Homeric Hymns – Fragments of the Epic Cycle Homerica L057 (Trans. Evelyn–White) (Greek): No 57 (Loeb Classical Library) - Hardcover

Hesiod

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674990633 ISBN 13: 9780674990630

Publisher: Loeb, 1989

Synopsis

Hesiod (Hesiodus), an epic poet apparently of the eighth century BC, was born in Asia Minor but moved to Boeotia in central Greece. He was regarded by later Greeks as a contemporary of Homer.

Three works survive under Hesiod's name: (1) "Works and Days," addressed to his brother. In it he gives us the allegories of the two Strifes, and the myth of Pandora; stresses that every man must work; describes the accepted Five Ages of the world; delivers moral advice; surveys in splendid style a year's work on a farm; gives precepts on navigation; and propounds lucky and unlucky days. (2) "Theogony," a religious work about the rise of the gods and the universe from Chaos to the triumph of Zeus, and about the progeny of Zeus and of goddesses in union with mortal men. (3) "The Shield" (not by Hesiod), an extract from a "Catalogue of Women," the subject being Alcmena and her son Heracles and his contest with Cycnus, with a description of Heracles' shield. All three works are of great literary interest.

About this title

About the Author

Homer is celebrated as the greatest of ancient Greek epic poets. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.

David W. Tandy is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and coeditor of "From Political Economy to Anthropology: Situating Economic Life in Past Societies (1994). Walter C. Neale is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of "Developing Rural India: Policies, Politics, and Progress (1990).

Edition details

• Publisher: Loeb
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674990633
• ISBN 13: 9780674990630
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 706