Hesiod · a new plain-English translation from the Greek
Let us begin our song with the Muses of Helicon, who hold that great and holy mountain, and dance on their soft feet around the violet-dark spring and the altar of the mighty son of Cronus. And having bathed their tender skin in the Permessus, or the Horse's Spring, or holy Olmeius, they perform their beautiful, lovely dances on the highest ridge of Helicon, moving briskly on their feet.
From there they set out, wrapped in thick mist, and walk through the night sending forth their gorgeous voices, singing of Zeus who holds the aegis, and queenly Hera of Argos, who walks in golden sandals, and the daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, grey-eyed Athena, and Phoebus Apollo and arrow-showering Artemis, and Poseidon who holds and shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and Aphrodite with her curling lashes, and gold-crowned Hebe
and lovely Dione, and Leto, and Iapetus, and crooked-scheming Cronus, and Dawn and great Helios and shining Selene, and Earth and great Ocean and black Night, and the whole holy race of the other immortals who live forever. It was these who once taught Hesiod fine song, while he shepherded his lambs below holy Helicon.
This is the very first thing the goddesses said to me, the Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus: 'Shepherds camped in the fields, base disgraces, nothing but bellies, lies aplenty we know how to tell that wear the look of truth, but we also know, whenever we wish, how to declare true things.' Such were the words of great Zeus's daughters, whose speech never falters; and to me they handed a staff, a branch of blooming laurel,
a wonder to behold, plucking it for me; and they breathed into me a divine voice, so that I might glorify what will be and what was before. And they told me to hymn the race of the blessed ones who live forever, but always to sing of themselves first and last. But why do I dwell on all this, on oak tree or on rock? Come, let us begin from the Muses,
who by their singing please the great mind of father Zeus within Olympus, telling of things that are, that will be, and that were before, blending their voices together; and from their mouths flows an unwearied, sweet sound. The halls of their father, loud-thundering Zeus, laugh at the lily-soft voice of the goddesses as it spreads out, and the peak of snowy Olympus echoes,
and the homes of the immortals. And sending forth their immortal voice, they glorify first in their song the august family of the gods from its origin, the children whom Earth and broad Heaven brought forth, and the gods sprung from these, the givers of good things. Next in turn they hymn Zeus, the father over gods and over men, both when they open their song and when they close it, telling how much
he is greatest of the gods and mightiest in power. And again they sing the race of men and of the powerful Giants, and so cheer the heart of Zeus inside Olympus, they, the Muses of Olympus, children of Zeus who bears the aegis. Mnemosyne, ruling over the hills of Eleuther, bore them in Pieria, after lying with the son of Cronus their father, to be a forgetting of troubles and a rest from cares. For nine nights
wise Zeus lay with her, going up into her holy bed apart from the immortals; but when the year had run its course, the seasons circling round with the dwindling months and day upon day reaching its full count, she bore nine daughters of one mind, whose hearts are set on song and who feel no care, a little way from the very topmost peak
of snowy Olympus. There they have their shining dance-floors and beautiful halls, and beside them the Graces and Desire live in festivity. Sending a lovely voice through their mouths they sing, and celebrate the customs and fine ways of all the immortals, sending forth their charming voice. They went then toward Olympus, exulting
in their beautiful voice, in their immortal song; and the black earth echoed all around as they sang, and a lovely thudding of feet rose up beneath them as they went to their father. He reigns as king in heaven, himself holding the thunder and the blazing thunderbolt, having conquered his father Cronus by force; and he arranged everything well for the immortals alike and assigned their honors. This, then,
the Muses sang, who hold the Olympian halls, the nine daughters born of great Zeus: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, and Calliope — she is the foremost of them all, for she attends even reverend kings. Whomever the daughters of great Zeus honor
and look upon at his birth, one of the kings nurtured by Zeus, on his tongue they pour sweet dew, and gentle words flow from his mouth; all the people look to him as he settles disputes with straight judgments; and speaking with sure authority he can quickly and skillfully put an end to even a great quarrel. That is why
there are prudent kings: because when the people are being wronged in the assembly, they set matters right easily, persuading with gentle words. And as he comes among the gathering, they show him deference like a god, with gentle reverence, and among the crowd he stands conspicuous. That is the sacred endowment the Muses bestow on human beings. For singers and players of the lyre exist upon the earth thanks to the Muses and to Apollo who shoots from afar,
and from Zeus that there are kings. Blessed is the man the Muses love; sweet speech flows from his mouth. For even if someone has grief and a heart sore with fresh sorrow, and pines away, aching in his heart, yet when a singer, the Muses' servant, hymns the famous exploits of people of former times and the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus, at once
he forgets his sorrows and no longer remembers his cares; the gifts of the goddesses quickly turn his mind elsewhere. Hail, children of Zeus, grant me a lovely song. Celebrate the holy race of the immortals who live forever — those whom Earth brought forth with starry Heaven, those born of dark Night, and those the salt Sea reared. Tell how at first
the gods came into being along with the earth, the rivers, and the limitless sea raging in its swell, the blazing stars, and broad heaven overhead; and the gods sprung from these, bestowers of blessings; and how they portioned out riches among themselves and allotted the honors, and how at first they took possession of many-folded Olympus. Tell me these things, Muses,
who hold your homes on Olympus from the beginning, and tell what first came to be among them. Truly, first of all Chaos came into being, and then broad-breasted Earth, the ever-secure seat of all the immortals who hold the peak of snowy Olympus, and murky Tartarus in a recess of the wide-pathed earth, and Eros, who is the most beautiful among the immortal
gods, the limb-loosener, who overpowers the mind and wise counsel in the breasts of all gods and all men. Out of Chaos came Erebus and black Night; and from Night in turn came Aether and Day, whom she bore after mingling in love with Erebus. Earth first of all brought forth, equal to
