Entity
Hundred-Handers
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Beings in Hesiod’s poem, shown in one scene leaving captivity and darkness for light.
Text
The Hundred-Handers, or Hecatoncheires, are beings in the Greek poet HesiodHesiodGreek poet whose major work is generally dated to the late eighth or early seventh century BCE, including the Theogony.Glossary · Click to read the explanation’s TheogonyHesiod’s TheogonyGreek poem on divine generations and Zeus’s kingship; its surviving form does not identify all of Hesiod’s sources.Glossary · Click to read the explanation. The poem places them among Ouranos’s and Gaia’s children and describes their strength and many hands. [1]
At line 669 they emerge from darkness into light after captivity. This is a release from confinement; distinguishing it from birth clarifies comparisons with the Hittite Song of Emergence. [2]
References and notes
- Hesiod, Theogony Lines147–153: the Hundred-Handers. Return to the text ↑
- Hesiod, Theogony Lines650–699, especially669: release from captivity. Return to the text ↑
Research history
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Cite this record
IL Archive, «Hundred-Handers», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/hundred-handers