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"I got a rock" -Charlie Brown

        I don't know about you, but I had to read through the first section of the reading quite a few times to make sure I fully understood what the heck was going on. When I finally realized that the words on the page were telling me that Kronos ate his children and I was not misinterpreting things, I actually found a parallel to the story of Moses...

        In Hesoid, Selections from the Theogony, we discover that Kronos ate each of his children because he had been told that he would  "be subdued by his own child" (Banks). However, Rhea, the woman who bore Kronos' children, planned to keep the youngest child, Zeus. She wrapped a stone in cloth and Kronos,(obviously a genius) ate the stone, thinking it was Zeus. 

    Now look at the story of Moses. In Exodus 1 Pharaoh becomes king and begins trying to eliminate the Israelites saying "Look... The Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out,  will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country" (Exodus 1:9-0). Pharaoh then ordered that every Hebrew boy be thrown into the Nile. However, Moses was hidden and eventually saved by Pharaoh's daughter. 

    In both stories, the man in power is intimidated and works to eliminate any possibility of defeat. In Hesoid, Zeus is spared and later comes to power and defeats his father, and in Exodus, Moses is spared and becomes a very influential man, saving his people. 

    So, while eating children and having them thrown into the water are different, both were evil attempts to secure the power of one man at the cost of many. 


Hesiod, Selections from the Theogony(8thcent. BC), translated by J. Banks, at https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/5289


Commented on Clabo's post and Micah's

Comments

  1. Logan TurnerOctober 19, 2020 at 8:39 PM

    I never thought to make that comparison myself, but it is a fitting one. Like you said, eating your own children and throwing them in the water are two different atrocities, but I think the reason why Kronos' was so evil was to showcase their 'god-like' cruelty. Also, I think this was done almost theatrically, to have some grand evil for the hero (Zeus) to overcome, and to prove why he is good.

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  2. Rachael GregsonOctober 19, 2020 at 9:15 PM

    Haley, thank you so much for reminding me of that scene in Charlie Brown. It used to always make me laugh as a kid. I also really liked how you compared the similarities between Moses and Zeus and how both overcame odds specifically set against them. There were a lot of ways that scenes in the Theogony and the Bible could liken to one another (despite their many, many differences).

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    Replies
    1. Haley RiddleOctober 20, 2020 at 9:09 PM

      I just couldn't help myself, the title just seemed fitting.

      Delete
  3. ClaboOctober 19, 2020 at 10:06 PM

    First off, I love the title. Secondly, I really liked your connection between Moses and Zeus. I was trying to think of a connection, but I think yours is probably the most accurate. Either that, or Herod's order to kill the Jewish boys because of the prophesies regarding Jesus.

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  4. Haylee LyndOctober 19, 2020 at 11:14 PM

    Also, in both stories, it is a woman who saves the boy in each story. For Moses, it is the wife of Pharaoh, the man who Moses will save the Israelites from. For Zeus, it is Rhea, the wife of Kronos, the man who Zeus will save his brothers and sisters from. It's a very good parallel. Good post.

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