herself, starry Heaven, so that he might cover her all around and be an ever-secure seat for the blessed gods. She bore also the long mountains, the pleasant haunts of the goddess Nymphs who dwell in the wooded hills. And she also bore, without sweet union of love, the barren sea seething with its swell, Pontus. But afterward,
lying with Heaven, she bore deep-eddying Ocean, and Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus; then Theia and Rhea, with Themis and Mnemosyne, Phoebe with her golden crown, and Tethys the lovely. Youngest of them all came crooked-scheming Cronus, most terrible of her brood, and he loathed his vigorous father. And she bore also the Cyclopes with their overbearing hearts, Brontes
and Steropes and stout-hearted Arges, who gave Zeus the thunder and forged the thunderbolt for him. In everything else these were like the gods, but a single eye lay in the middle of their forehead. They were named Cyclopes because a single round eye lay set in their forehead; and strength
and force and craft were in their work. And besides these, Earth and Heaven produced three more sons, huge and mighty, unspeakable, Cottus and Briareus and Gyges, arrogant children. From their shoulders sprang a hundred hands, unshapely, and to each of them fifty heads grew from the shoulders
upon their sturdy limbs; and their strength was measureless and mighty, matched to their huge form. For of all those born from Earth and Heaven, these were the most fearsome children, and their own father hated them from the start. And as soon as any of them was about to be born, he hid them all away and would not let them come into the light, in a hollow of Earth, and he delighted in this
wicked act, Heaven did. But huge Earth groaned within herself, being crowded, and she devised a cunning and wicked plan. Quickly making the substance of grey adamant, she fashioned a great sickle and showed it to her own dear children; and speaking to encourage them, though grieving in her heart, she said: 'My children, and children of a reckless father, if you are willing to obey me, we might avenge your father's
wicked outrage on you; for he was the first to plot shameful deeds.' So she spoke; but fear seized all of them, and not one of them spoke. Then great Cronus of crooked counsel took courage and answered his dear mother: 'Mother, I will undertake this task and carry it out, since I have no regard
for our father, wretched as he is, for he was the first to plot shameful deeds.' So he spoke; and huge Earth rejoiced greatly in her heart. She hid him in an ambush and placed in his hands a jagged-toothed sickle, and taught him the whole trick. And great Heaven came, bringing on the night, and, longing for love, spread himself all around Earth and lay stretched out fully;
and his son reached out from his ambush with his left hand, and with his right took hold of the huge sickle, long and jagged-toothed, and swiftly cut off his own father's genitals and threw them behind him to be carried away. They did not fly from his hand in vain, for all the bloody drops that spurted out Earth received; and as the years turned around
she bore the mighty Furies and the great Giants, gleaming in their armor, long spears gripped in their fists, and those Nymphs called Meliae across the boundless earth. As for the genitals, once he had cut them off with the adamant sickle, he threw them from the mainland into the surging sea, and they were carried a long time over the waves, and white foam rose around them from
the immortal flesh, and in it a girl was formed. First she came near holy Cythera, and from there she went on to sea-girt Cyprus. There she stepped out, a reverend and beautiful goddess, and grass grew up around her slender feet. Gods and men call her Aphrodite, the foam-born goddess, and also fair-crowned Cytherea,
because she grew up in the foam; and Cytherea, because she touched land at Cythera; and Cyprogenea, because she was born on wave-washed Cyprus; and also Philommedes, because she sprang from the genitals. Eros joined her, and fair Desire followed her when she was first born and came into the company of the gods. From the beginning she has had this honor and been allotted
this share among men and immortal gods: the whispers of maidens, smiles, deceptions, sweet delight, and love and tenderness. But great Heaven called his sons, whom he himself had fathered, Titans as a term of reproach, saying that they had strained to do a monstrous deed in their recklessness, and that vengeance for it would come
afterward. And Night gave birth to loathsome Doom, to black Fate, and to Death; she bore Sleep too, and brought forth the tribe of Dreams; next, though she had lain with no one, dark Night bore Blame and grievous Misery, and the Hesperides, keepers of the beautiful golden apples beyond glorious Ocean, and the trees bearing that
fruit. She also bore the Fates and the pitiless avenging Spirits, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give mortals at their birth both good and evil to have, and who pursue the transgressions of men and gods; nor do these goddesses ever cease from their dread anger until they give harsh punishment to whoever has done wrong.
And deadly Night bore Nemesis too, a torment for mortal men, and after her she bore Deceit and Affection and ruinous Old Age, and she bore hard-hearted Strife. And hateful Strife bore agonizing Toil, Forgetfulness and Hunger, tearful Pains, Battles and Combats, Murders and Killings of Men,
Quarrels and Lying Words, Disputes and Lawlessness and Ruin, each the companion of the others, and Oath, who brings the most harm to men on earth whenever someone knowingly swears a false oath. And Pontus fathered Nereus, truthful and honest, the eldest of his children; men name him the Old Man since he is unerring and gentle, and he does not
forget what is right, but knows just and kindly counsel. Then again, mingling with Gaia, Pontus fathered great Thaumas and proud Phorcys, Ceto of the fair cheeks, and Eurybia, whose breast holds a heart of adamant. From Nereus were born lovely children, goddesses, in the barren sea, by Doris of the beautiful hair, daughter of Oceanus, the perfect river — Ploto
and Eucrante and Sao and Amphitrite and Eudora and Thetis and Galene and Glauce and Cymothoe and Speio and Thoe and lovely Halia, Pasithea, Erato, Eunice of the rosy arms, and graceful Melite and Eulimene and Agave and Doto and Proto and Pherusa and Dynamene
and Nesaea and Actaea and Protomedea, Doris and Panopea and beautiful Galatea, charming Hippothoe and Hipponoe of the rosy arms, and Cymodoce, who together with Cymatolege and shapely Amphitrite easily calms the waves on the misty sea and the gusts of raging winds; then Cymo, Eione, and fair-crowned Halimede, and Glauconome
who loves to smile, and Pontoporea, Leagora and Euagora and Laomedea, Poulynoe and Autonoe and Lysianassa, Euarne of lovely form and blameless looks, and graceful Psamathe, and divine Menippe, Neso and Eupompe, Themisto and Pronoe and Nemertes, who has the mind of her immortal father.
These were the fifty daughters born to blameless Nereus, skilled in blameless works. And Thaumas took to wife Electra, daughter of deep-flowing Oceanus; she bore swift Iris and the fair-haired Harpies, Aello and Ocypete, who on rapid pinions chase the gusts of winds and the birds alike, for they dart through the air on high. And to Phorcys in turn
Ceto bore the Graeae, fair-cheeked from birth and gray-haired, whom gods and men who walk the earth call the Graeae — Pemphredo in her fine robe and Enyo robed in saffron — and the Gorgons, whose home lies beyond glorious Oceanus at the edge of the world, toward Night, where the clear-voiced Hesperides dwell: Stheno and Euryale and Medusa, who suffered a grim fate.
She alone was mortal, while the other two were immortal and ageless; and with her, the one, the Dark-Haired One lay down in a soft meadow among the spring flowers. And when Perseus severed her head from her neck, out leaped great Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus. Pegasus got his name because he was born near the springs of Oceanus,
while the other held a golden sword in his hands. Pegasus flew away, quitting the earth that mothers the flocks, and reached the immortals; he lives in the house of Zeus, carrying thunder and lightning for wise Zeus. Chrysaor fathered three-headed Geryon, mingling with Callirhoe, daughter of glorious Oceanus. Geryon was slain by the might
of Heracles beside his shambling cattle, on sea-girt Erythea, on the day Heracles drove the broad-browed cattle toward holy Tiryns, crossing the stream of Oceanus, after killing Orthus and the herdsman Eurytion in a misty steading beyond glorious Oceanus. And Callirhoe bore another monster, unmanageable, unlike anything among
mortal men or immortal gods — in a hollow cave she bore strong-hearted Echidna, half a nymph with bright eyes and fair cheeks, and half a monstrous serpent, terrible and huge, mottled and ravenous, deep within the sacred earth. There she has a cave, deep beneath a hollow rock, far from immortal gods and mortal men; there
the gods assigned her a splendid home to dwell in. And she, deadly Echidna, is confined beneath the earth among the Arimi, an immortal nymph, ageless for all her days. They say Typhon lay with her in love, that terrible, violent, lawless one, with the bright-eyed girl, and she conceived and bore strong-hearted children. First she bore Orthus,
the hound of Geryon; then next she bore another creature, unspeakable, ravenous Cerberus, the bronze-voiced hound of Hades, fifty-headed, shameless and strong; and third she bore the destructive Lernaean Hydra, which the goddess white-armed Hera raised, furious beyond measure at the might of Heracles. And her the son of Zeus slew with pitiless bronze,
the son of Amphitryon, Heracles, together with war-loving Iolaus, by the counsels of Athena, driver of spoils. And she bore the Chimera, breathing unquenchable fire, terrible and huge, swift-footed and strong. She had three heads — one of a fierce-eyed lion, one of a goat, and one of a serpent, a mighty dragon — lion in front, dragon behind,
and goat in the middle, breathing out the fierce force of blazing fire. Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slew her. And Echidna, subdued by Orthus, bore deadly Phix, the ruin of the Thebans, and the Nemean lion, which Hera, Zeus's glorious wife, raised and settled on the hills of Nemea, a torment to men. There he preyed upon the
tribes of men who lived nearby, lording it over Tretus of Nemea and Apesas; but the strength of Heracles overcame him. And Ceto, mingling in love with Phorcys, bore her youngest, a terrible serpent, who in the dark depths of the earth guards the golden apples in their vast reaches. Such, then, is the brood that came from Ceto and Phorcys. And Tethys bore to Oceanus the swirling
Rivers — the Nile and the Alpheus and deep-eddying Eridanus, the Strymon and the Maeander and the fair-flowing Ister, the Phasis and the Rhesus and silver-eddying Achelous, the Nessus and the Rhodius and the Haliacmon and the Heptaporus, the Granicus and the Aesepus and sacred Simoeis, the Peneius and the fair-flowing Hermus and the Caicus and the Sangarius,
great Ladon and the Parthenius and the Evenus and the Ardescus and sacred Scamander. And Tethys bore a sacred race of daughters, who together with lord Apollo and the Rivers raise young men to manhood across the earth — this task they hold from Zeus — Peitho, Admete, Ianthe, Electra, then Doris and Prymno
and godlike Urania and Hippo and Clymene and Rhodea and Callirhoe and Zeuxo and Clytie and Idyia and Pasithoe and Plexaura and lovely Galaxaura and Dione and Melobosis and Thoe and beautiful Polydora and Cerceis of lovely form and ox-eyed Plouto and Perseis and Ianeira and Acaste
and Xanthe and lovely Petraea and Menestho and Europa and Metis and Eurynome and Telesto in her saffron robe and Chryseis and Asia and lovely Calypso and Eudora and Tyche and Amphiro and Ocyrhoe and Styx, who is the foremost of them all. These were the eldest daughters born of Oceanus and Tethys,
but there are many others besides. For there are three thousand slender-ankled Oceanids, who scattered far and wide tend the earth and the depths of the waters alike, splendid children of the goddesses. And just as many again are the loud-flowing rivers, sons of Oceanus, born of queenly Tethys, whose names it is hard for a
mortal man to tell, but each of the people who live nearby knows them. And Theia bore great Helios and bright Selene and Eos, who shines for all who live on earth and for the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, submitting in love to Hyperion. And Eurybia, mingling in love with Crius, bore great Astraeus
and Pallas, foremost of the gods, and Perses, who excelled all in wisdom. And to Astraeus, Eos bore the strong-hearted winds — clearing Zephyrus, and swift-traveling Boreas, and the South Wind — the goddess lying with the god in love. After them the Dawn-bringer bore the star Eosphorus and the shining stars with which the sky is crowned. And Styx,
daughter of Oceanus, mingling with Pallas, bore Zelus and fair-ankled Nike in their halls, and she bore glorious children, Cratos and Bia; these have no home apart from Zeus, nor any seat, nor any path where the god does not lead them, but always they sit beside deep-thundering Zeus. For thus did undying Styx
the Oceanid resolve, on the day the Olympian, lord of lightning, called all the immortal gods to great Olympus and declared that whoever among the gods fought beside him against the Titans would not be stripped of any privilege, but each would keep the honor he had before among the immortal gods; and he declared that whoever had been without honor or
privilege under Cronus would be raised to honor and privilege, as is right. And undying Styx was the first to reach Olympus, bringing her children with her, by the counsel of her dear father. And Zeus honored her, and gave her surpassing gifts: he appointed her to be the gods' great oath, and granted that her children should live with him forever.
