; festivals and holidays; human rights; human migration; international relations; politics, law, and government","keywords":"accidents and disasters; the age of revolutions; the ancient world; historic dynasties; global exploration; the middle ages; the modern world; prehistory; US history; world history; wars and battles; sociology; religion and philosophy; humanities; ethics; anthropology; festivals and holidays; human rights; human migration; international relations; politics, law, and government","classId":"HISTORY","sortOrder":1},"hashtags":["political scandals","Watergate scandal","Iran-Contra Affair","Whiskey Ring Scandal","Crédit Mobilier Scandal","Teapot Dome Scandal","Chappaquiddick","Bill Clinton","Monica Lewinsky","impeachment","Grover Cleveland","Andrew Jackson","bigamy","Ted Kennedy","Mary Jo Kopechne","American history","U.S. history","U.S. presidency","U.S. government "],"hashtagsString":"political scandals, Watergate scandal, Iran-Contra Affair, Whiskey Ring Scandal, Crédit Mobilier Scandal, Teapot Dome Scandal, Chappaquiddick, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, impeachment, Grover Cleveland, Andrew Jackson, bigamy, Ted Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne, American history, U.S. history, U.S. presidency, U.S. government ","displayDate":[2018,3,14],"urlTitle":"9-american-political-scandals","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":9000,"title":"Politics, Law & Government","url":"Politics-Law-Government","description":"The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg","altText":"Politics, Law & Government","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg"}},{"id":6000,"title":"World History","url":"World-History","description":"Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg","altText":"World History","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":9000,"title":"Politics, Law & Government","url":"Politics-Law-Government","description":"The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg","altText":"Politics, Law & Government","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"},{"id":5973,"title":"What’s the Difference Between Asian and African Elephants?","url":"/story/whats-the-difference-between-asian-and-african-elephants","description":"Three significant physical factors make it easy to distinguish these two types of proboscidean.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/94/191994-131-9582CFD9/Asian-side-elephant-African.jpg","altText":"Asian and African elephant side by side","credit":"© SunnyS/Fotolia; © john michael evan potter/Shutterstock.com","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/94/191994-131-9582CFD9/Asian-side-elephant-African.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Demystified","url":"/stories/demystified"},{"title":"Science","url":"/stories/demystified/Science"}],"lastItemTitle":"Science"},"superCategory":{"id":6,"title":"Science & Tech","url":"Science-Tech","description":"Explore science and technology; astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","keywords":"astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","classId":"SCIENCE","sortOrder":2},"hashtags":["demystified","elephants","african elephant","asian elephant","savanna elephant","matriarchy","tusks"],"hashtagsString":"demystified, elephants, african elephant, asian elephant, savanna elephant, matriarchy, tusks","displayDate":[2016,9,1],"urlTitle":"whats-the-difference-between-asian-and-african-elephants","featureSubType":"DEMYSTIFIED","categories":[{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Demystified"},{"id":6381,"title":"Why New York Is Called \"The Big Apple\" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames","url":"/story/how-9-famous-cities-got-their-nicknames","description":"What’s so apple-y about New York, anyway?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/71/188471-131-4DF0E559/Sydney-Opera-House-Port-Jackson.jpg","altText":"Sydney Opera House, Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.","credit":"© Paul Liu/Fotolia","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/71/188471-131-4DF0E559/Sydney-Opera-House-Port-Jackson.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"#WTFact","url":"/stories/wtfact"},{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/stories/wtfact/Geography-Travel"}],"lastItemTitle":"Geography & Travel"},"superCategory":{"id":4,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Explore geography and travel; geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions","keywords":"geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions ","classId":"GEOGRAPHY","sortOrder":5},"hashtags":["geography","nicknames","major cities","famous cities","cities"],"hashtagsString":"geography, nicknames, major cities, famous cities, cities","displayDate":[2017,10,25],"urlTitle":"how-9-famous-cities-got-their-nicknames","featureSubType":"WTFACT","categories":[{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"#WTFact"},{"id":8154,"title":"Does Ball Lightning Exist?","url":"/story/does-ball-lightning-exist","description":"Fantasy, phenomenon, or weapon? How ball lightning has eluded our understanding for centuries.