{"id":274,"date":"2022-08-30T18:27:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T22:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/?post_type=chapter&p=274"},"modified":"2022-08-30T18:33:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T22:33:19","slug":"l4-hypothesis-zeus-typhaon-and-zeuss-wives","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/chapter\/l4-hypothesis-zeus-typhaon-and-zeuss-wives\/","title":{"raw":"L4 Hypothesis: Zeus, Typhaon, and Zeus's Wives","rendered":"L4 Hypothesis: Zeus, Typhaon, and Zeus’s Wives"},"content":{"raw":"

Hesiod's Theogony<\/em>, lines 820-961<\/h1>\r\n

The Typhonomachy<\/h1>\r\nBut, once Zeus had driven the Titans from the Sky,820<\/span>\r\nvast Gaia gave birth to her youngest son, Typhoeus,\r\nby intercourse with Tartarus through gold-adorned Aphrodite.\r\nHis hands were strong, able to accomplish his works,\r\nand the feet of this powerful god never grew weary. From his shoulders\r\na hundred snake heads grew, flicking825<\/span>\r\ndark tongues of a terrifying serpent. Fire shot out\r\nfrom his eyes under the brows on his monstrous heads.\r\nFrom all the heads, fire blazed wherever he looked.\r\nIn all the terrifying heads were voices\r\nsending out unspeakable sounds. At one time,830<\/span>\r\nthey made sounds understood by the gods; at another time,\r\ncame the voice of a proud, invincible bull, bellowing its strength;\r\nthen the voice of a lion with shameless spirit,\r\nand at another time, like that of puppies, a wonder to hear.\r\nSometimes he hissed, and the high mountains echoed back the sound.835<\/span>\r\n\r\nOn that day a deed beyond all help would have been accomplished,\r\nand he would have ruled over mortals and immortals,\r\nif the father of gods and men had not thought quickly.\r\nHe thundered hard and powerful. All around, Earth\r\nresounded horribly, so too broad Sky above,840<\/span>\r\nthe Sea, streams of Ocean, and regions underneath Earth.\r\nTall Olympus shook under the immortal feet\r\nof the king as he set out, and Earth groaned.\r\nSearing heat from both of them oppressed the violet-coloured Sea,\r\nfrom thunder and lightning, and from the monster\u2019s fire,845<\/span>\r\nfrom scorching winds and flaming thunderbolts.\r\nAll the Earth boiled, and Sky and Sea too.\r\nAround and over shores and sea cliffs giant waves raged\r\nbeneath the immortals\u2019 onslaught, and an immense earthquake began.\r\nHades, lord of the dead below, trembled;850<\/span>\r\nso did the Titans, allies of Kronos, in the lowest parts of Tartarus,\r\nfrom the endless noise of dreadful battle-strife.\r\n\r\nWhen Zeus unleashed his mighty wrath and seized his weapons \u2014\r\nthunder, lightning, and blazing thunderbolts \u2014\r\nhe leaped from Olympus and struck. He engulfed855<\/span>\r\nall the appalling heads of the terrifying monster in fire.\r\nAnd once he overpowered him, flogging him with blows,\r\nTyphoeus crashed down, his limbs broken, and vast Gaia groaned.\r\nFlames shot up from the thunderstruck lord,\r\nin the dark, rugged valleys of the mountain860<\/span>\r\nwhere he was struck. Most of vast Gaia was on fire\r\nfrom the unspeakable heat, and she melted like tin\r\nmade molten in open cauldrons through the arts\r\nof craftsmen, or as iron, which is strongest of all,\r\nmastered by blazing fire in mountain valleys,865<\/span>\r\nmelts in the shining Earth through Hephaestus\u2019 skill.\r\nJust so, Gaia was melting from the blaze of flaming fire.\r\nZeus, overwhelmed with rage, hurled him into broad Tartarus.\r\n\r\nFrom Typhoeus comes the wrath of wet-blowing winds,\r\nexcept for Notos the South, Boreas the North, and Zephyr the West Wind \u2014870<\/span>\r\nthese come from the gods, a great blessing for mortals.\r\nThe other winds blow without purpose on the Sea,\r\na great torment for mortals; they rage with evil blasts.\r\nThey start howling when you least expect them, scattering ships,\r\nand the sailors drown. No remedy exists for their evil,875<\/span>\r\nnot for the men who encounter them at Sea.\r\nSo too across the infinite blooming Earth,\r\nthey destroy the lovely fields of Earth-dwelling women and men,\r\nand fill Gaia with dust and grievous turmoil.\r\n

