Problem
In The Beginning
The first excerpt is from Hesiod's The Birth of the Gods, a Greek poem composed ca. 700 b.c.e., while the second is from the first book of the Hebrew Bible (see pages 98-99).
"First of all, the Void came into being, next broadbosomed Earth, the solid and eternal home of all, and Eros [Desire], the most beautiful of the immortal gods, who in every man and every god softens the sinews and overpowers the prudent purpose of the mind. Out of Void came Darkness and black Night, and out of Night came Light and Day, her children conceived after union in love with Darkness. Earth first produced starry Sky, equal in size with herself . . ."
(From Hesiod, The Birth of the Gods)
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."
(Genesis 1:1-5)
Answer the following 2 questions.
• What is the relationship between nature and divine agency in each of these versions of creation?
• What roles do males and females play in each?