Greek Gods, Parricide and Parenting

Hesiod’s Theogony isn’t very long, but it manages to encompass a hymn to the Muses, an account of the ancient Greek creation myth, a genealogy of dozens of deities, as well as tales of murder, war, love, rape, brute strength and political power. It also shows marvelous insight into human psychology.

In the introduction to the edition I have, translator Dorothea Wender raises an interesting point:

Hesiod has allowed his world of primitive gods and chaotic forces to remain primitive and chaotic. Particularly striking is the general pattern of an oedipal struggle between generations, with father attempting to destroy son, and mother assisting son to supplant father.

One such event is Kronos’s castration of Ouranos with a “long jagged sickle.” Kronos’s mother Gaia asked him to do this because Ouranos was hiding her children so they wouldn’t replace him as ruler. The second such event comes when Kronos begins eating his own children and Rhea secrets away Zeus, who later leads a rebellion.  The war ends with the banishment of the Titans to Tartarus and the ascension of Zeus as ruler of Olympus. Hesiod’s poem is centuries older than Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, but already we see the ancients were aware of the Oedipus in every man. To crudely summarize Freud: He wants to sleep with his mother and kill his father.

The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn, by Giorgio Vasari and Christofano Gherardi

It strikes me that these parricidal myths are less a representation of the actual early childhood situation than they are a reflection of the nascent Subject’s fantasies and fears. In the world we usually take for reality, fathers do not normally kill their children, mothers do not conspire to defeat their husbands, and children know nothing of sex and murder. In the subterranean reality of the child’s psyche, however, nothing is desired more than the mother’s attentions, and nothing presents a greater threat to that than the father.

The young Subject is faced with a dilemma: regain his lost power by defeating and supplanting the father or regain it by allying with and emulating the father. Similar dynamics occur in girls and are sometimes called the Electra complex. How this childhood drama plays out--and the possibilities are endless--has formative effects on the individual that will last throughout life. The ancient Greeks knew nothing of psychoanalysis, but their myths show they were well aware of the human realities that underlie it.

As a father, I have witnessed these realities firsthand. My son loves me and I love him more than either of us will ever fully comprehend, so father-son bonds are not to be discounted, but a rivalry also exists. It is not uncommon for a small boy to want to marry Mommy, and his father is likely to playfully express disapproval of this idea. Many a father feels real jealousy, however, when his wife’s affections appear directed entirely at their child. Boys are thrilled to best (or be allowed to best) Daddy in a game or feat of strength. And at some point, Mommy begins to encourage her child to be more independent so she can return more of her attention to her husband and the rest of her life.

My family demonstrates all of this behavior, and we try to resolve the underlying tensions in positive ways. There are no perfect methods, but spending time together is a great way to allow these human mysteries to work themselves out. If I’d played dominoes with my son this morning, maybe he wouldn’t have rebelled so much when it came time to get him out the door for school!

Over the years psychoanalytic theory and a burgeoning literature on parenting have helped explain and address what goes on inside families, but as usual, the ancient Greeks did all this first. They did it their own way and in some ways, no doubt, they did it better. Theogony is myth not science, but that doesn’t stop it from being enlightening. 

Saturn Devouring His Son, by Francisco Goya

Also on ancient Greek literature:
Heracles' Hope in the Midst of Suffering
The Ancients' Guide to Love and Sex