History Literature / Theogony

---> with Titan Themis produced: Horae (Hours): Eunomia (Order), Dikē (Justice), Eirene (Peace), the three Moirai (Fates)[[hottip:*:Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Alotter), Atropos (Unturned)]], Tyche (Luck)

---> with Titan Themis produced: Horae (Hours): Eunomia (Order), Dikē (Justice), Eirene (Peace), the three Moirai (Fates)[[hottip:Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Alotter), Atropos (Unturned)]], Tyche (Luck)

---> with Titan Themis produced: Horae (Hours): Eunomia (Order), Dikē (Justice), Eirene (Peace); and the three Moirai (Fates): Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Alotter), Atropos (Unturned), Tyche (Luck)

'''2)''' Gaia (Olympians in '''Bold''')

** Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes, Arges
** Hecatonchires: Kottos, Briareos, Gyges

'''3)''' Children of Ouranos and Gaia. Cyclopes, who had each only one eye, Hekatoncheires, who had each as many as one hundred hands, and twelve Titans, whose children were later to win the great divine battle for power. Among the descendants of the Titans were the [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Olympians]], rivers, celestial bodies, some personifications, three Fates, and, again, a bunch of indistinguishable water nymphs.

----> Children of Zeus
**** with Oceanid Metis produced '''Athena'''
**** with Titan Themis produced: Horae (Hours): Eunomia (Order), Dikē (Justice), Eirene (Peace); and the three Moirai (Fates): Clotho (Spinner), Lachesis (Alotter), Atropos (Unturned), Tyche (Luck)
**** with his sister Demeter produced: Persephone
**** with Titan Mnemosyne produced: nine Muses
**** with Leto produced: '''Apollo''' and '''Artemis'''
**** with his sister Hera produced: Hebe, '''Ares''', Enyo, '''Hephaestus''', and Eileithyia
**** with a daughter of Atlas produced: '''Hermes'''
**** with mortal Semele produced: '''Dionysius'''<----

* with Oceanid Metis produced '''Athena'''

-> Children of Zeus
**** with Oceanid Metis produced '''Athena'''

**** with mortal Semele produced: '''Dionysius'''

**** ->with his sister Demeter produced: Persephone

->with his sister Demeter produced: Persephone

**** with his sister Demeter produced: Persephone

* Pontus (Sea)
Children of Pontus (with or without Gaia as a mother). Mainly monsters (with Cerberus, Chimaira and Sphinx among them) and indistinguishable water nymphs, but also [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows Iris]]. The latter was probably the family's WhiteSheep, her own sisters being Harpies.

'''2)''' Gaia

** Titans: Oceanus and Tethys
*** Potamoi (Rivers) and Oceanid nymphs
** Titans: Hyperion and Theia
*** Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon), Eos (Dawn)
** Titans: Coeus and Phoebe
*** Leto and Asteria

** Titans: Crius, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, Themis

** Produced through reproduction of Erebus and Nyx: Aether (Light) and Hemera (Day)
** Produced parthenogenetically by Nyx: Moros (Doom), Oneiroi (Dreams), Ker and the Keres (Destinies), Eris (Discord), Momos (Blame), Philotes (Love), Geras (Old Age), Thanatos (Death), Moirai (Fates), Nemesis (Retribution), Hesperides (Daughters of Night), Hypnos (Sleep), Oizys (Hardship), and Apate (Deceit)
*** Children of Eris: Ponos (Pain), Hysmine (Battles), the Neikea (Quarrels), the Phonoi (Murders), Lethe (Oblivion), Makhai (Fight), Pseudologos (Lies), Amphilogia (Disputes), Limos (Famine), Androktasia (Manslaughters), Ate (Ruin), Dysnomia (Anarchy and Disobedient Lawlessness), the Algea (Illness), Horkos (Oaths), and Logoi (Stories)

'''2)''' Children of Pontus (with or without Gaia as a mother). Mainly monsters (with Cerberus, Chimaira and Sphinx among them) and indistinguishable water nymphs, but also [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows Iris]]. The latter was probably the family's WhiteSheep, her own sisters being Harpies.

** Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night)
*** Produced through reproduction of Erebus and Nyx: Aether (Light) and Hemera (Day)
*** Produced parthenogenetically by Nyx: Moros (Doom), Oneiroi (Dreams), Ker and the Keres (Destinies), Eris (Discord), Momos (Blame), Philotes (Love), Geras (Old Age), Thanatos (Death), Moirai (Fates), Nemesis (Retribution), Hesperides (Daughters of Night), Hypnos (Sleep), Oizys (Hardship), and Apate (Deceit)

'''1)''' Descendants of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). Those are a mixed bunch: Erebus and Nyx produced Aither (Light) and Hemera (Day). Nyx also had a few children all by herself. They were mainly personifications of depressing concepts like Madness or Strife, but among them were also the Fates, Death, Sleep, Dreams and Sex.

To cut a long story short, in the beginning there was not only Chaos but also Gaia (Mother Earth), Tartarus (Ineffably Deep Abyss), and Eros (who in those times resembled rather Will To Procreate than Romantic Love). Then, Gaia gave birth, among other creatures, to Ouranos (Heaven) and Pontus (Sea), both of whom later [[{{Squick}} fathered on her]] many children. This strange family had three main branches:

* SpontaneousGeneration: [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Erinyes]], [[PlantPerson Meliae]], [[GiantMook Giants]], and [[LoveGoddess Aphrodite]] were born from Earth impregnated by the [[PhysicalGod cut-off genitals]] of her son and husband, Heaven, who was castrated by the son whom he himself had begotten on Earth. It doesn't come much more [[{{Squick}} squicky]] than that.

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: quite a lot of them.

'''2)''' Children of Pontus (with or without Gaia as a mother). Mainly monsters (with Cerberus, Chimaira and Sphinx among them) and indistinguishable water nymphs, but also [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows Iris]]. The latter was probably the family's BlackSheep (or, rather, a [[WhiteSheep White one]]), her own sisters being Harpies.

As the Muses taught {{Hesiod}}, in the beginning there was Chaos - and indeed, this is one of the [[WorldOfChaos most chaotic]] texts in the world's literary canon. Written most probably in the 7th century in classical epic dactylic hexameter, it is mainly a genealogical treatise with not a few elements of theological gossip about which god slept with whom and who was born as a result. 'Theogony' means 'The Origin of Gods', and it is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Presenting the whole divine family on one genealogical tree is [[http://www.theoi.com/TreeHesiod.html almost]] impossible, but the Greeks apparently had little problems with memorizing all the details, as numerous stories from Greek mythology are perfectly consistent with the version of events described in ''Theogony'' (though, to complicate things even more, there is also a rival version written by Pseudo-Apollodorus, known as ''The Library''). There is also [[Literature/WorksAndDays another poem]] by this author, but it is considerably less mythological and much more didactic.

To cut a long story short, in the beginning there was not only Chaos but also Gaia (Mother Earth), Tartarus (Ineffably Deep Abyss), and Eros (who in those times resembled rather Will To Procreate than Romantic Love). Then, Gaia gave birth, among other creatures, to Ouranos (Heaven) and Pontus (The Sea), both of whom later [[{{Squick}} fathered on her]] many children. This strange family had three main branches:

'''1)''' Descendants of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). Those are a mixed bunch: Erebus and Darkness produced Aither (bright, glowing upper air of heaven) and Hemera (Day). Nyx also had a few children all by herself. They were mainly personifications of depressing concepts like Toil or Strife, but among them were also three Moirai, Dreams and Sex.

'''2)''' Children of Pontus (with or without Gaia as a mother). Mainly monsters (with Cerberus, Chimaira and Sphinx among them) and indistinguishable water nymphs, but also [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows Rainbow]]. The latter was probably the family's BlackSheep (or, rather, a [[WhiteSheep White one]]), her own sisters being Harpies.

'''3)''' Children of Ouranos and Gaia: Cyclopes, who had each only one eye, Hekatoncheires, who had each as many as one hundred hands, and Titans, whose children were later to win the great divine battle for power. Among the descendants of the Titans were [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Twelve Olympians]], rivers, celestial bodies, some personifications, three Moirai, and, again, a bunch of indistinguishable water nymphs.

Yes, the Moirai appear there twice, and yes, they are the same Moirai, because their names are identical in both cases. Two identical sets of Fates look so uncanny that scholars usually believe one of them to be an interpolation.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Most notably, Zeus with Hera, but also Zeus with Demeter, Erebus with Nyx, Phorkys with Keto, and four Titans with four Titanesses.

