Classical Studies 2300 Chapter 1: Hesiod Reading

• School: Western University
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: Classical Studies 2300
• Professor: Charles Stocking

Document Summary

Hesiod"s two surviving poems are the works and days. In many ways hesiod is a more important author for the study of greek mythology than homer (the iliad and the odyssey) Homer makes no attempt at treating myth more generally. He often includes short and theogony. digressions and tantalizes us with hints of a broader tradition, but much of this remains obscure. Hesiod, by contrast, sought in his theogony creation of the universe. to give a connected account of the. For the study of myth he is important precisely because his is the oldest surviving attempt to treat systematically the mythical tradition from the first gods down to the great heroes. Also unlike homer, hesiod is for us an historical figure and a real personality his. Works and days contains a great deal of autobiographical information. It is our earliest surviving account of the origins of the gods from the greek world.