And just as he had promised, so he fulfilled it fully for all; and he himself rules mightily and reigns. And Phoebe in turn came to the beloved bed of Coeus; and the goddess, conceiving then in the god's embrace, bore dark-robed Leto, ever gentle, kind to men and to the immortal gods, gentle from the beginning, the mildest within
Olympus. She bore also fair-named Asteria, whom Perses once led into his great house, to bear the name of his beloved wife. And she conceived and bore Hecate, whom Zeus, son of Cronus, honored above all; he gave her splendid gifts, a share of the earth and of the barren sea. And she also has a portion of honor from the starry heaven,
and she is honored greatly by the immortal gods. For even now, whenever any man on earth offers fine sacrifices and prays as custom requires, it is Hecate he invokes. Great honor readily follows the one to whom the glorious goddess is willing to grant his prayers, and she bestows prosperity on him, since the power is truly hers.
For of all those born of Gaia and Uranus who received honor, she has a share of every one of them. Nor did the son of Cronus do her violence, nor take away anything of what she had received among the earlier gods, the Titans, but she keeps it, just as the division was from the beginning, and she has her rightful share on earth and in heaven and
in the sea. And though she is her mother's only child, the goddess enjoys no less honor, but even much more, since Zeus honors her. To whomever she wishes, she comes with great help and benefit; she sits beside kings in judgment, in their revered assembly, and she stands out among the people in the marketplace for whomever she wishes; and whenever men arm themselves
for man-destroying war, there the goddess is present, ready to grant victory graciously and bestow glory on whomever she wishes. She is good too when men compete in a contest, for there the goddess is present and gives her help; and the one who wins by strength and might easily carries off a fine prize with joy, and gives glory to his parents. She is good also to stand
beside horsemen, for whomever she wishes. And to those who work the gray and stormy sea, and who pray to Hecate and to the loud-crashing Earthshaker, the glorious goddess easily grants a great catch, and just as easily takes it away once it is in view, if that is her wish. She is good also in the stables, together with Hermes, to increase the herd; the droves of cattle and the wide flocks of goats
flocks of woolly sheep, gladly, with her whole heart, she makes the few grow strong and cuts the many down to less. So it is that she, though her mother's only child, is honored among all the immortals with every privilege. And Cronus's son made her a nurse of the young, all those who after her looked with their eyes on the light of far-seeing Dawn. So from the beginning she has been a nurse of children, and these are
her honors. Rhea, mastered in love by Cronus, bore him splendid children: Hestia, Demeter, and gold-sandaled Hera, and mighty Hades, who dwells in a house beneath the earth with a pitiless heart, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, and Zeus of the crooked counsel, father of gods and of men, whose thunder makes the wide earth quake. And these
great Cronus swallowed down, each one as soon as it came from its mother's holy womb to her knees, his purpose being that none besides himself among Heaven's proud offspring should wield royal honor among the deathless gods. For he had learned from Earth and starry Heaven that it was fated for him to be brought down by his own child, mighty though he was,
through the designs of great Zeus. So he kept no blind watch but lay in wait, and swallowed his children; and Rhea was gripped by a grief that would not fade. Yet when the time drew near for her to give birth to Zeus, father of gods and men, she pleaded then with those who bore her, Earth and Heaven of the stars,
to devise a plan with her, so that she might bear her child in secret and pay back the avenging spirits of her father and of the children whom great crooked-counseled Cronus had swallowed down. And they listened closely to their dear daughter and did as she asked, and told her all that was fated to happen concerning Cronus the king and his stout-hearted son. And they sent her to Lyctus,
to Crete's fertile country, at the time she was due to deliver the youngest of her children, great Zeus. Huge Earth took him from her to rear and nurse in wide Crete. There, carrying him through the swift black night, she came first to Lyctus, and took him in her hands and hid him in a steep cave, beneath the sacred
hiding places of the earth, on Mount Aegaeum, thick with forest. Then she wrapped a great stone in swaddling clothes and put it into the hands of the son of Heaven, the great lord, the former king of the gods. He took it then in his hands and put it down into his belly, wretched man, not realizing in his mind that in its place his own son, unconquered and untroubled, was left behind, who soon
was going to overpower him by force of hand and drive him from his honor, and would himself rule among the immortals. And swiftly then the strength and splendid limbs of that lord grew; and as the years turned round, deceived by the shrewd counsels of Earth, great crooked-counseled Cronus brought his offspring up again, beaten by the skill and strength of his own son. And first
he vomited up the stone, which he had swallowed last of all. Zeus set this stone firm in the wide-wayed earth at holy Pytho, in the hollows under Parnassus, to be a sign thereafter, a wonder for mortal men. And he freed his father's brothers from their grim bonds, the sons of Heaven whom their father had bound in his folly; and they remembered their gratitude for his kindness, and gave him thunder
and the smoking thunderbolt and lightning; these huge Earth had hidden before. Trusting in these he rules over mortals and immortals. Iapetus led away Clymene, the fair-ankled daughter of Ocean, and went up into the same bed with her. She bore him Atlas, a son of strong will; she bore also proud Menoetius and Prometheus, subtle and quick of mind, and Epimetheus, thoughtless, who from the
beginning became a curse to men who live by bread; for he was the first to receive the molded woman, made for Zeus, as his own virgin bride. Zeus, whose voice carries far, hurled violent Menoetius down into Erebus with a smoking thunderbolt, because of his recklessness and overweening strength. And Atlas, under harsh compulsion, holds up the wide sky where the earth reaches its limits, in front of the Hesperides with their clear singing voices,
holding it up with his head and untiring hands; for this was the portion wise Zeus allotted to him. And crafty Prometheus he bound in inescapable fetters, painful bonds, driving them through the middle of a pillar, and he set upon him a long-winged eagle, which ate his immortal liver; but it grew back each night to the same size it had been before,
