Synopsis

"Theogony" (from the Greek "theogonia," where "theos" means god and "genea" means origin) is a poem of 1,022 lines written in dactylic hexameter that describes the origin and genealogy of the gods. Much of what we know about ancient Greek myths comes from this poem, which, through the first-person narration of the poet Hesiod himself, systematizes and organizes the stories of the creation of the world and the birth of the gods, with a special focus on Zeus and his exploits leading to his ascension to power. The invocation of the Muses, daughters of Memory, by the bard Hesiod grants him knowledge of past and present, allowing him to sing in celebration of the immortality of the gods; it is from this point that the adventures constituting the emergence of the universe and its primordial deities are narrated.