Myths
Hesiod's Theogony is the history of the Greek gods. It records the birth of the earth and the first gods, and follows through each generation and genealogy of gods. Through the Theogony, the Greeks could learn the ancient creation of their world, man, and gods. They could also learn the nature of their gods. The gods come across as solemn, strong and serious, unlike slightly less concerned gods in Homer’s Illiad. The gods in Hesiod’s work, while still emotional, rash at times, and prejudiced, are less so in the Theogony. They gods have a sense of right and wrong, as seen when the gods fight Ouranos and then Kronos for their unjust actions. Zeus is show as the epitome of a leader; he is strong, respected by the other gods, aware of what is going on around him, and has a sense of justice. The Greeks would have been able to see from Hesiod’s work what behavior was honored by the gods, what behavior was punished, and what virtues to hold.
Greek Values
Hesiod’s Theogony shows quite a few of the qualities that the Greeks valued, including honoring the gods and established government, and honesty. When the gods were dealing with Zeus, after he had established his authority, they were expected to follow his rule. Zeus was the god above all the gods, so if the gods disobeyed him, they were breaking the law. Just as show in Antigone and Oedipus Rex, when the characters were disobeying the law, many felt that they were disobeying the gods. Honoring the gods, as shown in the Theogony, meant being completely honest with them. When Prometheus, for example, wanted to honor Zeus and present him with a gift, to avoid punishment, he essentially tried to pull the wool over Zeus’ eyes. Prometheus gave Zeus a sacrifice that was not what it appeared to be and lied to Zeus about it. For that, Zeus punished him. The Greeks knew the importance of offering homage to the gods that was not a trick or less than what was required. Should they have not honored the gods, they were to be punished, as Creon was in Antigone when he did not honor the laws that the gods put in place concerning death.
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overall, geniune good effort
ReplyDeletemyths the focus should have been on the various character qualities and morals that are taught and how the gods exemplified them such as cunning, violence, and lust
Greek Values -- focus should have been on discussing how the other works we have read follow the values in the myths; you mentioned two briefly, but the majority of the entry is not on that subject