Theogony

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

The family tree of the gods from Chaos and Gaia to the Titans and Olympians, including Kronos swallowing his children and Zeus's rise to power.

Traditional attribution

Inspired in Hesiod by the Muses on Mount Helicon.

Historical scholarship

Composed by the poet Hesiod of Boeotia.

Context and curiosity

Hesiod says the Muses gave him a laurel staff and the gift of song while he herded sheep.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to Greece & Rome (Archaic Greece). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 730–700 BCE and original language or script as Ancient Greek. The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogony

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.