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/75/138875-131-ABCDE003/Lightning-outskirts-thunderstorm-Rom-Oradea-August-17-2005.jpg","altText":"Lightning over the outskirts of Oradea, Rom., during the thunderstorm of August 17, 2005.","credit":"Mircea Madau","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/75/138875-131-ABCDE003/Lightning-outskirts-thunderstorm-Rom-Oradea-August-17-2005.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Companion","url":"/stories/companion"},{"title":"Science","url":"/stories/companion/Science"}],"lastItemTitle":"Science"},"superCategory":{"id":6,"title":"Science & Tech","url":"Science-Tech","description":"Explore science and technology; astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","keywords":"astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","classId":"SCIENCE","sortOrder":2},"hashtags":["companion","lightning","ball lightning","plasma","weather","mystery","phenomenon","myth"],"hashtagsString":"companion, lightning, ball lightning, plasma, weather, mystery, phenomenon, myth","displayDate":[2020,8,21],"urlTitle":"does-ball-lightning-exist","featureSubType":"COMPANION","categories":[{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Companion"},{"id":5720,"title":"Why Do Bananas Turn Brown?","url":"/story/why-do-bananas-turn-brown","description":"What makes a banana go to the dark side?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/83/190683-131-E796F1EE/Green-bananas.jpg","altText":"Green, yellow and black bananas","credit":"© cegli/Fotolia","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/83/190683-131-E796F1EE/Green-bananas.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Demystified","url":"/stories/demystified"},{"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"/stories/demystified/Entertainment-Pop-Culture"}],"lastItemTitle":"Entertainment & Pop Culture"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["demystified","banana","fruit","ethylene","photosynthesis","chlorophyll","chemistry","ripening","decay"],"hashtagsString":"demystified, banana, fruit, ethylene, photosynthesis, chlorophyll, chemistry, ripening, decay","displayDate":[2016,6,30],"urlTitle":"why-do-bananas-turn-brown","featureSubType":"DEMYSTIFIED","categories":[{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Demystified"},{"id":6369,"title":"Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs","url":"/list/titanosaurs-8-of-the-worlds-biggest-dinosaurs","description":"The largest land animals of all time.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/14/196914-131-061D0CB0/Patagotitan-mayorum-titanosaurs.jpg","altText":"illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum","credit":"© Kostyantyn Ivanyshen/Shutterstock.com","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/14/196914-131-061D0CB0/Patagotitan-mayorum-titanosaurs.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Science","url":"/list/browse/Science"}],"lastItemTitle":"Science"},"superCategory":{"id":6,"title":"Science & Tech","url":"Science-Tech","description":"Explore science and technology; astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","keywords":"astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","classId":"SCIENCE","sortOrder":2},"hashtags":["dinosaurs","titanosaurs","sauropods","paleontology"],"hashtagsString":"dinosaurs, titanosaurs, sauropods, paleontology","displayDate":[2023,5,22],"urlTitle":"titanosaurs-8-of-the-worlds-biggest-dinosaurs","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"}]},"byline":null,"citationInfo":null,"websites":null,"freeTopicReason":"TOPIC_IS_INDEX_PAGE","articleSchemaMarkup":{"keywords":"Theogony","wordcount":0,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Theogony-by-Hesiod","description":"Other articles where Theogony is discussed: Hesiod: …complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life.","publisher":{"name":"Encyclopedia Britannica","@type":"Organization","logo":{"url":"https://corporate.britannica.com/wp-content/themes/eb-corporate/_img/logo.png","@type":"ImageObject"}},"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"article"},"studentArticle":false,"initialLoad":true}
Theogony
Directory
References
Discover
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
9 American Political Scandals
What’s the Difference Between Asian and African Elephants?
Why New York Is Called "The Big Apple" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames
Does Ball Lightning Exist?
Why Do Bananas Turn Brown?
Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs
work by Hesiod
Learn about this topic in these articles:
Assorted References
- discussed in biography
In Hesiod…complete epics have survived, the Theogony, relating the myths of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life.
