Gender and the divine
Most interesting is her siring of Typhoeus after Zeus’ power is secure . 12 He, perhaps, is the last threat which Zeus’ power faces ( Theo. 837: ‘και κεν ὁ γε θνητοισιν και ἀ θανατοισιν ἀ ναξεν’ – and he would have come to rule over mortals and immortals ) but he fits awkwardly into Gaia ’s prevailing motivation of being a supporter of Zeus’ reign. Intriguingly, however, Typhoeus is the product of a sexual union between Gaia and Tartarus, leaving us with two readings of the situation at hand: that Typhoeus’ assault is Gaia ’s desperate attempt to replace another wayward ruler or that Gaia, having not solely created Typhoeus, loses control of one of her non-parthenogenetic children. The actions of Ouranos, which frame all of Gaia ’s resulting births, provide a suitable explanation: his torture of her is indicative of the agency that each of her children possesses. Hence a similar understanding can be employed of Typhoeus: he acts of his own will. No matter how we view his agency, the results of the Typhoeus episode are what establishes the dominance of Zeus. First, Zeus’ defeat of Typhoeus ensures the support of Gaia. In fact, the power that Gaia holds is conveyed in line 883, ‘Γαίης φραδμοσύν ῃ σιν Ὀ λύμπιον ε ὐ ρύοπα Ζ ῆ ν ἀ θανάτων’ (then on Gaia ’s advice they urged that Olympian Zeus the wide -seeing should be king and lord of the immortals). Zeus’ early control of the maternal figure , or of the generative capability of a mother , establishes his reign more securely than his predecessors – indeed his following absorption of his first wife Metis, under the auspices of both Gaia and Ouranos, secures his control of Olympus ( Theo. 886-91). Moreover, the resulting ‘ birth ’ of Athene by Zeus can be viewed as Zeus himself adopting the threatening generative female power. 13 Crucially, however, the capabilities of the last parthenogenetic goddess, Hera, cement the superiority of Zeus’ order. Having moved firmly now into Zeus’ cosmos, following Zeus’ sole birth of Athena, Hera, indignant at not mothering so wonderful a goddess herself, responds by producing a child of her own, Hephaestus. Hephaestus is noticeably physically disabled 14 and to that extent it can be seen that he shames Hera, presenting Zeus as more capable of ‘ birth ’ than Hera is. Nevertheless, Hephaestus undermines Hera’s defiance as he becomes an ally of Zeus and serves to bolster his order with the creation of Ambidexter (Pandora) in line 571. 15 Zeus, after the establishment of his order, further proclaims his power over female figures. In his apportioning of the cosmic honours (τιμαι) , Zeus asserts control over female goddesses. Zeus cements his rule by not holding a sole claim to all honours like Kronos and Ouranos but by distributing it equally among the deities. 16 However, there may be more at play in this benevolent act – two of the especially honoured are the goddesses Styx and Hecate. In Styx, Zeus makes a special alliance because of the ‘ outstanding children ’ she has birthed are: Kρατος (strength) and Βιην (Force), two elements essential to retaining supreme command ( Theo . 385). Hence Zeus makes her, as the first Titan to join him, ‘ the great oath of the gods ’ ( Theo. 400) and so her children ‘ will not live apart from Zeus, nor take their seats, nor go except where the god goes before them, but they sit for ever beside heavy-booming Zeus ’ ( Theo . 12 Interestingly, though not an element that I will discuss, the Homeric Hymn to Apollo has Typhoeus as Hera’s, not Gaia’s, parthenogenetic child and as a direct challenge to the authority of Zeus after he has dishonoured Hera by creating Athena parthenogenetically. 13 Metis, who is pregnant when she is absorbed by Zeus, disappears. Her child, however, remains. Athene is born when, one day, Zeus feels pain in his head and splits it open to reveal his fully grown daughter. 14 Park 2014: 274. In the Theogony, Hephaestus is noticeably less crippled than his presentation in either the Iliad or the Homeric Hymn to Apollo – his epithet ‘ ἀ μφιγυεεις’ is normally translated as ‘bandy-legged’. 15 Another sign of Zeus’ suppression of the female – the first woman is created to punish men. 16 Ready 2007: 130.
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