Hesiod, Mythical Chronology, and the Greek Sacrifice

Ceremony

Sept. 5, 2012

Mythical Chronology

Creation of the world and the godsGenerational conflict among gods,

culminating with establishment of Zeus’ order on Mount Olympus

Creation of humanity; Ages of ManCreation of rules governing proper

interactions of gods and humans sacrifice ceremony

Hesiod (ca. 700 BC)Second-oldest (after Homer) Greek poet

Hesiod’s Poetry2 major poems: Theogony, and Works

and DaysTheogony - “Birth/generation of the

gods”Epic poems, composed and performed

orallyMentions in W&D that he won a prize for

the Theogony at a funeral contest

Theogony: OutlineLines 1-104: Hymn to the MusesRemainder of poem – a sort of hymn to Zeus Tells succession myths in chronological order,

culminating with kingship of ZeusInterweaves genealogy of gods with succession

mythsEnds poem with a list of Zeus’ liaisons, and list

of goddesses who had relationships with mortals

Hesiod’s Description of the Muses

“I begin my song with the Helikonian Muses whose domain is Helikon, the great god-haunted mountain; their soft feet move in the dance that rings the violet-dark spring and the altar of mighty Zeus… (they) raise enchanting voices to exalt aegis-bearing Zeus and queenly Hera…” (long list of other gods follows)

Mount Helicon and Valley of the Muses

Muses’ Address to Hesiod

“Listen, you country bumpkins, you pot-bellied blockheads, we know how to tell many lies that pass for truth, and when we wish, we know to tell the truth itself.”

Inspiration of Hesiod

“So spoke Zeus’s daughters, masters of word-craft, and from a laurel in full bloom they plucked a branch, and gave it to me as a staff, and then breathed into me divine song, that I might spread the fame of past and future, and commanded me to hymn the race of the deathless gods, but always begin and end my song with them” (ll. 29-34)

Hymn to the Muses as Preface to Theogony

Establishes superiority of gods (e.g., Muses) over mortals

Civilization as gift from gods (e.g., Hesiod’s poetic art is gift from Muses)

Character of gods ambivalent (e.g., Muses are both kind and mean)

Gods (including Muses) want humans to know the myths of their origins

Muses provide authority for Hesiod’s poem

Hesiod on Creation of the World Chaos was born first and after it came

Gaia… and the misty Tartaros in the depths of broad-pathed earth and Eros, the fairest of the deathless gods…Chaos gave birth to Erebos and black Night… Gaia now first gave birth to starry Ouranos, her match in size, to encompass all of her, and be the firm seat of all the blessed gods (ll. 116-128)

Similarities to Mesopotamian Creation Myths

Repeated generational conflict, where new gods have to defeat old ones

Use of monsters by older gods to fight their battles

Castration/mutilation of older gods by newer ones results in birth of other gods/natural phenomena

Zeus’ order in Theogony

His order is solidified by the generation of children – other powerful gods who support him, esp. Athena

Episode of Metis/Athena prevents overthrow.

Initially still absent from this order are gods in charge of civilization

Birth of Civilizing InstitutionsFoundations of society: Zeus and Themis bear the

Horae (Lawfulness, Justice, Peace) and the Fates (Spinner, Apportioner, Inescapable)

Foundations of fun in society: Next, Zeus and Eurynome parent the Graces (Splendor, Festivity, Abundance)

Next, Demeter + Zeus => Persephone. Civilized pleasures and basic features of human

life: Zeus + Mnemosyne => Muses; Zeus + Leto => Apollo and Artemis; Zeus + Hera => Hebe (Youth), Ares, Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth)

The Paradox of Zeus’ Order

Zeus overthrew his own father and the previous order with violence, but the product is civilization

Zeus himself fears being overthrown. E.g., his treatment of Themis and Thetis

Problem: The Gods and Morality issues

The many loves of Zeus (catalogue at the end of Theogony): progeny necessary to securing his order

Xenophanes (late 6th/early 5th c. BC) on the gods’ behavior:

“Homer and Hesiod have attributed to the gods all things that bring rebuke and blame among men – stealing, adultery, deceit”

Rules of Behavior for GodsTheogony 775-806 on consequences of

perjury for gods, if they swear a false oath on the river Styx: a year-long coma, and a 9-year exile from company of other gods.

Even gods have rules/laws. Oath-taking is a method of trial as late as

5th-century Athens

The Significance of Sacrifice Ritual: Establishes Order

How are humans supposed to interact/communicate with the gods?

How did the current rules governing the interactions of humans and gods come about?

In what ways do humans differ from the gods? In what ways are they similar/related?

The Warka Vase (ca. 3000 BC)

Sacrifice Ceremony – Greek BBQ

Greek sacrifice customs: humans roast and eat the meat

The gods get the inedible/worthless parts of the sacrificial carcass (fat and bones)

Fire necessary for sacrifice ceremonyMyths of origin of fire and origin of

sacrifice customs are connected: Prometheus gave both to humans

Prometheus

Name means “Forethinker” – he is ahead of his time, and shows too much initiative for his own good.

