A Greek Description of the Elemental Forces

Hesiod was one of the earliest Greek authors, along with Homer (see Document 5-1). His most famous work, The Works and Days, describes contemporary Greek society and recounts how his brother unlawfully took his family’s inheritance. The creation story included here appears in his other major work, Theogony, which means “the birth of the gods.” In this passage, we learn of Chaos, the personification of the empty void that preceded creation, and of Gaia, the personification of the earth. We also learn of the children who resulted from Gaia’s union with Ouranos, the personification of the sky. These children, known as the Titans, would one day do battle with the Olympian gods for mastery of the universe.

First of all there came Chaos,

and after him came

Gaia1 of the broad breast,

to be the unshakable foundation

of all the immortals who keep the crests

of snowy Olympos,2

and Tartaros3 the foggy in the pit

of the wide-wayed earth,

and Eros, who is love, handsomest among all

the immortals,

who breaks the limbs’ strength,

who in all gods, in all human beings

overpowers the intelligence in the breast,

and all their shrewd planning.

From Chaos was born Erebos, the dark,

and black Night,

and from Night again Aither and Hemera,

the day, were begotten,

for she lay in love with Erebos

and conceived and bore these two.

But Gaia’s first born was one

who matched her every dimension,

Ouranos, the starry sky,

to cover her all over,

to be an unshakable standing-place

for the blessed immortals.

Then she brought forth the tall Hills,

those wild haunts that are beloved

by the goddess Nymphs who live on the hills

and in their forests.

Without any sweet act of love

she produced the barren

sea, Pontos, seething in his fury of waves,

and after this

she lay with Ouranos, and bore him

deep-swirling Okeanos

the ocean-stream; and Koios, Krios,

Hyperion, Iapetos,

and Theia too and Rheia, and Themis,

and Mnemosyne,

Phoibe of the wreath of gold,

and Tethys the lovely.4

After these her youngest-born

was devious-devising Kronos,

most terrible of her children;

and he hated his strong father.

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS