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Hesiod · c. 700 BC

Theogony

Θεογονία
Ancient Sources / Hesiod / Theogony

The Theogony, 1,022 lines of hexameter, is the oldest surviving account of how the Greek gods came to be. After a long opening hymn to the Muses of Helicon it traces the first beings (Chaos, Earth, Tartarus, Eros), the succession of Sky, Cronus and Zeus, the war with the Titans and the defeat of Typhoeus, and then the marriages of Zeus and the families of gods, monsters and goddesses who bore children to mortal men.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 27 passages, about 9800 words in English.
Translator
Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)
Edition
Hugh G. Evelyn-White (ed.), Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library, London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1914 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Hesiod, Theogony 1 (by line number)

Contents · 27 passages

  1. 1–34The Muses of Helicon and Hesiod's calling (1-34)315 words
  2. 35–59The Muses' song of gods and men; their birth (35-59)288 words
  3. 60–99The Muses on Olympus and their gifts to kings and singers (60-99)389 words
  4. 100–129Invocation of the Muses; Chaos, Gaia and the first gods (100-129)268 words
  5. 130–174Gaia and Uranus: the Titans, Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers (130-174)422 words
  6. 175–209Cronus castrates Uranus; the birth of Aphrodite (175-209)336 words
  7. 210–264Night's children, Strife's children and the Nereids (210-264)402 words
  8. 265–304Iris, the Harpies, the Graiai, Gorgons and Echidna (265-304)387 words
  9. 305–334Echidna's offspring: Cerberus, the Hydra, the Chimaera and the Sphinx (305-334)299 words
  10. 335–369The rivers and the Oceanids (335-369)271 words
  11. 370–404Children of Hyperion and Crius; Styx and her sons (370-404)329 words
  12. 405–449Leto, Asteria and Hecate (405-449)442 words
  13. 450–479Rhea and Cronus; the birth of Zeus (450-479)302 words
  14. 480–504Zeus hidden in Crete; Cronus vomits up his children (480-504)262 words
  15. 505–534The sons of Iapetus: Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus (505-534)283 words
  16. 535–569Prometheus' trick at Mecone and the theft of fire (535-569)345 words
  17. 570–614The first woman: Zeus's price for fire (570-614)487 words
  18. 615–649Zeus releases the Hundred-Handers (615-649)349 words
  19. 650–699The Titanomachy: Zeus's thunderbolts (650-699)432 words
  20. 700–739The Titans buried; the approach to Tartarus (700-739)379 words
  21. 740–779The house of Night, Sleep and Death; Hades and Styx (740-779)396 words
  22. 780–819Styx and the oath of the gods (780-819)382 words
  23. 820–869Zeus and Typhoeus (820-869)510 words
  24. 870–899The winds of Typhoeus; Zeus becomes king and swallows Metis (870-899)264 words
  25. 900–929tZeus's marriages and children; the birth of Athena (900-929)459 words
  26. 930–959Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Dionysus and Heracles (930-959)301 words
  27. 960–1022Goddesses and mortal men; the end of the poem (960-1022)529 words

More by Hesiod

English translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914). Original text: Hugh G. Evelyn-White (ed.), Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library, London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1914 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.

Hesiod, Theogony: Full Text in Greek & English