There was delivered to Cronus an oracle regarding the birth of Zeus which stated that the son who would be born to him would wrest the kingship from him by force.
This version of Creation seems to gloss over the violence by simply acknowledging that there was violence. Hesiod's, on the other hand, dove into deep, disturbing detail. Siculus focused more on Zeus' values, rather than Zeus' rise to power. In my opinion, this demonstrates a lot about Siculus' own values and beliefs.
This conflict was ended by a god and a greater order of nature, since he split off the earth from the sky, and the sea from the land, and divided the transparent heavens from the dense air. When he had disentangled the elements, and freed them from the obscure mass, he fixed them in separate spaces in harmonious peace. The weightless fire, that forms the heavens, darted upwards to make its home in the furthest heights. Next came air in lightness and place. Earth, heavier than either of these, drew down the largest elements, and was compressed by its own weight. The surrounding water took up the last space and enclosed the solid world.
Many of the descriptions remind me of the current scientific explanation of the beginning of the world, specifically, the Big Bang Theory. The universe started with nothing, just a dark sort of mass, but soon things began to come together in small parts, little by little. The Big Bang, ironically, went through the same process, taking eras to finally come to fruition.
I want to speak about bodies changed into new forms.
This version is clearly written from a different point of view. While Hesiod's piece seemed more violent and Siculus' seemed more gentle and sentimental, Ovid chooses to focus on the slow, purposeful changes that led up to the universe at its current state.
surname, being called Aegiochus
Surname! Did Zeus have a particularly close relationship with the goat which suckled him? Has his close affiliation and experience with nature at Mount Ide brought about a love of nature and animals/insects (such as bees)?
But the most astonishing of all that which the myth relates has to do with the bees, and we should not omit to mention it: The god, they say, wishing to preserve an immortal memorial of his close association with the bees, changed the colour of them, making it like copper with the gleam of gold, and since the region lay at a very great altitude, where fierce winds blew about it and heavy snows fell, he made the bees insensible to such things and unaffected by them, since they must range over the most wintry stretches.
Why is there so much detail on the creation and presence of bees? Why should we "not omit to mention it"? It seems almost insignificant in the bigger picture, but it makes it more intriguing that Zeus himself provided the bees with an almost impenetrable strength. Why the bees?
There was delivered to Cronus an oracle regarding the birth of Zeus which stated that the son who would be born to him would wrest the kingship from him by force.
In Theogony, it was Gaia and Uranus who told Cronus to beware his dangerous son, but in this version, a third-party, an oracle, gave him the information. Why did the author choose to make it so Cronos' parents had nothing to do with his own downfall?
And Hera, without having been united in love, brought forth famous Hephaistos, as she was furious and quarrelling with her husband; Hephaistos, distinguished in crafts from amongst all the sky-born.
How is it that sometimes the gods can simply create children through their own sheer will? How powerful are the gods really, and what are the limits of their power?
Aphrodite,
Sometimes I wonder why she wasn't given a higher position in Olympus. After all, she is the first of the Olympians to be born. Is it because of her sex, and being female automatically makes her inferior to the men who followed her? At the same time, could this be some subtle metaphor that love is comes first, but is discarded by many for brute strength and power?
And Earth bore first like to herself in size starry Sky, that he might shelter her around on all sides, that so she might be ever a secure seat for the blessed gods;
Again, this line among others serves as another confirmation of the oral aspect of this poem. In "And Earth bore...to herself" in particular, the consonance of the "r" sound creates a quiet, yet powerful tone. This tone is further emphasized through the "s" sound in next few words, "herself in size starry Sky... for the blessed gods". The use of "s" creates a soothing cadence, similar to a lullaby. I'm guessing that these two possible tones, powerful and gently, could encapsulate Gaia's feminine spirit. She is close to all-powerful as she full of creation, unbridled, and vast, but she is a loving mother as well. Somehow, specific lines in the poem characterize places, moments, and characters.
First it was Chaos, and next broad-bosomed Earth, ever secure seat of all the immortals, who inhabit the peaks of snow-capped Olympus, and dark dim Tartaros in a recess of Earth having-broad-ways, 120 and Eros [Love]
Right at the beginning, it's obvious that this was meant to be performed orally, not just read. In fact, this first line in particular seems to have many similarities to Slam Poetry, like the introduction stated. Specifically, the use of alliteration, such as in "broad-bosomed Earth", "secure seat", and "dark dim" generate a sort of rhythm that draws the reader to the words and the picture they attempt to create. Perhaps what's most intriguing to me are the uses of assonance and consonance alongside this alliteration. One of these examples being "inhabit the peaks of snow-capped Olympus". Here, the majority of words contain a "p" or "b" sound at the start, end, or beginning. These poetic devices continue throughout the poem, and as someone who adores Slam Poetry, I am drawn in.