whatever the long-winged bird had eaten in the day. This eagle Heracles, the mighty son of fair-ankled Alcmene, killed, and drove the wretched plague away from Iapetus's son and freed him from his torment — and Olympian Zeus, ruling on high, did not oppose it — so that the fame of Heracles, born at Thebes, might be even greater than before over the fruitful earth. Honoring this, Zeus favored his glorious son,
and although he was still angry he let go the wrath he had felt before, because Prometheus had contended in counsel with the overwhelming son of Cronus. For once, when gods and mortal men were dividing matters at Mecone, Prometheus, with willing heart, carved up a great ox and set it out, meaning to deceive the mind of Zeus. Before the gods he laid out the flesh and the rich innards wrapped
in the ox's hide, covering them over with the belly; but for Zeus he set out the white bones of the ox, arranged with cunning skill and covered over with shining fat. Then the father of gods and men spoke to him: "Son of Iapetus, most renowned of all the lords, my friend, how unfairly you have divided the portions!" So spoke Zeus, mocking him, for he knew the imperishable counsels. And to him in turn
crooked-minded Prometheus answered, smiling quietly, not forgetting his cunning skill: "Zeus, most glorious and greatest of the gods who live forever, choose whichever of these your heart within you bids you take." So he said, devising his trick; but Zeus, who knew the imperishable counsels, recognized the deceit and was not fooled by it, and in his heart he foresaw troubles for mortal men, which
were indeed to come to pass. He lifted the white fat, using both his hands. Anger rose in his heart, and wrath came upon his spirit, when he saw the white bones of the ox laid out by cunning craft. And this is why, upon fragrant altars, the races of humankind on earth burn white bones to the immortals. And to him, greatly
troubled, cloud-gathering Zeus said: "Son of Iapetus, who knows counsels beyond all others, my friend, you have not yet forgotten your cunning craft, have you." So spoke Zeus in anger, who knows the imperishable counsels; and from that time on, remembering the trick, he would not give the strength of untiring fire to the ash-tree nymphs, for mortal men who live upon the earth. But
the noble son of Iapetus deceived him, stealing the far-seen gleam of untiring fire in a hollow fennel stalk; and it bit deep into the heart of Zeus who thunders on high, and stung his spirit within, when he saw among men the far-seen gleam of fire. At once, in place of fire, he fashioned an evil for men: the famous Limping God molded out of earth the likeness of a modest maiden,
by the will of the son of Cronus. And the grey-eyed goddess Athena dressed and adorned her in silvery clothing, and with her hands drew down over her head an embroidered veil, a wonder to behold; and around her head Pallas Athena set garlands, lovely wreaths of fresh spring flowers. And around her head she also placed a golden crown, which the famous Limping God himself had made,
working it with his own hands, as a favor to father Zeus. On it were wrought many intricate designs, a wonder to see: all the many creatures that the land and sea nourish, he set many of these upon it—and grace shone all about it—wonderful things, like living creatures that could speak. But when he had made this beautiful evil in exchange for a good thing, he led her out to where the other
gods and men were, adorned in the finery of the grey-eyed daughter of a mighty father. Wonder held the immortal gods and mortal men when they saw the sheer deception, irresistible to men. For from her comes the race of female women; from her comes the ruinous race and tribes of women, a great trouble living among mortal men,
no fit companions for ruinous poverty, but only for abundance. As when in close-covered hives the bees feed the drones, those partners in wicked works — the bees toil the whole day through till sunset, storing up their white combs, while the drones stay inside the sheltered hives and pile the labor of others into their own bellies—
just so, as an evil for mortal men, high-thundering Zeus made women, partners in troublesome works. And he gave another evil in exchange for the good: whoever flees marriage and the troublesome deeds of women and refuses to wed comes to a miserable old age with no one to tend him; he does not lack for a living while he is alive, but when he dies
distant kin divide up his property among themselves. And as for the one whose lot it is to marry, and who gets a good wife suited to his ways, for him throughout his life the bad continually rivals the good; but whoever gets a wife of a troublesome kind lives with unrelenting grief in his heart and spirit, and it is an evil beyond cure.
So there is no way to deceive or get around the mind of Zeus. For not even Prometheus, the kindly son of Iapetus, escaped his heavy wrath, but of necessity, wise as he was, a mighty chain holds him fast. When their father first grew angry in his heart at Briareus and Cottus and Gyges, he bound them in a strong chain,
resenting their overweening strength and their looks and their size, and he settled them beneath the wide-wayed earth. There they lived in pain beneath the earth, dwelling at its far edge, at the borders of the great earth, grieving greatly for a long time, with great sorrow in their hearts. But Cronus's son and the other immortal gods, whom fair-haired Rhea bore
in love with Cronus, brought them up again into the light, on the advice of Earth; for she told them the whole story from beginning to end, that with these allies they would win victory and glorious renown. For a long time the Titan gods and those born of Cronus had fought a grievous struggle, facing one another in mighty battles, some from lofty
Othrys, the proud Titans, and others from Olympus, the gods, givers of good things, whom fair-haired Rhea bore lying with Cronus. These, then, with bitter wrath against one another, fought continuously for more than ten years; and there was no resolution or end of the hard strife for either side, but the outcome of the war hung equal. But when
Zeus had furnished those allies with everything they required — nectar and ambrosia, the food the gods themselves take — proud spirit grew in the breasts of all of them. And when they had tasted nectar and lovely ambrosia, then the father of gods and men spoke among them: "Hear me, splendid children of Earth and Heaven, so that
I may say what the heart in my breast bids me. For a long time now, day after day, we have fought one another for victory and mastery, the Titan gods and we who were born of Cronus. Show now your great strength and your irresistible hands against the Titans in this grim battle, remembering our kindly friendship, and all
you suffered before you came back into the light from your cruel bondage beneath the murky gloom, through our counsels." So he spoke; and blameless Cottus answered him in turn: "Wondrous one, you tell us nothing we do not know; indeed we ourselves know well that your mind and your judgment surpass all others, and that for the immortals you have proved a shield against chilling ruin.
