Theogony Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

The theology describes how the gods came into being and how they shape the Greeks culture. It is a chronological account of the events that took place when the gods were working their way into establishing permanent control over the cosmos. It explains how they reproduced, how different gods came into being and also the chaos that they went through up to the point of achieving a state of stability and formed the God's kingdom that was under the leadership of Zeus. The gods controlled the administration of the Greeks. The command is evident when the book describes how the kingship of the mortals was organized.

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The text describes gods as being like the human in many ways. The description range from their physical look, emotions, and behaviors. The physical examination of some of the gods resembled those of the human in the sense that, they had all the average looks of a human. Humans have two eyes, legs, hands and a head, the gods also had the same features, and they could walk around like the humans. The book also describes some of the behaviors of the gods as those of the human. These behaviors and emotions they portray were when they were said to have the ability to sing. They sang emotional songs. The gods organized themselves like humans in families and could plot against each other. The kingdom of the gods has no difference with what we have in the human system. The gods were organized with kings and queens. The king being Zeus and the queen his wife, Hera. They also had messengers, and every person in God's kingdom was assigned a task just like the humans do.

The gods had immoral behaviors just like the human. They would involve themselves in unethical behaviors like sex and being violent. Zeus was not faithful to his wife. And on the other hand, Zeus wife, Hera, plotted against him and also punished his mistresses. This shows that the gods are both immoral and even jealousy. All these behaviors are seen in the human. The gods also marry and have children. They live in families just like humans. And this also brings us to another point. If the gods can make marry, then they probably fall in love like humans.

Some of the goods that resembled creatures were the crooked-schemer Kronos. These gods had one eye at the middle of their forehead. They commanded all forces and resources. The other gods who were like creatures were the three sons; Kottos, Briareos, and Gyres. At birth, they grew 100 arms from each one's shoulder and 50 heads. Then there were the great giants that had firm spears on their hands. Then there was Hermes. He had winged feet. He could fly to any place with high speeds. Hermes was the messenger of the gods.

Conclusion

In general, the book captures the general system of the gods, how they lived, How they formed the world and the different force acting in the world. The power includes the thunderstorm and lightning. The sun and many others. It tries to explain the existence of the world as described by the Greeks myths. The book also brings the relationship of the gods with the mortals. This is evident where the books provide accounts of mortals engaging in sex with mortals and giving birth to superhuman. Therefore the Theogony is mainly about the Greeks culture in the beginning.

Work Cited

Hesiodus, and Martin L. West. Theogony and Works and Days. Oxford University Press, 1988.