THE DISEASE OF MORTALITY IN HESIOD'STHEOGONY: PROMETHEUS, HERAKLES, AND THE INVENTION OFKLEOS

Abstract

Hesiod's Theogony is not overtly concerned with the world of mortals. The place of humans in the Theogony nevertheless holds a certain fascination, perhaps more for what is not revealed—our origins, for example—than for what is. Focusing on a relatively neglected passage of the poem (Theogony 521-32), I want to trace here the way Hesiod lays out the cosmic coordinates of kleos (‘fame’ or ‘glory’) with a view to better situating the condition of mortality within the poem as a whole. Kleos, as we will see, is part of the fallout for humans of the battle of wits between Zeus and Prometheus: it is the compensation for their new, temporally inflected existence.

Heracles in Homer and Apollonius: Narratological Character Analysis in a Diachronic Perspective

“…e.g. Mueller (2016) Laomedon (Priam's father) had promised to award Heracles with his immortal horses if he was able to kill the sea monster that was threatening his daughter Hesione. Since Laomedon did not keep his promise, Heracles destroyed Troy.…”