Zeus becomes king<\/h1>\r\nBut when the carefree gods had accomplished their labour,\r\nand decided the issue of honours with the Titans, by force,\r\nthen they urged far-seeing Olympian Zeus,\r\nby the shrewd advice of Gaia, to be king and ruler\r\nof the immortals. And he skillfully divided honours among them.885<\/span>\r\n

The Wives of Zeus<\/h1>\r\n1. Metis<\/strong>\r\nZeus, now king of the gods, chose as his first wife Metis<\/strong>,\r\nbecause, among gods and mortal men and women, she knows most.\r\nBut when she was about to give birth to the goddess\r\nowl-eyed Athena<\/span>, he deceived her mind with a trick.\r\nUsing wily words, he placed her down into his belly,890<\/span>\r\nby the shrewd advice of Gaia and starry Ouranos.\r\nFor they advised him, so that no one else of the eternal gods,\r\nother than Zeus, should ever hold the honour of kingship.\r\nFrom Metis, wise children were destined be born,\r\nfirst a daughter, owl-eyed Tritogeneian Athena,895<\/span>\r\nendowed with courage and prudent counsel, equal to her father.\r\nBut then, after that, she was fated to bear a son,\r\na king of gods and men, born with overwhelming strength.\r\nBefore that happened, Zeus placed her down into his belly,\r\nso the goddess might advise him on good and evil.900<\/span>\r\n2. Themis<\/strong>\r\nSecond, Zeus brought home bright, just Themis<\/strong>, who bore the Seasons<\/span> \u2014\r\nGood Governance, Justice, and flowering Peace \u2014\r\nwho oversee the works of mortal men and women.\r\nAnd she bore the Fates<\/span>, whom shrewd Zeus gave an immense honour \u2014\r\nClotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Allotter and Atropos the Unbending:905<\/span>\r\nfor mortal women and men, they assign possession of good and evil.\r\n3. Eurynome<\/strong>\r\nThird, Eurynome<\/strong>, the daughter of Ocean, a goddess of enticing beauty,\r\nbore to Zeus the fair-cheeked Graces<\/span> \u2014\r\nglittering Aglaia, joyful Euphrosyne, and lovely festive Thalia.\r\nFrom their eyes, as they look our way, desire radiates910<\/span>\r\nand loosens our limbs. Under their eyelids, beauty inhabits their glances.\r\n4. Demeter<\/strong>\r\nThen Zeus went to the bed of bountiful Demeter<\/strong>.\r\nShe bore white-armed Persephone<\/span>, whom Aidoneus\r\nseized from her mother, and shrewd Zeus gave his permission.\r\n5. Mnemosyne (Memory)<\/strong>\r\nThen Zeus fell in love with lovely-haired Mnemosyne<\/strong>.915<\/span>\r\nShe bore the Muses<\/span> who wear gold ribbons in their hair,\r\nnine daughters whose delight is festivals and the joy of song.\r\n6. Leto<\/strong>\r\nLeto too joined in love with aegis-bearing Zeus,\r\nand bore Apollo and arrow-pouring Artemis,\r\ncaptivating children surpassing all of Sky\u2019s descendants.920<\/span>\r\n7. Hera<\/strong>\r\nLast of all, Zeus made Hera his lush and fertile wife.\r\nShe gave birth to youthful Heb\u00ea, Ares, and Eileithyia,\r\njoining in love with the king of gods and men.\r\nZeus himself gave birth from his head to owl-eyed Athena,\r\nfearsome rouser of battles, leader of armies, never wearying925<\/span>\r\nqueen who rejoices at the clash of arms, wars, and battles.\r\nBut Hera raged in strife with her husband, and joining\r\nin intercourse with no one, gave birth to renowned Hephaestus,\r\nwho surpassed all the descendants of Ouranos in skill of his hands.\r\n\r\nMore and more children\r\nFrom Amphitrite and the resounding Earth-Shaker,930<\/span>\r\nhuge powerful Triton was born, who in the Sea\u2019s depths\r\nwith his beloved mother and lordly father\r\nlives in a golden palace, an awesome god. And to Ares,\r\nthe piercer of shields, Aphrodite of Cythera bore Fear and Terror \u2014\r\nawful gods who cause panic in crowded battalions of men,935<\/span>\r\nin ice-cold war with city-destroying Ares \u2014\r\nand Harmony, whom bold Cadmus made his wife.\r\n\r\nMaia, daughter of Atlas, bore famous Hermes, the immortals\u2019 messenger,\r\nto Zeus, after she came into his marriage bed.\r\n\r\nCadmus\u2019 daughter, Semele, joining in love with Zeus.940<\/span>\r\nbore a shining son, joyful Dionysus \u2014\r\na mortal mother and an immortal son. Both are gods now.\r\n\r\nAlkmene bore might Herakles,\r\njoining in love with cloud-gathering Zeus.\r\n\r\nFamous broken-footed Hephaestus made Aglaia,945<\/span>\r\nyoungest of the Graces his blooming wife.\r\n\r\nGolden-haired Dionysus took blonde Ariadne,\r\ndaughter of Minos as his blooming wife.\r\nZeus, son of Kronos made her ageless and immortal.\r\n\r\nThe heroic son of fair-ankled Alcmene,950<\/span>\r\nmighty Herakles, once he finished his grievous Labours,\r\nmade the daughter of great Zeus and Hera who walks in golden sandals\r\nhis revered wife, on snow-covered Olympus,\r\nHappy and blessed, who finished his great work and lives\r\namong the immortals, free from pain and old age forever.955<\/span>\r\n\r\nTo Helios, the Sun who never grows weary, the famous daughter of Ocean,\r\nPerseis, bore Circe and king Aietes.\r\nAietes, son of Helios who shines on mortals,\r\nmarried fair-cheeked Idyia, a daughter of Ocean,\r\nthe perfect river. She bore fair-ankled Medea960<\/span>\r\nmastered in lovely intercourse through gold-adorned Aphrodite.\r\n\r\n[The Theogony continues for another 50 or so lines, as Hesiod turns to the children born to goddesses who had sex with mortal men: Demeter, Eos (the Dawn goddess), Thetis, Aphrodite, Circe and so on. In this way, Hesiod ends his poem in a glorious celebration of procreation, as all the gods take their cue from Zeus, joining in love with each other and with mortal men and women to produce more and more gods and heroes.]<\/em>","rendered":"

