This paper offers a detailed study of the issue of social formation and social order in Hesiod’s cosmogony.I argue that,according to Hesiod’s genesis theory,order in a society cannot be established organically throu...This paper offers a detailed study of the issue of social formation and social order in Hesiod’s cosmogony.I argue that,according to Hesiod’s genesis theory,order in a society cannot be established organically through social formation.The main difficulty lies in the nature of society itself where the dualistic opposition in the male-female sexual relationship leads to endless conflicts between the two sexes and,further,between generations.To deal with the sexual relationship properly is the key to maintaining a stable social order.In the poem,the mother’s‘dark womb’is presented as a prominent image at every crucial moment of social formation and social(dis)ordering in both the divine and the human worlds.Taking this image as a clue,we can see that the issue of sexuality has a profound impact on social order,and also serves as a key to understanding divinity and humanity in Hesiod’s cosmogony.展开更多
基金this paper is funded by projects:(1)Tsinghua University Independent Research Project of Humanities,Grant No.2022THZWJC20(2)The Ministry of Education’s“Chunhui Plan”Cooperative Research Project:A Study of the Family in the Origins of Western Civilization,Grant No.HZKY20220045(3)Major Programs of National Social Science Fund:Translation and Research of Hellenistic Literature,Grant No.22&ZD293.
文摘This paper offers a detailed study of the issue of social formation and social order in Hesiod’s cosmogony.I argue that,according to Hesiod’s genesis theory,order in a society cannot be established organically through social formation.The main difficulty lies in the nature of society itself where the dualistic opposition in the male-female sexual relationship leads to endless conflicts between the two sexes and,further,between generations.To deal with the sexual relationship properly is the key to maintaining a stable social order.In the poem,the mother’s‘dark womb’is presented as a prominent image at every crucial moment of social formation and social(dis)ordering in both the divine and the human worlds.Taking this image as a clue,we can see that the issue of sexuality has a profound impact on social order,and also serves as a key to understanding divinity and humanity in Hesiod’s cosmogony.
