Hesiod’s theogony: rise of rational mind and patriarchy in Ancient Greece

Abstract

Hesiod’s Theogony is composed of several myths about the origins of gods and men with an emphasis on the turning pointsin their relations. It is clear that Theogony is a collection of common narrations of oral tradition. What makes it significant isthat it is a first attempt to gather all these myths together in a written form. However, writing them down means giving thema stabilized form and content as well. Being shaped in accordance with the political and social realities of his time, Hesiod’snarration gains an ideological character which puts the reign of Zeus over all local gods and goddesses while praising a rationalunderstanding and patriarchal order in Greek society. Therefore, this paper aims to give an opinion on how to trace therational and patriarchal transformation of the Greek society in Hesiod’s text and to observe how ideologies are forced upontexts through writing process.