Zeus and his consolidation of power Theogony 2 Zeus and his consolidation of power

How to avoid fate of Ouranos and Cronos? Danger 1: female cunning conspiring with force of male offspring Danger 2: advice and aid from previous generation of gods given to offspring, just as they aided him

Theogony 891-905, p. 156 Now king of the gods, Zeus made Metis (“cunning intelligence”) his first wife,/ Wiser than any other god, or any mortal man. /But when she was about to deliver the owl-eyed goddess/ Athena, Zeus tricked her, gulled her with crafty words,/ And stuffed her in his stomach, taking the advice/ of Earth and starry Heaven (Ouranos). They told him to do this/ So that no one but Zeus would hold the title of King/ Among the eternal gods, for it was predestined/ That very wise children would be born from Metis,/ First the gray-eyed girl, Tritogeneia (=Athena),/ Equal to her father in strength and wisdom,/ But then a son with an arrogant heart/ Who would one day be king of gods and men./ But Zeus stuffed the goddess into his stomach first/ So she would devise with him good and evil both.

Zeus’ male womb Like Cronos, Zeus turns his stomach (nêdus, same word for ‘womb’) into a womb, swallowing offspring. But how is swallowing Metis different from previous acts of swallowing? Birth of Athena from head of Zeus: what is the significance of birth from the head?

Athenian black-figure vase Athenian black-figure vase. Hephaistos splits open Zeus’ head to deliver fully-grown Athena

Another 6th c. BCE black-figure vase with depiction of Athena’s birth from head of Zeus; female figure is probably birth goddess Eileithyia.

Athena as offspring of Zeus How does Athena different from foam-born Aphrodite? Why does Athena pose no threat to Zeus?

Athena as offspring Virgin and infertile (no further offspring to worry about) Female but warrior Mirror image of Zeus: like him but unthreatening to him because female and not male L. Muellner: “Zeus has become the first (and only) male mother of a female son.” See Apollodorus’ explanation (D2 in Anthology p. 22) for danger represented by Themis. What’s different about who splits open Zeus’ head, and why might the Hesiodic version prefer Hephaistos to do this?

Prometheus’ challenge to Zeus: Theogony 509-572 = pp. 146-148 Prometheus (“ one who thinks in advance”) is son of Titan Iapetos (a brother of Cronos), thus same generation as Zeus One of his brothers is Epimetheus (“one who thinks as it happens”) Prometheus’ danger to Zeus is not violence but cunning

Episode at Mecone and competition of wits Gods and men (where did they come from?) are feasting together. What is significant about this fact? Question of division of meat and portions: why is this important? Prometheus’ tricky portions: one is unattractive on outside (skin and stomach: note the Greek word can also mean “womb”) but good on inside (meat and innards), the other is attractive on outside (shining fat) but unattractive on inside (bones) Places portion with unattractive exterior in front of Zeus

Zeus’ portion Zeus is insulted by appearance of his portion: “Son of Iapetos, my celebrated lord, / How unevenly you have divided the portions.” (ll. 545f., p. 147) Prometheus offers choice of other portions. Zeus recognizes the trick (in this version) – so why does he go through with it and take the worse portion? Reference to typical division of portions in Olympian sacrifice: gods get fat and bones, burned on altar; mortals get meat and innards. Aetiological element (Gr. aition, “cause, origin”)

Zeus counter-trick, Prometheus’ counter counter-trick Zeus removes fire from mortals (they had it already) and conceals it (where have we seen this motif before?) Prometheus returns it to mortals, concealed in fennel stalk (narthex) Further anger of Zeus at being tricked: Pandora and chaining of Prometheus, daily eating of liver by eagle

Prometheus and Atlas (a fellow Titan, forced to hold up the sky) Laconian black-figure amphoriskos c. 6th BCE, Vatican City Museums

