generations

Ouranos was the first god of the sky. Cronus was his son; he carried the Great Sicle. there must have been no love between them; Cronus took the sicle and cut his father's penis off. no wonder Cronus feared his own children. he never made a meal of Zeus, though. And when Zeus came to collect his brothers and sisters from Cronus' belly, he did not shame him as Cronus did Ouranus. Zeus, third god of the sky, had gotten it right. benevolence, justice, civility was the lesson of the day. Zeus-pater, youngest of the gods, became father to all. having acted honorably, he received honor, and he would have no one, nothing to fear.

you can read the story in the sky; Ouranus, the wheeling heavens, his phallus the axis on which the earth spins. Cronus' Great Sicle carves a circle through the year, the hands of father time cutting up the night in celestial, patricidal harvest. And finally, Zeus, the brightness of day, covers all...

to the greeks, the third generation was a charmed one. fathers, grandfathers, their business was troubled. they may or may not have obeyed the gods; grandsons could set it to rights. grandsons learn the generational lesson. they carry and correct their family name, the adjusted spirits of their sires, as they bleed out blood feuds, calm the Furies, sate the gods themselves.

three has always been a sacred number in most cultures, but i think the significance comes from a more practical observation. in general, there are only about three generations of a family alive at the same time. grandfathers, looking through the scope of their own sons, look hopefully upon grandsons. grandfathers have made mistakes; fathers are making them. grandsons have their whole life ahead of them. the third generation is hope.

whether or not i ever become a father or grandfather, i am a grandson...i have been one, and i always will be. what gifts have i been given? what flaws? what lessons should i learn? what is my contribution to my family, and what paths should i take our name down?