Introduction to Classical Mythology

Dr. Michael Broder

University of South Carolina

January 17, 2012

Daily Write

• Why (for what purpose) do you think Hesiod wrote the Theogony?

Please do your best to answer this question in one (nice, juicy)

sentence.

A Typical Reaction to Hesiod’s Theogony

• “I did not really understand Hesiod’s Theogony. I recognized the gods and goddesses, but I was not sure of the meaning or purpose of the poem.”

By a student in CLAS220, adapted

(Some) Types of Knowledge and What We

“Do” with Them• Factual knowledge (facts)

– We recognize facts– E.g., “Zeus is one of the Greek gods”

• Conceptual knowledge (concepts)– We understand concepts– E.g., “Zeus personifies power and

authority and represents divine control over nature and humanity”

Hesiod’s Types of Knowledge

• Does Hesiod’s Theogony give us a lot of factual information that we can easily recognize?

• Does Hesiod’s Theogony give us a lot of conceptual information that we can easily understand?

Hesiod: Factual not Conceptual

• If you think you did not understand Hesiod’s Theogony, you may actually have understood it better than you think

• Hesiod’s narrative (story) is much more factual than it is conceptual– More about what than about how or

why

Why No Concepts?

• Storytelling is by definition more about facts than concepts

• Remember that myth (G mythos) means “story”

• Remember that the genre of Hesiod’s Theogony is epic poetry– Epic from G epos = story

“I was not sure of the meaning or purpose of the

poem.”• Does a story necessarily have a

meaning or a purpose other than to tell the story?

• Is it possible that the concern for meaning and purpose is our modern concern and not the ancient Greeks’ concern?

“Just the facts, ma’am…”

• Is it possible that the ancient Greek audience was satisfied with factual knowledge?– These are our gods and goddesses– This is who had sex with whom and who their

children were– This is the aspect of nature or humanity over

which each god or goddess has power– This is how good and evil came into the world– This is how Zeus exercises power and

authority over gods, mortals, monsters, and all the forces of nature

Hesiod’s View of the World

• Perhaps we can call this ancient Greek concern for highly factual narrative the epic view of the world

The Epic View of the World

• Factual, not conceptual• Narrative, not logical• Concerned with remembering,

recognizing, recalling• Not concerned with

understanding or explaining*– *With some exceptions…

Hesiod does explain some things in terms of cause

and effect• Because Prometheus tricked Zeus

into accepting the fat and bones, men sacrifice the fat and bones to the gods

• Because Zeus was angry at Prometheus, Zeus withheld fire from mankind

• Because Prometheus stole fire and gave it to mankind, Zeus created Pandora (woman) as a source of pain and conflict

But these explanations do not always satisfy us…• Why did Prometheus trick Zeus?• Why did Zeus withheld fire and

not, for example, water?• Why did Zeus create woman as a

source of pain and conflict for men and not, for example, men as a source of pain and conflict for women?

Hesiod’s explanations give us clues about the

ancient Greeks• They believed in gods whom they

worshipped via animal sacrifice• They depended on fire for warmth,

cooking, working in metal, etc • The dominant viewpoint was male

and masculine, not female or feminine

Outline of the Theogony

• Invocation to the Muses

• The first gods• Castration of

Ouranos• Birth of Aphrodite• Other early gods• Hecate• Birth of the

Olympians

• Prometheus• Pandora• The Titanomachy• Tartaros• Typhaios• Wives of Zeus• Unions of goddesses

and heroes

Important to the Ancient Greeks

• Poetry and song• Earth, sky, sea, life, death, and

desire• Conflict between fathers and sons,

husbands and wives• Love, beauty, and sexual

reproduction• Bravery, wisdom, athletics, hunting• Zeus and the Olympian gods

Important to the Ancient Greeks

• Fire and animal sacrifice• Woman and sex/gender relations• Military and political power (Olympians vs

Titans)• Death and the underworld (Tartaros)• Limiting the power of monstrosity (Typhaios)• Consolidating power and authority under Zeus• Establishing connections between heroes and

gods

Some Things to Notice about Hesiod’s Gods…

• Male gods are often associated with the sky, thunder, lightening, rain--and sexual desire (Eros)

• Male gods are often frightened that their sons will overpower them

• Male gods seek control through physical strength and force

• Male gods overpower monsters and send them down below the earth

Some Things to Notice about Hesiod’s

Goddesses…• Female gods are often associated

with the earth and fertility--and sexual reproduction (Aphrodite)

• Female gods often have to protect their children from their own fathers

• Female gods resist male dominance through cunning and deception

• Female gods give birth to all sorts of terrible monsters

Some Things to Notice about Hesiod’s Mortals…• Mortal men do not experience

sickness or pain until Zeus introduces woman into the world

• On the other hand, women represent everything that men desire, and are the only means for men to reproduce and pass their property on to an heir

Daily Write

• What point do you remember most clearly from today’s lecture or think was most important, and why?

Introduction to Classical Mythology

Dr. Michael Broder

University of South Carolina

January 17, 2012