Hesiod probably lived in the eight century B.C. His Theogony contains the Greek classical view of the creation of the universe. Essentially, Hesiod gave voice to an early Greek understanding of the myths of Homer and the mythic lore of the ancient Near East in general. Not surprisingly, then, we find in Hesiod's cosmogony a number of familiar themes: creation out of chaos, a war in heaven, and the establishment of an organized monarchy in heaven. He also brings together the idea of monarchy combined with the creative ability of "mother earth", represented by Gaia. This formation of Gaia and the pantheon in heaven is the birth of classical humanism.
A Summary of the Theogony of Hesiod
First of all the, Void came into being, next broad-bosomed 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 the 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, to cover her on all sides. Next she produced the tall mountains, the pleasant haunts of the gods, and also gave birth to the barren waters, sea with its raging surges - all this without the passion of love. Thereafter she lay with Sky and gave birth to Ocean and its deep currents, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus; Thea and Rhea and Themis (Law) and Mnemosyne (Memory); also golden - crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys.
After these came cunning Cronus, the youngest and boldest of her children; and he grew to hate the father who had begotten him. Earth also gave birth to the violent Cyclopes - Thunder, Lightner, and bold Flash - who made and gave to Zeus the thunder and the lightning bolt. They were like the gods in all respects except that a single eye stood in the middle of their foreheads, and their strength and power and skill were in their hands.
There were also born to Earth and Sky three more children, big, strong, and horrible, Cottus and Briareus and Gyes. This unruly brood had a hundred monstrous hands sprouting from their shoulders, and fifty heads on top of their shoulders growing from their sturdy bodies. They had monstrous strength to match their huge size.
Of all the children born of Earth and Sky these were the boldest, and their father hated them from the beginning. As each of them was about to born, Sky would not let them reach the light of day; instead he hid themall away in the bowels of the Mother Earth. Sky took pleasure in doing this evil thing. In spite of her enormous size. Earth felt the strain within her and groaned. Finally she thought of an evil and cunning stratagem. She instantly produced a new metal, gray steel, and made a huge sickle. Then she laid the matter before her children; the anguish in her heart made her speak boldly: "My children, you have a savage father; if you listen to me, we may be able to take vengeance for his evil outrage: he was the one who started using violence."
This was what she said; but all the children were gripped by fear, and not one of them spoke a word. Then Cronus, the cunning trickster, took courage and answered his good mother with these words: "Mother, I am willing to undertake and carry through your plan. I have no respect for our infamous father, since he was the one who started using violence."
This was what he said, and enormous Earth was very pleased. She hid him in ambush and put in his hands the sickle with jagged teeth, and instructed him fully in her plot. Huge Sky came drawing night behind him and desiring to make love; he lay on top of Earth stretching all over her. Then from his ambush his son reached out with his left hand and with his right took the huge sickle with its long jagged teeth and quickly sheared the organs from his own father and threw them away, backwards over his shoulder.
But that was not the end of them. The drops of blood that spurted from them were all taken in by Mother Earth, and in the course of the revolving years she gave birth to the powerful Erinyes (Spirits of Vengeance) and huge Giants with shining armour and long spears. As for the organs themselves, for a long time they drifted round the sea just as they were when Cronus cut them off with the steel edge and threw them from the land into the waves of the ocean; then white foam issued from the divine flesh, and in the foam a girl began to grow. First she came near to holy Cythera, then reached Cyprus,
the land surrounded by sea. There she stepped out, a goddess, tender and beautiful, and round her slender feet the green shot up. She is called Aphrodite by gods and men, because she grew in the froth, and also Cytherea, because she came near to Cythera, and the Cyprian, because she was born in watery Cyprus. Eros (Desire) and beautiful Passion were her attendants both at her birth and at her first going to join the family of the gods. The rights and privileges assigned to her from the beginning and recognized by men and gods are these: to preside over the whispers and smiles and tricks which girls employ, and the sweet delight and tenderness of love.