Hesiod & The Hesiodic Corpus (eBook)

Hesiod stands among the earliest Greek poets, whose works are key sources for our understanding of Greek mythology, farming practices, and ancient time-keeping. Active around the 7th century BCE, he is often considered a contemporary—and in some ancient views, a rival—of Homer. Hesiod's most well-known works include 'Theogony' and 'Works and Days', which also appear within scholarly compilations such as the 'Hesiodic Corpus'. 'Theogony' offers a genealogy of the gods, beginning with the primordial elements and progressing through the rise of Zeus and the Olympian deities. It remains a primary source for Greek cosmogony and theogony, signifying Hesiod's substantial influence on the development of Greek religious thought. 'Works and Days', conversely, presents a didactic poem that includes moral and practical advice, ranging from farming techniques to seafaring and even personal conduct. This work also introduces the myth of the Five Ages of Man and provides the earliest literary mention of Pandora. Hesiod incorporates his personal perspectives within this poem, manifesting an early exemplar of authorial voice. His style embodies the didactic and epic traditions, characterized by hexameter verse and a preoccupation with divine justice, hard work, and morality. Lamentably, much about Hesiod's life—his exact lifespan, the circumstances of his life, even his birthplace—remains subject to scholarly conjecture, as few biographical records survived antiquity. Despite the enigma surrounding his biography, Hesiod's literary legacy is undisputed, shaping subsequent Greek literature and Western thought. (West, M.L., 1988, 'Hesiod: Theogony, and Works and Days', Oxford: Oxford University Press.)