ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Theogony () is a poetic work written by Hesiodo. It contains one of the oldest versions of the origin of the cosmos and the lineage of the gods of Greek mythology. It is one of the key works of the epic grecolatine, based on the fact that, in the Library of Alexandria, Hesiodo had at least forty manuscripts of his works. It is discussed whether it should be dated in the century or in the

Content
The work is built from pre-existing poetic genres that had so far belonged to the oral tradition in Greece: cosmogonies, theogonies, genealogies, catalogues and myths of succession. The first three genera can appear fused, vertebrate the work and are ordered with an approximately chronological criterion. The myths of succession, although they can be considered as digressions within the genealogical blocks, give meaning to the whole work.

Proemio (v. 1-115)
The proemium has two blocks:
a hymn to the Muses of Mount Helicon (v. 1-35) where Hesiodo reports its own poetic initiation,
an anthem to the Muses of Olympus (v. 36 - 104)
ends with an invocation (v. 105 - 115) that marks the transition to the main part of the poem.

Compositively the proemium is not essentially distinguished from the structure of other preserved proemies, such as the homeric hymns: its ternary structure (announcement of the theme of the hymn, account of some episode of the life of the celebrated god, invocation of closure asking for his favor) links it to forms of the lyrical.

Body of the poem (v. 116 - 1018)

Cosmogony and first generation of gods. First part of the myth of succession. (v. 116 - 210)
Here are mentioned a set of deities that represent cosmic elements, in a genealogical form.

The main elements: Chaos, Gea, Tartaro, Eros (v. 116 - 122)
A first generation of beings:
the children of Chaos, and their grandchildren (v. 123 - 125)
children of Gea only (v. 126 - 132)

It follows a genealogy of a more markedly theogonic character:
the children of Gea and Uranus (v. 133 - 153)

Since there are mentioned deities that represent elements (such as Ocean, Hyperion, Rea), they collectively appear more anthropomorphic gods than the previous ones: the Titans, Cyclops and Hecatonquiros.

As the closure of this block appears, as the first part of the myth of succession, the
Myth of the castration of Uranus (v. 154-210,) which in turn contains the enumeration of the gods born of the mutilation of Uranus, including Aphrodite, arising from the sea waters on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Second and third generation of gods. End of the myth of succession. (v. 211 - 885)
It follows a set of genealogies in mere juxtaposition, with important epic digressions containing the rest of the myth of succession.

Children of Nix, including Eris with her children (v. 211 - 232)
Children of Ponto and Gea (v. 233 - 239)
Ponto's grandchildren
Daughters of Nereo and Doris: catalogue of Nereidas (v.