Zeus’ counter counter-counter-trick: Pandora (lines 573-620 = pp Pandora as pleasant exterior concealing interior that has bad mixed with good: where have we seen this before? Name Pandora can be interpreted as “giving all things” or “gifted by all”. How can we see these meanings borne out in the myth about her? Ancestor of all women Sign of new, harder life for men: good things are concealed, mixed up with evil. Fire no longer freely available, life by toil and agriculture, no more long life and asexual reproduction Necessary evil of women and institution of marriage: no continuity without children to carry on, but no children without marriage (=sexual reproduction)

Creation of Pandora with other gods contributing features to her: Attic red-figure calyx crater attributed to Niobid painter

Contrast between uncontrolled cunning of mortal women and Zeus’ control of goddess of cunning L. Muellner, The Anger of Achilles 86: “It [Zeus’ gift of Pandora] undermines Prometheus’ benefactions since it makes men eternally subject to the cunning of their wives, who are creatures they cannot do without [why not?] and who will always be other than themselves. In this respect the tale contrasts radically with the destiny of Zeus himself, whose crowning act is to become one with the goddess of cunning.”

How is this connected to the myth of the Five Ages? Pandora story further explored in another work attributed to Hesiod, Works and Days, 58-128 (pp. 162-164) Story of Pandora expanded: Epimetheus (remember what his name means?) and reception of Pandora Pandora opens storage jar (pithos) where it turns out (mainly) evil things are stored (does this remind you of anything?) Inability for men to keep evil separate from good, connected to theme of labor and toil How is this connected to the myth of the Five Ages?

Myth of 5 ages (or races): Hesiod, Works and Days (129-234), pp Gold: associated with Cronos Silver: associated with Zeus Bronze: no immortality or legacy after death Heroes: offers temporary abatement of decline, aspects of Golden Age. Iron: our age Which is the odd one out?

Challenge to Zeus by force: Titanomachy (“battle of the Titans”), 621-825 (pp. 149-154) Titans are children of Gaia and Ouranos. Name connotes overreaching, arrogant behaviour (titainô, “stretch”, “reach”) Zeus enlists other children of Gaia and Ouranos, the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers, previously banished by Ouranos, as well as his brothers and sisters (Olympian gods), offspring of Cronos and Rheia. Hundred-Handers represent force, but weapon forged by Cyclopes represents cunning: the thunderbolt: Zeus uses both Zeus makes use of Tartaros as place of confinement for defeated, dangerous gods – and places dangerous allies there too (Hundred-Handers), but as guards

Future challenges to Zeus after the Titanomachy Gigantomachy (battle of the Giants): last ditch effort by Gaia and Ouranos to attack Zeus and Olympians (not in Hesiod) Thetis (whose son is predicted to be stronger than his father): we’ll talk about this later in connection with background to Trojan War Hera (in one variant [Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Anthology pp. 183-182) gives birth to Typhoios/Typhon in revenge for Athena’s birth) Revolt of the Olympians (led by Hera): referred to in Homer’s Iliad.

Typhoios (aka Typhon) Final monster of Gaia (Earth) and final opponent of Zeus Has uncontrolled size and fire, but outwitted by Zeus’ thunderbolt – superior, cunning kind of fire Connection with Near Eastern myth of e.g. Ullikummi, stone giant and son of Kumarbi (earlier generation of gods) against storm god Teshub. [See slide in 1st PP presentation about Hittite myth] Cf. interesting variant in Apollodorus D2, where Zeus is captured in Syria (why this place?) and has his sinews removed and is then imprisoned in a cave in Cilicia (Asia Minor). Hermes has to steal his sinews back and re-install them. (Anthology, p.22)

Black-figure hydria, c.550-530 BCE. Zeus attacks Typhon (Typhoios) Source: Data from: University of California, San Diego

Zeus and Typhon/Typhoios, detail of previous slide Source: Data from: University of California, San Diego

Near Eastern succession myth parallels (see previous PP presentation) Ongoing attempt by Kumarbi to overthrow Teshub’s rule: sends giant monster Ullikummi (cf. Typhoios) Cf. also Hittite Illuyankas story, snake monster sent against Teshub

9th c. BCE neo-Hittite depiction of the god Teshub fighting against the snake-monster Illuyankas.