Birthing the Greek Gods in Neuchâtel

The Greek gods are currently alive and in residence at Laténium Archeological Museum and Park in Neuchâtel.

In the play "Theogony, The Birth of the Ancient Gods," you will meet many of the pantheon's most powerful and troublesome deities including the Titans, Prometheus, Aphrodite, and of course, big daddy Zeus. The play is being performed outdoors in a sublime setting by Lake Neuchâtel.

The original "Theogony" was written by Hesiod, an 8th century BC Greek poet known for his chronologies of the Greek gods and myths. His epic poem traces the genealogy of the Olympian gods, and is described today as a kind of book of "Genesis" in the field of Greek Mythology.

The play "tells the birth of the universe," says Matteo Capponi who translated Hesiod's play into French and adapted it for the stage. It traces the mythic history of the creation of "Earth (Gaïa), Sky (Ouranos), Ocean (Okeanos), the Monsters and the Gods, then the Heroes and lastly the Humans, the entire story of our World, from the Chaos to the reign of Zeus, which rules us still now," says Capponi, who holds a doctorate in ancient Greek tragedy and has taught at EPFL and the University of Neuchâtel.

The five cast members, including Capponi, play hundreds of gods on a minimalist stage at the very edge of the lake. How is that possible?

And here is Matteo Capponi, the translator and adapter of the play:

Come and see for yourself the birth of the gods.

More Information

- When: Each Wednesday through Sun, Aug 16 at 8:30 PM, special matinée Aug 1 at 5:15 AM
- Where: At the Laténium Park, Neuchâtel
- Tickets: CHF 25, bookable online or at 079 711 04 37

(All photographs copyright by projet-stoa.ch)