Herakles and the Order of Zeus in Hesiod’s Theogony

Most of Herakles’ accomplishments as portrayed in Hesiod’s Theogony concern his defeat of various monstrous entities, such as the Nemean lion. By overcoming this “bane to human beings” (πῆμ’ ἀνθρώποις, line 329) and other creatures like it, Herakles does more than make the world safer for human habi...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Huard, Warren (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: De Gruyter [2020]
In: Archiv für Religionsgeschichte
Year: 2020, Volume: 21/22, Issue: 1, Pages: 327-342
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Hesiodus, Theogonia / Herakles / Zeus, God / Cosmogony
RelBib Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
BE Greco-Roman religions
Further subjects:B Religionswissenschaften
B Theologie und Religion
B Altertumswissenschaften
B Antike Religionsgeschichte
B Klassische Altertumswissenschaften
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Most of Herakles’ accomplishments as portrayed in Hesiod’s Theogony concern his defeat of various monstrous entities, such as the Nemean lion. By overcoming this “bane to human beings” (πῆμ’ ἀνθρώποις, line 329) and other creatures like it, Herakles does more than make the world safer for human habitation. Significantly, many of these creatures are among the offspring of Echidna and Typhaon/Typhoeus. Zeus must defeat this Typhoeus in order to establish his dominion over the cosmos. It falls to Zeus’ son Herakles to uphold Zeus’ new cosmic order by overcoming the offspring of Typhaon remaining among mortals. Herakles’ role within the Theogony is thus coherent in its cosmogonic dimensions, with Herakles acting both on behalf of Zeus’ order and in opposition to the would-be order of Typhaon/Typhoeus and (perhaps) a Hera not yet aligned with Zeus. Furthermore, through his actions among mortals, Herakles effectively brings this grand cosmogonic conflict down to earth, which serves narratively to better ground the events of the Theogony in the lives of Hesiod’s hearers and readers.
ISSN:1868-8888
Contains:Enthalten in: Archiv für Religionsgeschichte
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1515/arege-2020-0017