Greek Mythology A Polytheistic Text And The Book Of Genesis

Since the time of great antiquity, human beings desired power; yet ironically the term power is defined differently from person to person. Linguistics has shown that power is closely related to the Latin word imperium, which also means the ability to command. For the purpose of this essay, consequently, power is related to neither physical nor mental strength, but the ability to command, govern, keep order, and maintain obedience. This term and its definition is intensively explored in Hesiod’s Theogony – a polytheistic text – and The Book of Genesis – a monotheistic text. The two readings explain the beginning of two different cultures; Theogony elaborates the beginning of Greek mythology while Genesis centers around the beginning of†¦show more content†¦Zeus viewed his children as a threat to his power, hoping that â€Å"no other god than Zeus would get/ The royal power over all the gods/ Who live forever† (Hesiod, 52). Perhaps because of fear and anxiety, â€Å"Zeus, forestalling danger, put her down/ Into his belly,† and ultimately forbade the birth of his many descendants. In the study of politics, it seems fair to suggest that the majority and the most powerful is usually not permanent, but Zeus is attempting to disprove this generalization, by limiting the number of gods and goddesses under his command. The monotheistic Judeo-Christian theology, however, has opposed idea about power. In The Book of Genesis, God encourages reproductions among humans to increase his power; he believes that the more humans there are, the more power he has, which contradicts with the ideology of a polytheistic culture thereof. After the creation of the first humans, he ordered them to â€Å"be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth† (1:26). 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