In Hesiod’s Theogony we read a list of seven
goddesses. (886-923) Generally, referred to as the Seven Wives of Zeus. Here it
is;
1. 886] Now Zeus, king of the gods,
made Metis his wife first, and she
was wisest among gods and mortal men.
2. 901] Next he married bright Themis who bare the Horae (Hours), and
Eunomia (Order), Dike (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the
works of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest
honour, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to
have.
3) 907] And Eurynome,
the daughter of Ocean, beautiful in form, bare him three fair-cheeked Charites
(Graces), Aglaea, and Euphrosyne, and lovely Thaleia, from whose eyes as they
glanced flowed love that unnerves the limbs: and beautiful is their glance
beneath their brows.
4) [912] Also he came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bare white-armed
Persephone whom Aidoneus carried off from her mother; but wise Zeus gave her to
him.
5) 915] And again, he loved Mnemosyne with the beautiful hair: and of her the nine gold-crowned
Muses were born who delight in feasts and the pleasures of song.
6) [918] And Leto
was joined in love with Zeus who holds the aegis, and bare Apollo and Artemis
delighting in arrows, children lovely above all the sons of Heaven.
7)[921] Lastly, he made Hera his blooming wife: and she was joined in love with the king of
gods and men, and brought forth Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia.
His possible eighth wife was the Nereid Thetis, but we will discuss her later.
As with everything else in Ancient Greek literature
there must be some greater significance. Here are some thoughts;
Descending order of Threat from His Sons
I jokingly suggested over at the Kosmos Society that
the list represents a descending order of affection for his wives; based on Zeus
and Hera’s notoriously rocky marriage. But, I think we can see another
descending order.
Zeus first hypothetical son would have hurled him from
his throne. (895-900). The next son on this list of legitimate spouses is
Apollo, his heir-apparent and pretty viable threat;
“I will remember and not
be unmindful of Apollo who shoots afar. As he goes through the house of Zeus,
the gods tremble before him and all spring up from their seats when he draws
near, as he bends his bright bow. “. HH to Apollo
The last of his
legitimate sons from the seventh marriage were little threat. One was lame and
the other “Arēs would have then perished had not fair Eeriboia…” (Iliad 5:389) Starving
to death is a very ungodlike thing to do, neither of his final legitimate seems much of a threat to
Zeus’ hegemony.
So my first thought about the sequence of wives is that it represents an every decreasing level of threat to the security of Zeus' throne from his own sons.
Outline
for the Seven Wives of Zeus
Descending order of threat
Extinguishing Competing Lineages;
· Explaining
who they are based on Hesiod’s line up
· Virginity
within the Olympians article
· Then
discuss marriages
· Hera’s
Handmaidens
Co-opt Authorities, Powers and Dominions (per Graves)
Geo-political signifance?
Previous Husbands;
· Eurynome
and Ophion;
· Hera
and some Samoian river-god,
· Thetis
and Poros’ father
· Themis
and Prometheus’ father
*. Demeter Iasion and Caramandor
Thetis
· Part
of Ring composition with Metis? Or
· Start
of a new cycle as Hesiod suggests for the 5 Ages of Man
thanks
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