Hesiod’s Theogony<\/em>, lines 820-961<\/h1>\n

The Typhonomachy<\/h1>\n

But, once Zeus had driven the Titans from the Sky,820<\/span>
\nvast Gaia gave birth to her youngest son, Typhoeus,
\nby intercourse with Tartarus through gold-adorned Aphrodite.
\nHis hands were strong, able to accomplish his works,
\nand the feet of this powerful god never grew weary. From his shoulders
\na hundred snake heads grew, flicking825<\/span>
\ndark tongues of a terrifying serpent. Fire shot out
\nfrom his eyes under the brows on his monstrous heads.
\nFrom all the heads, fire blazed wherever he looked.
\nIn all the terrifying heads were voices
\nsending out unspeakable sounds. At one time,830<\/span>
\nthey made sounds understood by the gods; at another time,
\ncame the voice of a proud, invincible bull, bellowing its strength;
\nthen the voice of a lion with shameless spirit,
\nand at another time, like that of puppies, a wonder to hear.
\nSometimes he hissed, and the high mountains echoed back the sound.835<\/span><\/p>\n

On that day a deed beyond all help would have been accomplished,
\nand he would have ruled over mortals and immortals,
\nif the father of gods and men had not thought quickly.
\nHe thundered hard and powerful. All around, Earth
\nresounded horribly, so too broad Sky above,840<\/span>
\nthe Sea, streams of Ocean, and regions underneath Earth.
\nTall Olympus shook under the immortal feet
\nof the king as he set out, and Earth groaned.
\nSearing heat from both of them oppressed the violet-coloured Sea,
\nfrom thunder and lightning, and from the monster\u2019s fire,845<\/span>
\nfrom scorching winds and flaming thunderbolts.
\nAll the Earth boiled, and Sky and Sea too.
\nAround and over shores and sea cliffs giant waves raged
\nbeneath the immortals\u2019 onslaught, and an immense earthquake began.
\nHades, lord of the dead below, trembled;850<\/span>
\nso did the Titans, allies of Kronos, in the lowest parts of Tartarus,
\nfrom the endless noise of dreadful battle-strife.<\/p>\n