[[caption-width-right:348:In the beginning there was Chaos, and then it only got worse. (from Total Chaos)]]

* HaremSeeker: Zeus. The list of the gods' descendants gives as many as ten names of his bed companions, all of whom were [[IncestIsRelative his relatives]]. Hera was [[ClingyJealousGirl so angry]] about it that it is no wonder that [[GodOfWar their son]] was nicknamed 'the sacker of towns'.

'''1)''' Descendants of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). They were mainly personifications of depressing concepts like Toil or Strife, but among them were also three Moirai, Dreams and Sex.

* ApronMatron: Gaia. She even gave birth to one of her children ([[ReptilesAreAbhorrent Typhoeus]]) only to revenge the previous ones on their father, who thrusted them down into Tartarus. Tartarus himself was the father of Typhoeus, which makes it even more weird.

* GenderRarityValue: There is much more females than males in the text - mainly because of the [[OneGenderRace water nymphs and wood nymphs]], but the tendency to group goddesses and even monsters into [[SameSexTriplets sets of three]] is also a relevant factor.* HappilyEverAfter: Heracles [[{{Immortality}} and]] Hebe.

As the Muses taught {{Hesiod}}, in the beginning there was Chaos - and indeed, this is one of the [[WorldOfChaos most chaotic]] texts in the world's literary canon. Written most probably in the 7th century in classical epic dactylic hexameter, it is mainly a genealogical treatise with not a few elements of theological gossip about which god slept with whom and who was born as a result. 'Theogony' means 'The Origin of Gods', and it is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Presenting the whole divine family on one genealogical tree is [[http://www.theoi.com/TreeHesiod.html almost]] impossible, but the Greeks apparently had little problems with memorizing all the details, as numerous stories from Greek mythology are perfectly consistent with the version of events described in ''Theogony'' (though, to complicate things even more, there is also a rival version written by Pseudo-Apollodorus, known as ''The Library''). There is also [[WorksAndDays another poem]] by this author, but it is considerably less mythological and much more didactic.

[[index]]

* BadassFamily: it doesn't come much more Badass then Divine.
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: that is why Cronos had to be overthrown by Zeus.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: an Ur example.
* BrotherSisterIncest: most notably, Zeus with Hera, but also Zeus with Demeter, Erebus with Nyx, Phorkys with Keto, and four Titans with four Titanesses.

* FacelessGoons: the children of Erebus and Nyx. We do not know much about them except that they are mostly unfriendly and there are many of them.
* GenderRarityValue: there is much more females than males in the text - mainly because of the [[OneGenderRace water nymphs and wood nymphs]], but the tendency to group goddesses and even monsters into [[SameSexTriplets sets of three]] is also a relevant factor.* HappilyEverAfter: Heracles [[{{Immortality}} and]] Hebe.

* InTheBlood: the tradition of killing one's father before seizing the rule over the world was very prominent in the family of Zeus. Also, the children of Phorkys and Keto were all monsters, whereas water was more than essential for all the descendants of Oceanus and Tethys.
* KissingCousins: too many to count.
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: for Heracles, especially that he also seems to have been given EternalLove.
* TheLongList: the children of Oceanus and the daughters of Nereus.
* MythicalMotifs: three [[GorgeousGorgon Gorgons]], [[HydraProblem Hydra]], {{Pegasus}}, and a {{Dragon}} (only one, but not a few of his relatives were also more or less dragon-like).
* NarrativePoem: and the one which is OlderThanFeudalism.
* NominalImportance: strongly averted. Everyone here has a name, even if he or she doesn't appear anywhere else.
* OffingTheOffspring: the only possible justification for Cronos' actions is that he really hadn't a good paternal example to follow.

* RuleOfThree: the story mentions three cases of dethronement of the father by his son, the last of which was prophesied sufficiently early to avert it by swallowing the pregnant mother of a dangerous child. When the child was eventually [[MisterSeahorse given birth by the father]], it inexplicably turned out to be a girl, and [[DaddysGirl not a one]] particularly inclined to commit patricide.

* TangledFamilyTree: and how.

* YoungestChildWins: though, if throwing his children up by Ouranos served as a second birth, Zeus was actually the eldest.
[[/index]]