Through your wisdom we have come back again out of the murky gloom, out of our merciless bonds, son and lord of Cronus, having suffered what we never hoped to escape. Therefore now, with a fixed mind and shrewd purpose, we will defend your power in the dread conflict, fighting the Titans in mighty battles." So he spoke, and the gods, givers of good things,
praised him when they heard his words; and the craving for war rose in their spirits, fiercer even than before; and all of them stirred up a hateful battle, female and male alike, on that day—the Titan gods, and those born of Cronus, and those whom Zeus brought up from beneath the earth, out of Erebus, into the light, terrible and strong, possessed of overwhelming might. Of them
A hundred arms sprang from the shoulders of each of them alike, and fifty heads grew from each one's shoulders above their massive limbs. They took their stand against the Titans in the grim battle, holding sheer cliffs of rock in their massive hands. Opposite them the Titans braced their battle lines with a will, and each side put on display the work of hands and raw strength.
The boundless sea roared terribly around them, the earth crashed loudly, the wide sky groaned as it shook, and tall Olympus was rocked from its base under the rush of the immortals. The heavy tremor reached down to murky Tartarus, along with the shrill din of feet in the indescribable charge and of powerful blows. So they hurled their groaning missiles at one another. The voice
of both sides reached the starry sky as they shouted their war cries, and they clashed with a great roar. Now Zeus no longer held back his fury. At once his heart filled with rage and he showed all his strength. From the sky and from Olympus together he came on, flashing lightning without pause. The
thunderbolts flew thick and fast from his massive hand, thunder and lightning together, whirling a sacred flame. All around, the life-giving earth crashed as it burned, and the vast forest crackled loudly in the fire. The whole land boiled, and the streams of Ocean, and the barren sea. Hot vapor wrapped the earthborn Titans
round, and unspeakable flame reached the bright upper air. The blazing glare of the thunderbolt and the lightning blinded their eyes, strong though they were. A prodigious heat took hold of Chaos. To look at it with the eyes or hear the noise with the ears, it seemed exactly as if Earth and the wide Sky above were slamming together — that is
the kind of enormous crash that would rise if she were being smashed down and he were collapsing from above. So great was the crash as the gods met in strife. The winds, too, churned up quaking and dust together, thunder and lightning and the smoking bolt, the shafts of great Zeus, and carried shouting and battle cries into the middle between the two sides.
An unbearable din rose from the horrifying struggle, and raw power showed itself in action. Then the battle tipped. Before that, holding against each other, they had fought on relentlessly through the brutal engagements. But now in the front ranks Kottos and Briareos and Gyes, insatiable for war, stirred up bitter fighting. Three hundred rocks from their massive hands
they hurled one after another, and they buried the Titans under their missiles. Down under the earth of the broad ways they dispatched them, tying them in painful bonds after beating them by force for all their proud spirits, as far down below the ground as the sky is above the earth — for that is the distance from earth to murky Tartarus. Nine nights and
nine days a bronze anvil falling from the sky would travel, and on the tenth it would reach the earth; and again nine nights and nine days a bronze anvil falling from the earth, and on the tenth it would reach Tartarus. Around it a bronze fence has been driven, and around its neck night is poured in three layers; and above grow the roots
of the earth and of the barren sea. There the Titan gods are hidden away under murky gloom, by the plans of Zeus who gathers the clouds, in a dank place at the far edges of the monstrous earth. There is no way out for them. Poseidon fitted it with bronze doors, and on either side a wall encircles it. There Gyes and Kottos and great-hearted Obriareos live, the trusted guards of Zeus who holds the aegis.
There, all in order, are the sources and limits of the dark earth and murky Tartarus, of the barren sea and the starry sky — grim, dank places that even the gods loathe: a huge chasm. Not even in the full course of a year would someone reach its floor, once he was inside the gates; storm after cruel storm would carry him this way and
that. Even to the immortal gods this is a thing of dread. There stand the terrible houses of gloomy Night, wrapped in blue-black clouds. In front of them the son of Iapetos holds up the wide sky, standing firm on his head and his tireless hands, where Night and Day come close and greet each other
as they cross the great bronze threshold. One descends inside while the other steps out through the doorway, and never are the two of them enclosed in the house together; instead, one of them is always outside the house, ranging over the earth, while the other stays inside the house and waits for the hour of her own journey, until it comes. One carries far-seeing light for those who live on the earth;
the other holds Sleep in her arms, the brother of Death — deadly Night, wrapped in misty cloud. There dwell the offspring of gloomy Night in their houses — Sleep and Death, terrible gods. Never does the shining Sun look upon them with his rays, whether climbing the sky or coming down from it. One of them ranges over the earth and
the broad back of the sea, quiet and gentle to human beings. The other, though, carries iron in his heart, and the spirit within his chest is pitiless bronze: whichever human he seizes first, he keeps. He is hateful even to the immortal gods. There, at the entrance, rise the resounding halls of the underworld's god — mighty Hades and dread Persephone — and a terrible
dog keeps guard before them, pitiless, and he has a nasty trick: those entering he flatters, wagging his tail and moving both ears alike, but he does not let them come back out again; he lies in wait and eats whoever he catches going out through the gates of mighty Hades and dread Persephone. And there lives a goddess loathsome
to the immortals, dread Styx, eldest daughter of Ocean who flows back on himself. Apart from the gods she inhabits her famous house, roofed over with great rocks; on every side it is propped against the sky with silver pillars. Rarely does swift-footed Iris, the daughter of Thaumas, travel to her with a message over the broad back of the sea. But when quarrel and strife arise among the immortals, and
one of those who hold the halls of Olympus tells a lie, then Zeus sends Iris far off to fetch, carried in a jug of gold, the gods' great oath: the famous cold water that trickles down from a high, sheer rock. Far below the wide-pathed earth it flows out of the sacred river through black night — a branch of Ocean. A tenth
