- First, Hesiod wrote
Theogony---it is NOT
a pure oral tradition
such as modern
anthropology has been able to collect
in the recent past though probably NOT for much longer if still possible at all.
Nevertheless, Hesiod was probably
close to the pure oral tradition---but
recall, there were probably many pure
oral traditions
and Hesiod selected and ordered those he liked to
create a literary product.
-
Theogony gives the origin
of the
Greek gods
starting from
the Greek primordial gods who were
also the constituents of the
world/universe.
- Image 2 Caption: "Chaos" (c.1875) by
George Frederic Watts (1817--1904)
and assistants.
One can read "Chaos" as a juxtaposition
of creation,
the origin of consciousness,
and consciousness
contemplating universe.
- The Greek primordial gods:
- Chaos is the
Ur-god
or Ur-universe.
The word Chaos in this context
probably means nothingness or void.
But to the ancient Greeks, it could
also mean abyss,
chasm, or
yawn????.
Chaos is only
anthropomorphized
to the extent that he/she gives birth to other
slightly more anthropomorphized
gods.
- Tartarus (the Abyss)
(virtually the same as the
Greek underworld and
sometimes approximately Hell).
Child of Chaos.
- Gaia (the Earth), the
Greek mythology
version of the
Earth Goddess.
Child of Chaos.
- Eros, who in
Theogony is a child
of Chaos.
- Uranus (the Sky).
Child of Gaia.
- Then other useful
Greek primordial gods
followed from procreation
(e.g., Erebus (Gloom),
Nyx (Night), etc.)
and then other
Greek gods
from procreation.
- The
Greek primordial gods
are initially just giant physical bodies or forces.
Later on in Theogony some
acquire
personality at times
while still being giant physical bodies or forces at times too.
The later generations of
Greek gods
have a lot more personality---e.g.,
Zeus,
Psamanthe,
etc.
- Image 3 Caption: "First
[proton (p+)]-[lead (Pb)
ion]
particle collision at the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC)."
(Somewhat edited.)
An image which serves as a
symbol of
creation
as understood in
modern physics.
- At first glance,
Theogony posits
creation as
procreation starting from
nothingness (i.e.,
Chaos).
In other words, cosmology
is seen as a kind of biology.
However, the early stages of
procreation
in Theogony
can also be interpreted as
a physics-like evolution.
We can see
Theogony
as a step toward the
philosophical
physics
and cosmology
of the Presocratic philosophers.
See, e.g., the discussion in
Cor-198--201.