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STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA | Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU |
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STUDIA MYTHOLOGICA SLAVICA 12, 2009
Mihail Yevzlin:
The Gods and Titans in the Hesiod’s Theogony
Abstract
The article considers the traditional notion about Titans as the fi rst 12 children of Earth and Heaven. This is right for Apollodorus but erroneous for Hesiod. The analysis of the Greek text of “Theogony” demonstrates that Titans were generated by Heaven himself without the participation of Earth. The exclusively masculine origin of Titans opposes them to the old gods, children of Earth and Heaven, as well as to the new gods, children of Cronus and Rhea. The gods are a personal group; all of them have names and distinctive personalities. Only Titans remain an impersonal group and are always designated with the plural masculine form “titenés”. The singular and feminine forms are found only in Aeschylus and Apollodorus, when Titans have been identifi ed with the fi rst children of Earth and Heaven. This masculine and impersonal Titans’ quality permits one to consider them as special class of primordial beings and explains why all the gods – and even the monsters like the Cyclopes and the Hundred-handed – are united in the fight against Titans.
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