Read More
- study of religion
In study of religion: Early attempts to study religion…chaotic Greek tradition was the Theogony of the Greek poet Hesiod (flourished c. 700 bce), who rather laboriously put together the genealogies of the gods. His work remains an important source book of ancient myth. The rise of speculative philosophy among the Ionian philosophers, especially Thales of Miletus, Heracleitus
Read More
- views on dualism
In dualism: Greece and the Hellenistic world…found in the early Greek Theogony of Hesiod in his myths of the gods Uranus, Cronus, and Zeus and the conflict between primordial and later gods. It was in the later, Classical Greek world, however, that dualism was most evident. Many of the pre-Socratic philosophers (6th and 5th centuries bce)…
Read More
literature
- Greek
In Greek literature: Epic narrativeHesiod’s other surviving poem, the Theogony, attempts a systematic genealogy of the gods and recounts many myths associated with their part in the creation of the universe.
Read More
- interpretation of creation
In fable, parable, and allegory: Allegory…Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony (and the later Roman version of the same event given in Ovid’s Metamorphoses). The two traditions thus start with an adequate source of cosmic imagery, and both envisage a universe full of mysterious signs and symbolic strata. But thereafter the two cultures diverge. This…
Read More
mythology
Greek
In Greek religion: Cosmogony…cosmogonies in Archaic Greece, Hesiod’s Theogony is the only one that has survived in more than fragments. It records the generations of the gods from Chaos (literally, “Yawning Gap”) through Zeus and his contemporaries to the gods who had two divine parents (e.g., Apollo and Artemis, born of Zeus and…
Read More
In Greek mythology: The works of Hesiod: Theogony and Works and DaysThe fullest and most important source of myths about the origin of the gods is the Theogony of Hesiod (c. 700 bce). The elaborate genealogies mentioned above are accompanied by folktales and etiological myths. The Works and Days shares some…
Read More
In Greek mythology: Myths of origin…though the aim of Hesiod’s Theogony is to describe the ascendancy of Zeus (and, incidentally, the rise of the other gods), the inclusion of such familiar themes as the hostility between the generations, the enigma of woman (Pandora), the exploits of the friendly trickster (Prometheus), and the struggles against powerful…
Read More
- Latinus
- In Latinus
…Hesiod (7th century bc), in Theogony, calls him the son of the Greek hero Odysseus and the enchantress Circe. The Roman poet Virgil, in the Aeneid, makes him the son of the Roman god Faunus and the nymph Marica. Latinus was a shadowy personality who was perhaps invented to explain…
Read More
- In Latinus
Mediterranean
- Aphrodite
In Aphrodite…and Hesiod relates in his Theogony that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshipped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured…
Read More
- Eros
In ErosIn the Theogony of Hesiod (fl. 700 bce), Eros was a primeval god, son of Chaos, the original primeval emptiness of the universe, but later tradition made him the son of Aphrodite, goddess of sexual love and beauty, by either Zeus (the king of the gods), Ares…
Read More
- Titans
In TitanAccording to Hesiod’s Theogony, there were 12 original Titans: the brothers Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus and the sisters Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. At the instigation of Gaea the Titans rebelled against their father, who had shut them up in the underworld (Tartarus).…
Read More
- Uranus
- In Uranus
According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Gaea (Earth), emerging from primeval Chaos, produced Uranus, the Mountains, and the Sea. From Gaea’s subsequent union with Uranus were born the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires.
Read More
- In Uranus
- Chaos
- In Chaos
Both concepts occur in the Theogony of Hesiod. First there was Chaos in Hesiod’s system, then Gaea and Eros (Earth and Desire). Chaos, however, did not generate Gaea; the offspring of Chaos were Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx. Nyx begat Aether, the bright upper air, and Day. Nyx later begat the…
Read More
- In Chaos
- Hittite
In epic: Eastern influences…divine kingship told in the Theogony of Hesiod and elsewhere is paralleled in a Hittite version of a Hurrian myth. In it, Anu, Kumarbi, and the storm god respectively, parallel Uranus, Cronos, and Zeus in the Theogony. The Hittites had continuous diplomatic relations with the Achaeans of Greece, whose princes…
Read More