Creation stories represent images of the world pre-humanity, as such, they reflect the authors’ conceptions of the world in its most unadulterated state. Like the Biblical book of Genesis, Hesiod’s Theogony describes the formation of the Greek pantheon out of nothingness, and traces the complex genealogy of dozens of deities. From its earliest moments, Theogony presents violence and hatred as central, even driving forces behind the creation and actions of the gods, indicative of the belief that goodness does not define the gods, rather, their status is determined only by their ability to assert their power.
Hesiod writes: “In the beginning there was only Chaos, the Abyss” (116), asserting that disorder is not only a quality of the universe, but its most basic element. From Chaos form the rest “First Gods”, Gaia, Soon after their creation, the “First Gods” descend into violence and cruelty, and unlike later religious traditions, no assumption of inherent morality is made, in fact, the gods depicted are described almost totally negatively. Kronos, the titan who would later sire Zeus is “a most terrible child”, an “arch-deceiver” (138-39) who despises his father, Ouranos. Ouranos is likewise unsympathetic, he hides his children in a…show more content… Unlike modern conceptions of god as perfect or sinless, Hesiod’s acknowledgment places transgression at the forefront of the gods’
