Repetition, Disanalogy, and Reflexivity in Hesiodâs Theogony: About the Fate of the Cyclopes, of the Hundred-Handers, and of the Children of Iapetus

Xavier Gheerbrant

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Chapter 7 Repetition, Disanalogy, and Reflexivity in Hesiodâs Theogony: About the Fate of the Cyclopes, of the Hundred-Handers, and of the Children of Iapetus

In: Repetition, Communication, and Meaning in the Ancient World

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Xavier Gheerbrant

Xavier Gheerbrant
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 187â235

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004466661_009

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Abstract

I examine how Hesiod introduces variations in instances of repeated motifs to construct his discursive strategy and the meaning of the Theogony. This analysis is grounded in a close reading of the liberations of the Cyclopes (l.Â 501â506) and of the Hundred-Handers (l.Â 617â628), of their relationship to their genealogical catalogue and initial narrative of their imprisonment on the one hand (l.Â 139â159) and to the fates of Menoitius, Atlas, and Prometheus on the other hand (l.Â 507â534). I first argue that each of the liberations of Zeusâ uncles is shaped with ring composition and that the sequence they form is also circularâwhich has implications for the meaning of that sequence. I then study the differences with the other two episodes, and suggest that what are often taken to be inconsistencies between two episodes or within a single episode can more aptly be interpreted as intentional gaps arranged by the poet, to call the audienceâs attention to a crucial element of meaning. I show, for instance, how Prometheusâ imprisonment and problematic liberation are meant to be understood in the relationship they entertain with the liberation of the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers: the poet suggests that Prometheusâ liberation, maybe even more than his imprisonment, is the means by which Zeus manages to get rid of the threat represented by Prometheus to his reign.

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Repetition, Communication, and Meaning in the Ancient World

Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World, vol. 13

Series:Â Mnemosyne, Supplements, Volume: 442

Cover Repetition, Communication, and Meaning in the Ancient World

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004466661

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 31 Aug 2021

Subjects
- Biblical Studies
  - Biblical Interpretations
- Classical Studies
  - Ancient Philosophy
  - Greek & Latin Literature

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Chapter 7 Repetition, Disanalogy, and Reflexivity in Hesiodâs Theogony: About the Fate of the Cyclopes, of the Hundred-Handers, and of the Children of Iapetus

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Repetition, Communication, and Meaning in the Ancient World

Orality and Literacy in the Ancient World, vol. 13

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Chapter 7 Repetition, Disanalogy, and Reflexivity in Hesiodâs Theogony: About the Fate of the Cyclopes, of the Hundred-Handers, and of the Children of Iapetus