Worldview of Gods 2
Chapter 2: Reason of Polytheism 02/07
The gods of Greek mythology did not undertake grand endeavors such as creating the heavens and the earth. In that sense, the Greek gods are more human than the God conceived by the Israelites—that is, the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In his *Theogony*, the eighth-century B.C. Greek poet Hesiod describes the beginning of the world as “Chaos”—a formless, muddy mass in which heaven, earth, and sea were all jumbled together—from which Gaia, the goddess symbolizing the earth, was born. Gaia then gave birth to other gods, such as Eros, the god of love; Uranus, the god of the sky; and Pontus, the god of the sea. Through the influence of Eros, Gaia married Uranus, the god of the sky whom she had borne. Uranus became the king of the gods and fathered twelve children—six sons and six daughters—known as the “Titanes” (giants) between heaven and earth. Incidentally, eight of them later married their own siblings.
However, Uranus did not cherish his children; instead, he thrust each one into a hole in the earth as soon as they were born. Seeing this, their mother, Gaia, was deeply saddened and resolved to take revenge on Uranus. Gaia went to where her children were trapped in the chasm and proposed a plan to overthrow Uranus, but the children, fearing their father, were reluctant to agree. Amidst this, only one—her youngest son, Cronus—carried out his revenge while his father Uranus was asleep (incidentally, he did not kill him, but instead carried out his revenge by cutting off his phallus).
Cronus succeeded his father Uranus as king of the gods, but Uranus hated Cronus and cursed him, saying, “You (Cronus) will eventually be overthrown by your own son.” Haunted by these words, Cronus swallowed each of the children his wife bore him, one after another, in order to protect his throne. Chronos’s wife, Rhea, was heartbroken. To keep her youngest son, Zeus, from being discovered by her husband, she hid him in a mountain cave and had him raised by the Nymphs (a general term for spirits in Greek mythology, who take the form of beautiful women). When Zeus grew up, he used a potion to make Chronos vomit up his brothers, whom Chronos had swallowed. Together, the brothers challenged their father to battle and emerged victorious. After driving his father Cronus away, Zeus decided to divide the world among his brothers and rule it together. Thus, it is said that Zeus came to rule the heavens, while his brothers Poseidon and Hades each ruled the sea and the underworld (the realm of the dead), respectively.
What’s interesting here is that “God”—who is supposed to be a being superior to humans—casually engages in acts that are considered taboo in human society. Marrying one’s own child (Gaia and Uranus), marriage between siblings (eight of the twelve children of Gaia and Uranus were siblings who married each other), child abuse (Uranus and Cronus), a wife attempting to harm her husband (Gaia’s instigation of Cronus’s revenge), and children taking revenge on their parents (Cronus and Uranus, Zeus and Cronus)—these are all examples of such behavior.
However, Uranus did not cherish his children; instead, he thrust each one into a hole in the earth as soon as they were born. Seeing this, their mother, Gaia, was deeply saddened and resolved to take revenge on Uranus. Gaia went to where her children were trapped in the chasm and proposed a plan to overthrow Uranus, but the children, fearing their father, were reluctant to agree. Amidst this, only one—her youngest son, Cronus—carried out his revenge while his father Uranus was asleep (incidentally, he did not kill him, but instead carried out his revenge by cutting off his phallus).
Cronus succeeded his father Uranus as king of the gods, but Uranus hated Cronus and cursed him, saying, “You (Cronus) will eventually be overthrown by your own son.” Haunted by these words, Cronus swallowed each of the children his wife bore him, one after another, in order to protect his throne. Chronos’s wife, Rhea, was heartbroken. To keep her youngest son, Zeus, from being discovered by her husband, she hid him in a mountain cave and had him raised by the Nymphs (a general term for spirits in Greek mythology, who take the form of beautiful women). When Zeus grew up, he used a potion to make Chronos vomit up his brothers, whom Chronos had swallowed. Together, the brothers challenged their father to battle and emerged victorious. After driving his father Cronus away, Zeus decided to divide the world among his brothers and rule it together. Thus, it is said that Zeus came to rule the heavens, while his brothers Poseidon and Hades each ruled the sea and the underworld (the realm of the dead), respectively.
What’s interesting here is that “God”—who is supposed to be a being superior to humans—casually engages in acts that are considered taboo in human society. Marrying one’s own child (Gaia and Uranus), marriage between siblings (eight of the twelve children of Gaia and Uranus were siblings who married each other), child abuse (Uranus and Cronus), a wife attempting to harm her husband (Gaia’s instigation of Cronus’s revenge), and children taking revenge on their parents (Cronus and Uranus, Zeus and Cronus)—these are all examples of such behavior.