Bautista, Shermine Joyce M.

Mythology and Folklore 2:30 – 4:00 MW

Assignment Synthesis 2

1. Country or civilization of origin and author if any

Creation of the Universe according to Greco-Roman mythology. It is referred from a 3000-year-

old book called. The Theogony written by Hesiod. He was thought to have existed sometime
between 800 - 650 BCE. He was a prolific writer. His two best-known works are the Theogony a
poem that details the Greek creation myth and works and days a poem that covers a mythical
history of humankind and provides some insight on the quote-unquote proper ways of life.
Scholar agree that Hesiod was a real person. He was the son of an immigrant to the Greek
peninsula and was a shepherd for a time. But the man claims that while doing his shepherd thing
h was visited by the muses and they convinced him to become a poet. (Muses are the daughters
of Zeus in Mnemosyne. Greeks believed they inspirer of the creation of all art and music)

2. Summary

In the beginning there was Chaos, a yawning nothingness. Out of the void emerged Gaia (the
Earth) and other divine beings — Eros (love), the Abyss (part of the underworld), and the Erebus
(the unknowable place where death dwells). Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus
(the Sky), who then fertilized her.

From that union the first Titans were born — six males: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion,
Iapetus, and Oceanus, and six females: Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, and Tethys.
After Cronus (time) was born, Gaia and Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born.

Cronus castrated his father and threw the severed genitals into the sea, from which arose
Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. Cronus became the ruler of the gods with his
sister-wife, Rhea, as his consort. The other Titans became his court. Because Cronus had
betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same. So each time Rhea gave birth,
Cronus snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding one child,
Zeus, and wrapping a stone in a baby’s blanket so that Cronus ate the stone instead of the baby.

When Zeus was grown, he fed his father a drugged drink, which caused Cronus to vomit,
throwing up Rhea’s other children and the stone. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the
kingship of the gods. At last Zeus and his siblings, the Olympians, were victorious, and the
Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in the Abyss.

Zeus was plagued by the same concern as his father had been and, after a prophecy that his first
wife, Metis, would give birth to a god greater than he, he swallowed Metis. But she was already
pregnant with Athena, and they both made him miserable until Athena, the goddess of wisdom,
civilization and justice, burst from his head — fully grown and dressed for war. Zeus was able to
 fight off all challenges to his power and to remain the ruler of Mt. Olympus, the home of the
gods.

One son of Titans, Prometheus, did not fight with fellow Titans against Zeus and was spared
imprisonment; he was given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and
Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Prometheus made man stand upright as the gods did
and gave him fire. Prometheus tricked Zeus, and to punish him, Zeus created Pandora, the first
woman, of stunning beau- ty, wealth, and a deceptive heart and lying tongue. He also gave
Pandora a box she was commanded never to open, but eventually her curiosity got the best of
her, and she opened the box to release all kinds of evil, plagues, sorrows, and misfortunes, and
also hope, which lay at the bottom of the box.

3. Identify major characters

• Zeus - Roman name: Jupiter or Jove. The sky-god Zeus rules Mount Olympus. His
weapon is the thunderbolt, and his bird is the eagle. The central figure of the myths, Zeus
epitomizes their complexity. At times he is divine and represents a pure, eternal sense of
justice; at other times, he is capricious and cruel.
• Gaea or Mother Earth. She is the first being to emerge in the universe, born somehow out
of the forces of Love, Light, and Day. She gives birth to Heaven, who then becomes her
husband.
• Titans The original gods, children of Heaven and Earth, and parents of the six original
Olympians. Defeated by Zeus and his siblings in a war for control of the universe
• Cronus Roman name: Saturn. Cronus becomes the ruler of the Titans by overthrowing
his father Ouranos. He swallows each of his children as his wife Rhea gives birth to them.
• Rhea Cronus’ wife and mother of zues
• Athena this goddess emerges from Zeus’s head fully-grown and armed. Associated with
war, cleverness, and wit,
• Prometheus One of the most enduring figures in Greek myth, Prometheus is the only
Titan to side with Zeus against Cronus.
• Pandora The first and most famously foolish woman of Greek myth. Married to
Epimetheus, Prometheus’s simple-minded brother, she has been entrusted with a box that
the gods have told her never to open. Pandora peeks inside the box, unleashing evil into
the world. She manages to close the box just in time to save Hope, humankind’s only
solace.
4. Similarities to Biblical Creation

The only one similarity that I see in Greek’s creation and biblical creation is that They are both
Ex Nihilo type of creation. These are myths that describes creation as coming out of nothing. Ex
Nihilo creation stories are common in the ancient Near East. The Mediterranean world where the
Abrahamic religious like Judaism, Christianity and islam originated.

5. Differences from Biblical Creation

 Aside from they both are type of Ex nihilo, everything is different. In biblical perspective, there
is only one perfect God. A God who is perfect in love. He created everything out of love without
imperfections. Unlike the Greek Creation, where selfishness is ruling, cruelty and evil are the
major theme.

6. Vocabulary and meaning (at least 5) adapted today taken from the myth if any
• Chronology - The English word "chronology" refers to the order of events in time. It's
also related to "chronic," which is generally something that persists for a person's
lifespan. Both have Greek word origins in the story of Chronos, the god of time.
• Hermaphrodite - The word "hermaphrodite" refers to a person or animal that exhibits
physical characteristics of both genders. It comes from the myth of the Greek god
Hermaphroditos, son of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to legend, a nymph fell in
love with Hermaphroditos and prayed that she could be united with him. Her prayers
were answered, and her body joined with his.
• Atlas - The English word "atlas" means a book of maps, and it comes directly from a
Greek myth. According to Greek lore, Atlas was a Titan who was condemned to carry the
heavens upon his shoulders.
• Heliotrope - A "heliotrope" is a kind of plant that turns toward the sun to gather more
light. Its name comes from the Greek titan Hêlios, who controlled the rising and setting
of the sun.
• Music - In the English language, "music" means sounds arranged intentionally to be
beautiful and harmonious. This comes directly from the Muses, Greek goddesses of the
arts and science.
7. Value/s or underlying philosophy/ies Example: obedience, good versus evil,

Never look at yourself as the best. Accept that there could be someone who would be greater that
you. Embrace the wheel of life where at time you could be on top, and at times you could be on
the bottom.

8. Statement of the theme/s (One complete sentence in declarative form)

Violence is used as a necessary tool in order to obtain and preserve power by gods and humans
alike.

9. At least three references

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/big-history-project/what-is-big-history/origin-
stories/a/origin-story-greek

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/theogony/themes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eVFgfQ2694

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilZ99sGM-kA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nlomCQVkZI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n2_XDzeBSU