share is allotted to her: nine parts, winding around the earth and the broad back of the sea in silver eddies, fall into the salt water, but the one part flows out from the rock, a great bane to the gods. Whoever of the immortals who hold the peak of snowy Olympus pours a libation of that water and swears falsely lies breathless for a full year. Never
does he come near ambrosia and nectar for food; he lies there without breath and without voice on a covered bed, and an evil coma wraps him. And when he has finished that sickness after the long year, another ordeal, harsher still, follows on its heels. Nine full years he remains sundered from the gods who live forever; never does he join their council
or their feasts for nine whole years; in the tenth he mingles again in the gatherings of the immortals who hold the halls of Olympus. Such is the oath the gods made of the imperishable, primeval water of Styx; and it pours out through a rugged place. There, all in order, are the sources and limits of the dark earth and murky Tartarus, of the barren sea and the starry sky —
grim, dank places that even the gods loathe. There are gleaming gates and a bronze threshold, immovable, fixed on unbroken roots, grown of itself; and before them, far apart from every god, the Titans make their home, beyond gloomy Chaos. But the famous allies of loud-crashing Zeus have their homes on the foundations of Ocean —
Kottos and Gyes. As for Briareos, because he was loyal, the deep-thundering Earth-shaker made him his son-in-law and gave him Kymopoleia, his own daughter, to marry. But when Zeus had driven the Titans out of the sky, monstrous Gaia bore her youngest child, Typhoeus, in love with Tartarus, through golden Aphrodite. His hands are strong,
made for action, and the feet of the powerful god never tire. From his shoulders grew a hundred snake heads, the heads of a terrible serpent, flickering with dark tongues; and from the eyes in those uncanny heads fire flashed beneath the brows. Fire blazed out of every one of the heads whenever he looked around. Voices, too, sounded from each of those dreadful heads,
sending out every kind of sound, beyond description. At one moment they spoke so that the gods could understand; at another they gave the bellowing of a bull, loud-roaring, unstoppable in fury, proud in voice; at another the sound of a lion with a shameless heart; at another sounds like puppies, astonishing to hear; and at another he hissed, and the tall mountains echoed underneath. And on
that day a thing beyond remedy would have happened — he would have become king over mortals and immortals — had the father of men and gods not taken sharp notice. He thundered hard and heavy, and all around the earth rang out fearfully, and the wide sky above, and the sea, and the streams of Ocean, and the depths of the
earth. Great Olympus shook under the immortal feet of the lord as he rose up, and the earth groaned in answer. The heat from both of them gripped the violet-dark sea — from the thunder and lightning, from the fire of that monster, from the scorching winds and the blazing thunderbolt. The whole earth boiled, and the sky and the sea. Long waves raged
around and about the shores under the rush of the immortals, and an unquenchable quaking rose. Hades trembled, lord over the dead below, and so did the Titans down in Tartarus, gathered around Kronos, at the unquenchable din and the dreadful fighting. And when Zeus had piled up his strength and taken his weapons — thunder
and lightning and the smoking bolt — he leaped from Olympus and struck, and he scorched all the uncanny heads of the terrible monster on every side. And when he had beaten him down under the lash of his blows, Typhoeus collapsed, crippled, and the monstrous earth groaned. Flame shot out from the thunderstruck lord in the dark, rugged glens of the mountain where he had been struck. A great stretch of the monstrous
earth burned in the prodigious blast and melted like tin heated by the skill of craftsmen in well-vented crucibles, or like iron, the strongest metal of all, when blazing flame overpowers it among the mountain valleys and it runs molten in the shining ground beneath the hands of Hephaistos. Just so the earth melted in the glare of the burning fire. And in the anger of his heart Zeus hurled him
into wide Tartarus. From Typhoeus comes the force of the wet-blowing winds — apart from Notos and Boreas and clearing Zephyros, for those are from the gods by birth, a great blessing to mortals. But the others blow at random over the sea; falling on the misty water, a great bane to mortals, they rage
with evil storm. They blow now one way, now another, and scatter ships and destroy sailors; and there is no defense against that evil for men who meet them out on the sea. And over the boundless flowering land too they destroy the lovely works of earthborn human beings, filling everything with dust and harsh, roaring confusion. But when
the blessed gods had finished their labor and settled the contest of honors with the Titans by force, then at Gaia's prompting they urged wide-seeing Olympian Zeus to be king and to rule over the immortals; and he distributed their honors among them. Zeus, king of the gods, took as his first wife Metis, wisest among gods and mortal humans. But just when
she was about to give birth to the goddess gray-eyed Athena, he deceived her mind with a trick, with coaxing words, and swallowed her down into his own belly, at the prompting of Gaia and of starry Ouranos. For this is how they advised him, so that no other of the gods who live forever should hold the royal honor in place of Zeus. For it was fated that exceedingly wise children would be born from her: first a daughter
gray-eyed Tritogeneia, who matches her father both in might and in thoughtful counsel. But after that Metis was about to bear a child who would be king of gods and men, a creature of overwhelming heart. But before that could happen Zeus put her down into his own belly, so that the goddess might advise him on good and evil. Second he married bright Themis, who bore
the Seasons, and Good Order and Justice and blooming Peace, who tend to the works of mortal men, and the Fates—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—on whom counselor Zeus bestowed honor beyond all others; it is they who allot to mortals their portion of good and of evil. Eurynome, Ocean's daughter, with her lovely face, bore him three Graces, fair of cheek,
Splendor, Joy, and lovely Good Cheer. From their eyes, as they looked, desire flowed that melts the limbs; and beautifully they glance from under their brows. Then he came to the bed of Demeter, rich in grain, who bore white-armed Persephone, whom Hades snatched away from her mother; but wise Zeus had given his consent.
