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Kings, Every Man Is Fortunate Whom the Muses Love

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Kings, Every Man Is Fortunate Whom the Muses Love THEOGONY Lines 96-tz9 Linestz9-r5t THEOGONY kings, every man is fortunate whom the Museslove; the haunts of the goddesses,the Nymphs who dwell in voice flows sweetfrom his lips. Though a man's heart be mountain glens; and she bore also the undraining Sea withered with the grief of a recentbereavement, if then a and its furious swell, not in union of love. But then, singer, the servant of the Muses, sings of the famous bedded with Heaven, shebore deep-swirlingOceanus,* deedsof men of old, and of the blessedgods who dwell in Olympus, he soon forgets his sorrows and thinks no Koiosand Kreiosand Hyperionand lapetos, more of his family troubles, quickly diverted by the Theaand Rheaand Themisand Memory, Phoebeof golddiadem, and lovely Tethys. goddesses'gifts. Farewellnow, children of Zeus, and grant me delight- After them the youngest was born, crooked-schemer ful singing. Celebratethe holy family of immortals who Kronos,most fearsomeof children, who loathedhis lusty are for ever, those who were born of Earth and Heaven father.* and of black Night, and those whom the briny Sea And againshe bore the proud-heartedCyclopes,* fostered;and tell how the gods and the earth were born Thunderer,Lightner, and Whitebolt stem of spirit,' in the first place, and the rivers, and the boundlesssea with its furious swell, and the shining stars and broad who gave Zeus his thunder and forged his thunderbolt. firmament above;and how they sharedout their estate, In other respectsthey were like the gods, but a singleeye and how they divided their privileges, and how they lay in the middle of their forehead;they had the surname gained all the glens of Olympus in the first place.Tell me of Circle-eyesbecause of this one circulareye that lay on this from the beginning, Muses who dwell in Olympus, their forehead. And strength and force and resource and say, what thing among them came first. were upon their works. And again there were born of Earth and Heaven three First came the Chasm;* and then broad-breastedEarth, more sons,mighty and stern, not to be spokenof, Kottos, secureseat for ever of all the immortals who occupy the Briareos,and Gyges, overbearingchildren. A hundred peak of snowy Olympus; the misty Tartara* in a remote arms sprang from their shoulders-unshapen hulks-- recessof the broad-pathed earth; and Eros,* the most and fifty heads grew from the shoulders of each of them handsomeamong the immortal gods, dissolverof flesh, upon their stalwart bodies. And strength boundlessand who overcomesthe reasonand purpose in the breastsof powerful was upon their mighty form. all godsand all men. For all those that were born of Earth and Heavenwere Out of the Chasm cameErebos* and dark Night, and the most fearsome of children, and their own father from Night in turn came Bright Air and Day, whom she loathed them from the beginning. As soon as each of bore in shared intimacy with Erebos.Earth bore first of all them was born, he hid them all away in a cavernof Earth, one equal to herself, starry Heaven, so that he should and would not let them into the light; and he took cover her all about, to be a secure seat for ever for the pleasurein the wicked work, did Heaven, while the huge blessedgods; and shebore the long Mountains, pleasant Earth was tight-pressed inside, and groaned. She Linest6r-t9r I Linest9r-zz5 rHEocoNy I THEocoNy 9 i 'ra drr formed Fir6t sh 1-':{l lf ::'.'v,:1,Y'1T:1.1:'""::"'j":j::,:::reaPing- | rylqtlT:r"ln::n. Tg.^ element of gley adamant,* and nrade a &eat | approached holy Cythera;. then from there she came to I , dear children, and spoke to hook, and showed it to her I rea-girtCyprus. And out steppeda modestand beautiful givethemcoumte,soreatheartasshe_wa5:-|!oai""r,"nath"gr"""U"g"ntogro-"ll-urrab-Jrl-"";|l11 'Children of mine and of an evil father, I wonder I trer slender feet. Gods and men call her Aphrodite, like to do as I say?We could get whether you would I Uecauseshewasformedinfoam,*andCyther"u,b".u,rr" father's cruelty. After all, he beganit by redressfor your I she approachedCythera, and Cyprus-b-orn,because she hisuglybehaviour.' 'genial',* I was born in wave-washed Cyprus, and but they were all seizedby fear, and So she spoke; I Uecausesheappearedoutofgenitais.Erosandfa[Desire none of them uttered a word. But the great crooked- | attended her birth and accompanied her as she went to replied to his schemer Kronos took courage,and soon I loin the family of gods. And this has been her allotted mother: good I province from the beginning among men and immortal 'Mother, task and accomplish I would undertake this I godst it-I am notafraid of our unspeakablefather. After all, he thewhisPerinss ofgirlE;smil€; deceptions; began it by his ugly behavio;r.' I | ' Pleasure'intirucv' and tendemess so he spoke, and miShty Earth was delithted. she set | "weel [ll him hidden in ambush, put the shary-toothedsickle into I As for lhose chitdren of greatHeaven, their fatherwho I I his hand, and explainedthe whole stratagemto him. I begot them railed at them and gavethem the surnameof Great Heaven came, bringing on the night, and, ! Titans, sayingthat straining tight inwickednessthey had desirousof love, he spreadhimself over Earth, stretched i done a seriousthing, and that he had a titleto revengefor out in every direction. His son reached out from the I it later. ambushwith his left hand; with his right he took the huge I Night bore hateful Doom and dark Fateand Death, she quickly sicklewith its longrow ofsharpteeth and cut off I bor€sleep, she boi€ the tribeof Dreams.And s€condly l: his father's genitals, and flung them behind him to fly I gloomy Night bore Cavil and painful Misery, bedded where they might. They were not releasedfrom his hand I with none of the gods; and the Hesperides,*who mind to no effect, for all the drops of blood that flew off were I fair golden apples beyond the famed Oceanus,and the receivedby Earth, and as the yearswent round shebore f i treesthat bear that frui| and the Fatesshe bore, and the the powerful Erinyes* and the great Giants* in gleamin9 li mercilesslypunishing Furies* who prosecutethe trans- armour with long spearsin their hands, and the nymPhs I' tf"r"iont of men and tode-never do the toddess€s I whom they call Meliai+ on the boundlessearth, I ceasefrom their terrible wlath until they have paid the ll I As for the genitals,iustashefirct cut themoff with his I sinnerhis due. And balefulNitht tave birth ttResent- ll instrumentof adamantand thlew them from the Iand I ment+also, an afflictionfor rno al men;and after her she lll into the surging sea, €ven so they were caried on the ll bore Deceitandlntimacy, andacqrrsed-- - - OldAge, and she l]l ,"".'"" fo. tirn". About them a white foam$ew b"; i;+;;J*z. il "ion-g I fl.
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