When Zeus unleashed his mighty wrath and seized his weapons \u2014
\nthunder, lightning, and blazing thunderbolts \u2014
\nhe leaped from Olympus and struck. He engulfed855<\/span>
\nall the appalling heads of the terrifying monster in fire.
\nAnd once he overpowered him, flogging him with blows,
\nTyphoeus crashed down, his limbs broken, and vast Gaia groaned.
\nFlames shot up from the thunderstruck lord,
\nin the dark, rugged valleys of the mountain860<\/span>
\nwhere he was struck. Most of vast Gaia was on fire
\nfrom the unspeakable heat, and she melted like tin
\nmade molten in open cauldrons through the arts
\nof craftsmen, or as iron, which is strongest of all,
\nmastered by blazing fire in mountain valleys,865<\/span>
\nmelts in the shining Earth through Hephaestus\u2019 skill.
\nJust so, Gaia was melting from the blaze of flaming fire.
\nZeus, overwhelmed with rage, hurled him into broad Tartarus.<\/p>\n

From Typhoeus comes the wrath of wet-blowing winds,
\nexcept for Notos the South, Boreas the North, and Zephyr the West Wind \u2014870<\/span>
\nthese come from the gods, a great blessing for mortals.
\nThe other winds blow without purpose on the Sea,
\na great torment for mortals; they rage with evil blasts.
\nThey start howling when you least expect them, scattering ships,
\nand the sailors drown. No remedy exists for their evil,875<\/span>
\nnot for the men who encounter them at Sea.
\nSo too across the infinite blooming Earth,
\nthey destroy the lovely fields of Earth-dwelling women and men,
\nand fill Gaia with dust and grievous turmoil.<\/p>\n

Zeus becomes king<\/h1>\n

But when the carefree gods had accomplished their labour,
\nand decided the issue of honours with the Titans, by force,
\nthen they urged far-seeing Olympian Zeus,
\nby the shrewd advice of Gaia, to be king and ruler
\nof the immortals. And he skillfully divided honours among them.885<\/span><\/p>\n

The Wives of Zeus<\/h1>\n

1. Metis<\/strong>
\nZeus, now king of the gods, chose as his first wife Metis<\/strong>,
\nbecause, among gods and mortal men and women, she knows most.
\nBut when she was about to give birth to the goddess
\nowl-eyed Athena<\/span>, he deceived her mind with a trick.
\nUsing wily words, he placed her down into his belly,890<\/span>
\nby the shrewd advice of Gaia and starry Ouranos.
\nFor they advised him, so that no one else of the eternal gods,
\nother than Zeus, should ever hold the honour of kingship.
\nFrom Metis, wise children were destined be born,
\nfirst a daughter, owl-eyed Tritogeneian Athena,895<\/span>
\nendowed with courage and prudent counsel, equal to her father.
\nBut then, after that, she was fated to bear a son,
\na king of gods and men, born with overwhelming strength.
\nBefore that happened, Zeus placed her down into his belly,
\nso the goddess might advise him on good and evil.900<\/span>
\n2. Themis<\/strong>
\nSecond, Zeus brought home bright, just Themis<\/strong>, who bore the Seasons<\/span> \u2014
\nGood Governance, Justice, and flowering Peace \u2014
\nwho oversee the works of mortal men and women.
\nAnd she bore the Fates<\/span>, whom shrewd Zeus gave an immense honour \u2014
\nClotho the Spinner, Lachesis the Allotter and Atropos the Unbending:905<\/span>
\nfor mortal women and men, they assign possession of good and evil.
\n3. Eurynome<\/strong>
\nThird, Eurynome<\/strong>, the daughter of Ocean, a goddess of enticing beauty,
\nbore to Zeus the fair-cheeked Graces<\/span> \u2014
\nglittering Aglaia, joyful Euphrosyne, and lovely festive Thalia.
\nFrom their eyes, as they look our way, desire radiates910<\/span>
\nand loosens our limbs. Under their eyelids, beauty inhabits their glances.
\n4. Demeter<\/strong>
\nThen Zeus went to the bed of bountiful Demeter<\/strong>.
\nShe bore white-armed Persephone<\/span>, whom Aidoneus
\nseized from her mother, and shrewd Zeus gave his permission.
\n5. Mnemosyne (Memory)<\/strong>
\nThen Zeus fell in love with lovely-haired Mnemosyne<\/strong>.915<\/span>
\nShe bore the Muses<\/span> who wear gold ribbons in their hair,
\nnine daughters whose delight is festivals and the joy of song.
\n6. Leto<\/strong>
\nLeto too joined in love with aegis-bearing Zeus,
\nand bore Apollo and arrow-pouring Artemis,
\ncaptivating children surpassing all of Sky\u2019s descendants.920<\/span>
\n7. Hera<\/strong>
\nLast of all, Zeus made Hera his lush and fertile wife.
\nShe gave birth to youthful Heb\u00ea, Ares, and Eileithyia,
\njoining in love with the king of gods and men.
\nZeus himself gave birth from his head to owl-eyed Athena,
\nfearsome rouser of battles, leader of armies, never wearying925<\/span>
\nqueen who rejoices at the clash of arms, wars, and battles.
\nBut Hera raged in strife with her husband, and joining
\nin intercourse with no one, gave birth to renowned Hephaestus,
\nwho surpassed all the descendants of Ouranos in skill of his hands.<\/p>\n