Son of Iapetus, one of the 1st-generation Titans implicit resentment towards Zeus’ order

Brothers: Epimetheus (Afterthinker), Atlas, Menoitios.

Trickster figure/culture hero

Origins of the Greek SacrificePrometheus and the sacrifice at MekoneAetiological myth (explains an existing

Greek custom by giving it a mythical foundation). The custom is complex, so the myth answers the puzzling questions:

Why are the gods offered bones and fat?Why do humans get to eat the meat?

Prometheus and the First Sacrifice“When the gods and mortal men were settling

their accounts at Mekone, Prometheus cheerfully took a great ox, carved it up, and set it before Zeus to trick his mind. He placed meat, entrails, and fat within a hide and covered them with the ox’s tripe, but with guile he arranged the white bones of the ox, covered them with glistening fat, and laid them down as an offer…” (Hesiod, Theogony ll. 535 ff.)

Significance of the Sacrifice Ritual

Distinguishes man from both gods and beasts, and shows the hierarchy (gods, then men, then beasts)

Man cooks his meat, rather than eating it raw

Man does not eat manGods do not eat cultivated foodFire stands for technical expertise

Consequences of First Sacrifice

Instrumental in creating sacrifice procedure that will henceforth be followed by all humans. The procedure was ratified by Zeus’ acceptance of that first sacrifice

Zeus is aware of the trick, but plays along anyway anger for the sacrifice

Paradox of the first sacrifice

Prometheus the Fire-BringerZeus angry about sacrifice at Mekone

hides fire from humansAppropriate punishment: use of fire allows

the sacrifice to exist, but Zeus hated the first sacrifice

No description of the sacrifice in Works and Days; just a brief comment that P. had somehow cheated Zeus.

Prometheus steals fire back from the fennel-stalk

Zeus even more angryCreation of Pandora

PandoraPayback trick from the gods in response for

Prometheus’ trick with the sacrificeAnother aetiological myth: explains the reasons for

the origins of evils that humans have to bear; e.g., the origin of the suffering of childbirth

NO SUCH THING AS PANDORA’S BOX!!! It is actually a pythos (jar)

Story of the jar in Works and Days; not mentioned in Theogony

Pandora = Eve-equivalent in Greek myth

The Problem of PandoraOrigin of woman – punishment for man

from Zeus for the deceit of the first sacrifice conducted by Prometheus

When gods squabble, humans get caught in the middle (cf. Demeter’s withholding of crops from earth when punishing Zeus)

According to Works and Days, her name designates the gifts of all the gods to her gift from the gods = BAD!

Alternate Versions of the MythTheogony

• Sacrifice at Mekone• Prometheus steals fire• Zeus orders the

creation of Pandora• Description of

Pandora• List of the horrors that

a wife and marriage bring to a man’s life

Works and Days• Prometheus steals fire• Zeus’ threat and

laughter• Zeus orders the

creation of Pandora• Pandora opens the jar,

and lets out all sorrows; only Hope remained inside

Prometheus as Culture-Bringer

Prometheus Bound ll. 447-506 – list of arts that Prometheus taught humans:

• Sense (I.e., common sense)• Building/architecture• Agriculture; how to yoke animals• Writing• How to tame the horse; use of wagons/carts• Ships• Medicine

Prometheus in Later Myths

Later mythographers Apollodorus and Pausanias tell how he molded the human race out of clay Prometheus as creator of mankind

N.B. Theogony does NOT tell how humans came into being. Hesiod is only concerned with the origins of the gods

In Works and Days, Hesiod follows the myth of Prometheus and Pandora with myth of succession of human races

Interactions of Gods and HumansSet rules/institutions through which humans

may reach the gods, and the gods may respond

The myths about the establishment of these rules/institutions, however, show that these interactions are not founded on goodwill of the gods

Gods highly concerned with getting their due from humans – honor/respect, sacrifices

When humans do not fulfill their part of the bargain, the relationship of gods and humans gets ugly

Sophocles, Antigone“The Ode to Man”

Chorus: Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man; the power that crosses the white sea, driven by the stormy south-wind, making a path under surges that threaten to engulf him; and Earth, the eldest of the gods, the immortal, the unwearied, doth he wear, turning the soil with the offspring of horses, as the ploughs go to and fro from year to year…

The Ode to Man: List of AchievementsPloughing and working the earthHunting and capturing beasts of air, sea, and

land “man excellent in wit”Taming the horse with the yoke“Speech and wind-swift thought, and all the

moods that mold a state (I.e., laws), hath he taught himself”

Surviving adverse weatherMan is only powerless against DeathCunning (metis) as most important quality

The Ode to Man: Cunning“Cunning beyond fancy’s dream is the fertile

skill which brings him, now to evil, now to good. When he honors the laws of the land, and that justice which he hath sworn by the gods to uphold, proudly stands his city: no city hath he who, for his rashness, dwells with sin. Never may he share my hearth, never think my thoughts, who doth these things!”