This should also help you realize that Hesiod is doubtless playing with the physical theories of ancient Greece’s proto-scientists and re-using those theories for his own mythically amusing purposes.Ī few moments reflection can also help us to see how the poet’s first four deities subtly suggest a profound parallel between the beginning of the universe and the beginning of our own lives. Now, note that with these first five deities what has happened in the universe so far has been spontaneous generation-simple popping into being-somewhat like the virtual particles of quantum theory that physicists tell us about today. Think of him as Darkness personified-because that is literally what he is. Perhaps you have heard of him as Erebus, which is simply the Latin spelling of the Greek word.
In the next section of the poem, as Hesiod continues his telling of the origin of the universe, Erebos is the fifth deity to come into existence.Įrebos is a Greek word that means Darkness. And now, with Desire fresh on the scene, the dramatic possibilities for the universe have increased. Then, deep within Gaia, a third deity is generated, Tartarus, associated with an infernal realm within her-the Underworld.įinally, it is Eros (Desire) who springs into being as the fourth deity. Gaia is Mother Earth, the second deity, as our home within the universe is spontaneously generated to take its place within the Void. Think of it as the empty stage of the universe, where the drama may now begin. Morrissey)Ĭhaos (and this Greek word is better translated as “the Gap” or, better, “the Void”) is the name for the first deity. She is ever the steadfast abode for thoseĮven earnest intent and careful deliberation.” The first four deities in the universe simply pop into existence:Ĭame spontaneously into being. Instead, there is a drama of multiple deities, with their primal desires and their ensuing conflicts.
But the manner in which it happens is different from a sole Creator-God issuing artisanal fiats. In Hesiod, light also comes out of darkness. Oddly enough, this same tetrad of light, day, darkness, and night occurs in the ancient Greek poet, Hesiod. So evening came, and morning, and one day passed.” “1 God, at the beginning of time, created heaven and earth.Ģ Earth was still an empty waste, and darkness hung over the deep but already, over its waters, stirred the breath of God.ģ Then God said, Let there be light and the light began.Ĥ God saw the light, and found it good, and he divided the spheres of light and darkness ĥ the light he called Day, and the darkness Night. Perhaps most readers are familiar with the account of the beginning of the universe found in the Bible:
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