More and more children
\nFrom Amphitrite and the resounding Earth-Shaker,930<\/span>
\nhuge powerful Triton was born, who in the Sea\u2019s depths
\nwith his beloved mother and lordly father
\nlives in a golden palace, an awesome god. And to Ares,
\nthe piercer of shields, Aphrodite of Cythera bore Fear and Terror \u2014
\nawful gods who cause panic in crowded battalions of men,935<\/span>
\nin ice-cold war with city-destroying Ares \u2014
\nand Harmony, whom bold Cadmus made his wife.<\/p>\n

Maia, daughter of Atlas, bore famous Hermes, the immortals\u2019 messenger,
\nto Zeus, after she came into his marriage bed.<\/p>\n

Cadmus\u2019 daughter, Semele, joining in love with Zeus.940<\/span>
\nbore a shining son, joyful Dionysus \u2014
\na mortal mother and an immortal son. Both are gods now.<\/p>\n

Alkmene bore might Herakles,
\njoining in love with cloud-gathering Zeus.<\/p>\n

Famous broken-footed Hephaestus made Aglaia,945<\/span>
\nyoungest of the Graces his blooming wife.<\/p>\n

Golden-haired Dionysus took blonde Ariadne,
\ndaughter of Minos as his blooming wife.
\nZeus, son of Kronos made her ageless and immortal.<\/p>\n

The heroic son of fair-ankled Alcmene,950<\/span>
\nmighty Herakles, once he finished his grievous Labours,
\nmade the daughter of great Zeus and Hera who walks in golden sandals
\nhis revered wife, on snow-covered Olympus,
\nHappy and blessed, who finished his great work and lives
\namong the immortals, free from pain and old age forever.955<\/span><\/p>\n

To Helios, the Sun who never grows weary, the famous daughter of Ocean,
\nPerseis, bore Circe and king Aietes.
\nAietes, son of Helios who shines on mortals,
\nmarried fair-cheeked Idyia, a daughter of Ocean,
\nthe perfect river. She bore fair-ankled Medea960<\/span>
\nmastered in lovely intercourse through gold-adorned Aphrodite.<\/p>\n

[The Theogony continues for another 50 or so lines, as Hesiod turns to the children born to goddesses who had sex with mortal men: Demeter, Eos (the Dawn goddess), Thetis, Aphrodite, Circe and so on. In this way, Hesiod ends his poem in a glorious celebration of procreation, as all the gods take their cue from Zeus, joining in love with each other and with mortal men and women to produce more and more gods and heroes.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-274","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/312"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":276,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/274\/revisions\/276"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/274\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}