Then again he fell in love with lovely-haired Memory, and from her came the nine gold-crowned Muses, who delight in festivities and the pleasure of song. Leto, after mingling in love with aegis-bearing Zeus, gave birth to Apollo and arrow-showering Artemis, the loveliest offspring among all the children of Heaven. Hera came last: Zeus took her as his flourishing bride, and to him she bore Hebe and
Ares and Eileithyia, after she mingled in love with him who rules over gods and men alike. Out of his own head Zeus brought forth gray-eyed Tritogeneia, terrible, rousing the battle-din, leading armies, the unwearied lady, who delights in war-cries and battles and combat. And Hera, without joining in love, bore glorious Hephaestus, quarreling and rivaling with her husband, from
all the children of Heaven he was skilled in crafts. Hera quarreled and rivaled with her husband. Out of that quarrel she bore a shining son, Hephaestus, without the aid of Zeus who holds the aegis, skilled in craftsmanship beyond all the children of Heaven. But he lay with the daughter of Ocean and lovely-haired Tethys, apart from Hera, deceiving Metis though
she knew very much. Snatching her up in his grip, he stowed her away inside his own belly, afraid she might give birth to something mightier than the thunderbolt. For that reason Zeus, high-throned, dwelling in the sky, swallowed her suddenly; and she at once conceived Pallas Athena, whom the father of gods and men brought forth by the top of his head, beside the banks of the river Triton. Metis
then sat hidden beneath the vitals of Zeus, mother of Athena, crafter of just things, knowing more than all gods and mortal men together; there the goddess received it, from where by her own skill Athena surpassed all the immortals who hold homes on Olympus, making the aegis, the armor of fear that belongs to Athena; with it he brought her forth wearing weapons of war. And from
Amphitrite and the loud-thundering Earth-Shaker came great, wide-ruling Triton, who dwells at the bottom of the sea beside his dear mother and his lordly father, in a golden house, a fearsome god. And to war-piercing Ares Cytherea bore Fear and Terror, dreadful gods, who scatter the close-packed ranks of men in chilling war together with city-sacking Ares, and Harmony,
whom bold Cadmus made his wife. And to Zeus, Atlas' daughter Maia bore glorious Hermes, herald of the immortals, having climbed into his sacred bed. And Cadmus' daughter Semele bore him a shining son, joined in love with him, joyful Dionysus, an immortal from a mortal woman; now both are gods. And Alcmene bore mighty Heracles, joined
in love with Zeus who gathers the clouds. And Hephaestus, the famous god of the two strong arms, made Splendor, youngest of the Graces, his blooming wife. And golden-haired Dionysus took fair-haired Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, as his flourishing bride, and Cronos' son granted her freedom from death and from old age. And the strong son of fair-ankled Alcmene, the might of Heracles, having finished his grievous labors, made the daughter
of great Zeus and gold-sandaled Hera, Hebe, his honored wife on snowy Olympus—a blessed man, who having accomplished a great labor among the immortals lives free from pain and age forever. And to unwearied Helios the famous daughter of Ocean, Perseis, bore Circe and Aeetes the king. And Aeetes, son of Helios who gives light to mortals, married,
by the will of the gods, Idyia of the fair cheeks, daughter of Ocean, the perfect river. And she, overpowered by golden Aphrodite, bore him fair-ankled Medea in love. Now farewell, you who hold the homes of Olympus, and the islands and continents and the salt sea within. And now, honey-voiced Olympian Muses, children of aegis-bearing Zeus, sing the race of goddesses—all those who, mortal
lying with mortal men, immortal as they were, bore children like the gods. Demeter, shining among goddesses, bore Wealth, joined with the hero Iasion in lovely love in a thrice-plowed fallow field, in the rich land of Crete—a kindly god who ranges everywhere, across dry land and over the wide ridges of the sea; whoever meets him and takes him into his hands,
him he makes rich, and grants him great prosperity. And Harmony, daughter of golden Aphrodite, bore to Cadmus Ino, Semele, Agave of the lovely cheeks, and Autonoe—the one whom deep-haired Aristaeus took in marriage—and Polydorus as well, in fair-crowned Thebes. And the daughter of Ocean, joined in love with strong-hearted Chrysaor, through golden Aphrodite, Callirhoe
bore a son, the mightiest of all mortal men, Geryon, whom the might of Heracles killed for the sake of his shambling cattle in sea-girt Erythea. And to Tithonus, Dawn bore bronze-helmeted Memnon, king of the Ethiopians, and lord Emathion. And by Cephalus she conceived a radiant child, mighty Phaethon, a man in the likeness of the gods. Him, while still young, holding the tender flower of glorious
youth, with a childish mind, smiling Aphrodite snatched up and carried away, and made him, in her holy shrines, a night-watching temple-keeper, a divine spirit. And the daughter of Aeetes, the Zeus-nurtured king, the son of Aeson led away from Aeetes, by the will of the everlasting gods, having accomplished grievous labors, many of which the great, overbearing king had imposed on him, insolent and reckless Pelias, a man of violent deeds. These
having accomplished, the son of Aeson reached Iolcus, after much suffering, bringing the bright-eyed girl on his swift ship, and he made her his blooming wife. And she, subdued by Jason, shepherd of the people, bore a son, Medeus, reared among the hills by Chiron, Philyra's son; so the purpose of great Zeus moved toward its accomplishment. As for the girls born to Nereus, the aged god of the salt water, they indeed
Psamathe, shining among goddesses, bore Phocus, joined with Aeacus through golden Aphrodite, and silver-footed Thetis, subdued by Peleus, bore lion-hearted Achilles, breaker of men. And fair-crowned Cytherea bore Aeneas, joined in lovely love with the hero Anchises, on the peaks of wooded, many-folded Ida. And Circe, daughter of Helios, son of Hyperion, bore
to steadfast Odysseus, in love, Agrius and Latinus, blameless and strong; and Telegonus she bore through golden Aphrodite. These ruled, far off in a hollow of the sacred islands, over all the famous Tyrrhenians. And to Odysseus, shining Calypso bore Nausithous and Nausinous, joined in lovely love. These, mortal
lying with mortal men, immortal as they were, bore children like the gods. And now, honey-voiced Olympian Muses, children of aegis-bearing Zeus, sing the race of women. ---