Similarities Between Hesiod And Ouranos

While one keenly observes the gods as essentially violent, vengeful beings and notes that aquiring power seems only to be a matter of physical domination, a closer look at the blood line of fathers leading to the rise of Zeus reveals Hesiod's emphasis on both wit and strategy as most necessary for a god to remain in power. Beginning with Ouranos, Hesiod seems to place the god in a position of assumed power based simply on his reproductive success with Gaia as a "firm foundation for the blessed gods" (Theogeny, 128). However, his power is quite short lived precisely due to his short sighted idea of forcing his children back inside Gaia before attemping to sleep with her once again. Similarly, when Cronos was told of his unborn son overthrowing him he foolishly ate his then born children giving Rheia both time and reason to conceal, from him, her final child Zeus (471) which eventually lead to his violent downfall (725).
In the beginnings of the true king, quite like his ancestors before him, Zeus exhibitted extreme violence to assert his doiminance as was seen after he toppled the leadership of Cronos with strength such that his "sheer Power shone through" the air (714). Further when conquering the mighty Typhoios, Zeus exhibbited such strength that even the "vast Earth groaned" (865). Note however that his strength and power, while being necessary, was not sufficient to establish himself as ruler. It was a result of his strategy that lead him to leadership in the first place when he took the advice of Gaia to both free and enlist the help of the hundred handers