Hesiod, Ouranos, Kronos, and the Emasculation at the Beginning of Time

In this article, it is argued that Kronos’ emasculation of Ouranos in Hesiod’s Theogony is depicted as the genesis of the seasons and years. Hesiod insistently speaks of “afterwards” in the context of the emasculation, suggesting that this “afterwards” is brought about by the deed. Moreover, Hesiod depicts the seed as the beginning of agriculture, fertility, change, justice, and the future. Furthermore, expressions designating duration and changing time are only employed after the emasculation. Finally, it is pointed out that there are historically pertinent cases of analogous time-creation in the Babylonian Enūma Elîš and in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The account of the beginning of time in Hesiod is thus an astonishing feat of intellectual abstraction.