4 pillars that held up the sky, separating earth and the heavens (also the 4 titans who held their father down while their brother, Cronus, castrated him) west Iapetus north Coeus east Hyperion south Crius OK---seemingly 4 equals however Only Iapetus is called "Great Iapetus" which brings the question---------WHY? Why was "great" attached to his name?
These days we have GEEK GODS holding up the NASDAQ separating the online from the offline. Record number of offline castrations last year.
According to whom? Without a reference, this is a baseless claim. A perfunctory browse around the innertoobs turns up all sorts of references that do not add the "great" label, and no references (so far) that do have it. So, is there any evidence of your claim at all?
Hesiod Forefathers and mothers of natures awe I call on Thee – expand my soul and mind Great Iapetus, ancestor of mankind Thou who governs mortality from ; orphismosuk .................................... from Hesiod Full text of "Myths of Greece and Rome, narrated with special reference to literature and art" (archive.org) “There Atlas, son of great Iapetus, With head inclined and ever-during arms, Sustains the spacious heavens.” Hesiod. ............. Most, perhaps all, references to "GREAT IAPETUS" are ultimately derived from Hesiod's Theogony It is an easy read-----and can be had for less than $10.00 claim-----------------------? lol .................................................. which, of course(?) still doesn't answer my question
Is there some reason we had to request references? Your question was only half formed.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Anyway... So they're not mentioning all the others in the same breath. These are texts specifically about Iapetus. There's no way that's an equitable comparison. It would be like somebody deciding to write a book called "The Great Ship Titanic", and you asking "What about the Olympic and Britanic? Why is the Titanic the only one to get called great?" To which the response would be: "Well this book is about the Titanic and its greatness. If you want to hear about the great Olympic or the great Britannic, maybe you should go find a book called 'The Great Ship Olympic' or 'The Great Ship Britannic', hmm?" In other words, you're comparing a crate of apples to a photo of oranges - and asking why only the apples smell nice.
Hesiod (translated to english) was my source material and he only added great to Iapetus name. and the question still remains unanswered.
The question still remains unformed. Your question doesn't make sense without you elaborating on your preconceptions of why it should be otherwise. Why would a text that's talking about Iapetus - and clearly thinks he's great - talk about other people that are not the subject of the text - as being great? Sculptor: "Oranges and apples are both healthy and delicious. This apple stand has a lovely aroma from all these crates of apples. Why no aroma of oranges? Aren't oranges equal to apples?"
Hesiod's Theogony was rather complete as/re greek gods and only refereed to one as great. Iapetus thusly stands apart. And I do not know why. Ergo the question. Which, I doubt you will be able to answer. Thanx anyway
I claim there is no evidence that Hesiod's Theogony prefers one god over the others. Fortunately, I don't need to demonstrate or defend my claim, do I? Since it's not true, as I have just shown, there's no need to question it.
Why would that matter? You didn't even bring it up until post 5. By your own account, it is not germane to your opening question.
Perhaps, you would do well to consult the source before you post so certainly of that which you have chosen to remain ignorant.
Source schmource. Hesiod's Theogony is not the only place those figures are mentioned. There are far more works where your claim is not true than where it is true. It took until post 5 of my prodding and teeth-pulling to get you to divulge what single reference you were actually favouring. That's on you. Help others help you.
You are asking me for a reference? No problem. You need only wait 5 posts and 53 days before I provide it. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
ok don't hurry on my account ............. has it really been 53 days? Tempus fugit please make the requisite 5 posts yours as I have found this query pointless.
Guys 23days have passed . From posts#1 though 16 , informative and interesting . Enjoyed the discussion . Know hardly of what your discussing . But Enjoyed it Nevertheless . Mythology is Complex .
I guess the answer lies more on the opinion of Hesiod when he mentions the name Iapetus, unless you find that same "title" from other writers. Remember his writings are poems. Perhaps when reading them in Greek the verses in question sound more "profound" when the adjective "great" is added to the name Iapetus because his relation with human existence. Like to say, in society there are several kind of leaders, but the part of the community dedicated to help homeless people will call "great" to one of their main sponsors, while such adjective might won't be used by them when is in reference to sponsors of school organizations and similar. The honor to Iapetus given by Hesiod must be found as well from other writers of those times in order to catalogue it as the formal title. Find another "witness" calling him "great Iapetus" and surely will be a good base to research about it.
Sadly, little is known of the poets and their works. It seems that Homer may have been a contemporary of Hesiod. Consensus view would have Homer about a generation older than Hesiod, though some scholars believe Hesiod predated Homer. However that may be, both seem to have been predated by Orpheus and (his son?) Musaeus. Little is known of them and none of their works seem to have survived. One thing that we do seem to know is that the poets Homer and Hesiod composed in the same style, and tailored their oratory to different audiences. In works and days, Hesiod claimed to have won a poetry competition, and even though he did not mention Homer, his claim of victory hinged on his focusing on the home and agriculture, while the loser focused on war and death. What we do know is that Homer mentioned Iapetus, stating only that Iapetus dwelt in Tartarus. The best we have is fragments of fragments and snippets of fragments. So we are left with a single source for "Great Iapetus" ergo, the question: "Why great"? Even though my guess is fairly well informed: Your guess may have as much merit as mine.
