Submitted by: Submitted by Sevenchain
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Date Submitted: 09/29/2011 07:09 AM
Recipe for Reaction
Recipe for Reaction
Throughout the course of life, all beings will inevitably be put in a situation where they will be forced to do something they do not want to do. This is assumed to be natural and inexorable; however, when these situations are being caused incessantly by others, oppression is created. In Hesiod’s poem Theogony, the being known as Gaia is oppressed. She is ceaselessly subjugated and can only react to the agenda placed before her by the male gods. This is because she is submissive to the other gods, she constantly exchanges views and opinions to best suit her needs, and because she is female and therefore unable to defend herself from her male counterparts. In addition, Gaia’s only advantage is her metis; a cunning intelligence that is developed to counteract the brute strength of the males, which by definition is a reaction to male activities.
To be submissive in nature is to be passive and docile whilst tending to the desires of others. Gaia is truly submissive in nature. She is never directly tending to the needs of male gods in the sense that they give her orders, but she never does anything to stop them unless she is under duress. It is even implied that Gaia chooses to be submissive in nature as she bore “starry Heaven so that he should cover her all about” (Hesiod 6). This shows a very primal and instinctive attitude towards safety, as she willingly submits to Ouranos and in return he covers her giving her a sense of protection. This shows that Gaia responding rather than scheduling, because had she been planning she would have considered that by allowing Ouranos to pin her down, she was putting herself in danger. Ouranos becomes malevolent and abuses Gaia, as he refuses to let their unborn children into the world. Ouranos takes “great pleasure in the work, did heaven, while the huge earth was tight-pressed inside, and groaned” (Hesiod 7). Due to Gaia’s overwhelmingly submissive personality, Ouranos feels he...