Hesiod is considered the first didactic poet, his poems were philosophical in nature, yet easy to understand. His epic poems were used to teach people about a variety of topics, including working life, agriculture, and the Greek gods. For this reason, Hesiod’s works are fundamental historical artifacts.
Family
After the death of his father, Hesiod became embroiled in a bitter dispute with his brother Perses. This was over the property left by their deceased father. Unfortunately for Hesiod, Perses won both disputes, although it is important to note that each alleged dispute was decided by the same judges. However, the account of this property dispute comes from Works and Days, a text that scholars cautiously consider to be an autobiographical account of Hesiod’s life.
Brief history
Due to extreme poverty, Hesiod’s father crossed the sea from Cyme in Aeolia (modern-day western Turkey) to Boeotia, more specifically at the foot of Mount Helicon. The summit of Mount Helicon was considered the place where the Muses (the goddesses of inspiration) resided. They are said to have visited Hesiod and ordered him to compose poetry. Hesiod’s poetry composed a family tree of the Greek gods based on the conception of creation. For example, the Earth was “yawned” into existence by Gaea, the goddess of the Earth, giving birth to mountains, sky, and sea, chaos, order, work, life, economy, and agriculture.
His work was not only instructive for religious purposes, but also contained detailed agricultural knowledge due to Hesiod’s background as a farmer and shepherd. Hesiod believed that work was the purpose of man and that every man needed to work not only to survive, but also to live a fulfilling life.
He was one of the first Western poets to compile his work in written form; before him, almost all epic poetry was transmitted through an oral tradition. This is because the Greek alphabet was composed much later than the language was spoken. The written word revolutionized what was possible with epic poetry and paved the way for poetry to move from being a tradition recited using only memory.
Characteristics
Hesiod memorized his poems by reciting heroic songs while tending his sheep. He believed that his poetic gifts were given to him by the Muses while he worked hard on his land. According to legend, Hesiod received a poet’s staff and was blessed with the voice of a poet by the Muses, and he used this voice to create his epic poems. As the Muses traditionally lived on top of Mount Helicon, this may have been one of the reasons why Hesiod became a poet in the first place. Due to the geographical importance of its location, it is possible to speculate that Hesiod was inspired by the spirit of the land and the myth that surrounded it. This may have led to the mixture of concepts that make up the works of his epics.
Literature
The date of Hesiod’s literature is disputed, although scholars generally agree that it originated around 700 BCE, shortly after Homer’s. It should be noted that the reason why the dates of the works are controversial, as well as the dates of birth in ancient Greece, is because there was no chronological dating system at the time.
Hesiod is credited with at least two epic works. Although more have been attributed to him in the past, it is widely accepted that those works were created by poets from the same school of thought as Hesiod and not by Hesiod himself. One of the epics that Hesiod composed is called Theogony, which means the genealogical account of the gods.
The word theo comes from the ancient Greek words theos, meaning gods, and gony, which comes from the Latin word gonia. Gonia comes from the root of the ancient Greek word gignesthai, meaning “to be born.” Another epic, Works and Days, is also attributed to Hesiod and is the first recorded instance of didactic poetry. Didactic poetry is poetry that instructs or informs.
An example of a work formerly attributed to Hesiod but now disputed is The Shield of Heracles. Hesiod is also considered the first author of mainland Greece whose work still exists in its original form. Some of Hesiod’s works include works by other poets, notably the Precepts of Chiron, the Melampodia, the Aigimios, the Ornitomanteia, the Astronomy, and the Catalogues of Women.
Hesiod’s literary works are often compared to those of Homer, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Although Hesiod’s poems are considered epic—as are Homer’s poems—they are considered so for fundamentally different reasons. Unlike Homer’s work, Hesiod’s work is considered epic not because of its length, but because of its language. Hesiod’s was more accessible, realistic, and practical, which led to its widespread appeal.
This makes it a crucial historical artifact for a chronicle of the lives of workers in ancient Greece, details about agriculture and the nature of work, as well as a meticulous account of the relationship between the Greek gods. Although the Theogony is considered complex and often confusing, it reflects an unparalleled account of the intricate relationship between divine beings.
It is important to note that as the poet is seen as gifted by the Muses, poetry would be an exercise to please the gods. This shapes the style and content of the poetry as well as Hesiod’s relationship with the self, the earth, the cosmos, and the work.
Explanation of the myth
According to the myth, Hesiod and Homer participated in a poetry contest. This arose from an excerpt from Works and Days where Hesiod won a contest in Chalcis in Euboea at the Funeral Games. This led to the sons of Amifidamas awarding Hesiod a bronze tripod, a prize he supposedly gave to the Muses of Mount Helicon.
This account gave rise to later rumors about a poetry contest between Hesiod and Homer, although this is generally considered false, as scholars tend to agree that Hesiod and Homer never crossed paths.
It is important to consider that the ancient Greeks generally viewed inspiration as a divine or semi-divine practice, so poetic excellence was generally seen as a divine work. This is evident from several factors: the fact that Hesiod believed that his poetic gift came from the Muses, that his work revolved around the gods of Ancient Greece, and that he gave his prize to the Muses. This belief in the Muses and the gods reflects the cultural belief of this era in ancient polytheistic Greece.
Death
After losing his alleged second lawsuit against Perses, Hesiod fled to Naupactus, where he was allegedly murdered by the sons of his host in Oeneon because he seduced a maiden. His descendants are said to have included the lyric poet Stesichorus, the first of his kind in the West. By order of the Oracle of Delphi, the poet’s bones were taken to Orchomenus, where a monument was built to him in the market square.
