Week 2: CLA204 Hesiod, the Birth of the Gods, and the Generations of Mankind
Sep 9-14, 2024
Hesiod
• Earliest Greek author: 750-700BC
• Wrote two epic poems in Dactylic Hexameter (a meter of epic poetry)
o The Theogony and the Works and Days
o The Shield of Herakles (but people say its written by another poet)
o Distinctive personality from his work: Poet is present in his poem as a
narrator and is a character in his own poetry
§ However all the information regarding this poet character (Hesiod)
may be a fictive character
o Likely a wealthy farmer
§ Where it was an agricultural society with wealthy land holding farmers
§ Boeotia, with Mt. Helicon where the Muses were said to live
Historical Context – 8th Century Greece
• 800BC-700BC: Emerging from the Dark Ages
o Expansion in population, increase in urbanization, increase in trade of foreign
goods, mobility around the Mediterranean
o Expanded mythology as increase in movement, mobility and traveling
§ Anxiety in coming to a new land, meeting new people
o Wealthy, independent land-owning farmers make up the privileged class
§ Had political sway
o Chieftains hold powers and consensus
§ Democracies
o Transhumant pastoralism continues to be importance to economy that time
o Written texts and Greek alphabet emerge
§ Nestor’s Cup: earliest known Greek writing are lines from a scene
from poetry
Travelling Bards and Poetic Festivals
• Aoidos – singers/poets who travel around and perform songs/poems
• After 8th century, emergence of sanctuaries, began performing for open public
religious festivals
• Mobility of poets – to perform and compete in a poetic festival
, o Spread of myth in Mediterranean, transform and modified through festivals
across
Theogony – Genealogy (or family tree) of the gods
• Epic poem giving an aetiological explanation about the birth of the universe and the
gods
• Describes the wars and cooperation that creates the 12 Olympian gods today
o Hesiod’s version of Theogony
• Familial relationships of the gods in Greek pantheon were viewed in early
o Who’s oZspring by who
o Who’s parents is who
The Theogony
• Invocation: Calls for inspiration from the gods or the muses in the beginning and the
end: hallmark of epic poetry
o Marks the religious nature of poetry
• Hesiod as a shepherd – fictional persona or real?
o Describes himself as one of the pastoral poets, known to be a divinely
inspired poet
• Muses gives Hesiod a laurel staZ (plant associated Apollo related to muses and
music)
o Connotation: a symbol of poetic authority & chosen one to this power of
poet (creates a character of being a reputative and gifted as the the Muses
entrusting the power of poetic)
• Ambiguity towards myth: warning towards the audiences: “we are accustomed to
speak when we wish to, the literal truth, too” [line 26]
o Muses and gods may give wrong vision of the world
Birth of the Muses
• Mother is Titan Mnemosyne (memory), father is Zeus, slept together for 9 nights and
bore the 9 muses
o Patrons of the arts
§ All has its own art
o Their roles & role of art:
§ Born to give respite from woe and as a means of forgetting
§ bestowing mortal race escape/relief through their art
Sep 9-14, 2024
Hesiod
• Earliest Greek author: 750-700BC
• Wrote two epic poems in Dactylic Hexameter (a meter of epic poetry)
o The Theogony and the Works and Days
o The Shield of Herakles (but people say its written by another poet)
o Distinctive personality from his work: Poet is present in his poem as a
narrator and is a character in his own poetry
§ However all the information regarding this poet character (Hesiod)
may be a fictive character
o Likely a wealthy farmer
§ Where it was an agricultural society with wealthy land holding farmers
§ Boeotia, with Mt. Helicon where the Muses were said to live
Historical Context – 8th Century Greece
• 800BC-700BC: Emerging from the Dark Ages
o Expansion in population, increase in urbanization, increase in trade of foreign
goods, mobility around the Mediterranean
o Expanded mythology as increase in movement, mobility and traveling
§ Anxiety in coming to a new land, meeting new people
o Wealthy, independent land-owning farmers make up the privileged class
§ Had political sway
o Chieftains hold powers and consensus
§ Democracies
o Transhumant pastoralism continues to be importance to economy that time
o Written texts and Greek alphabet emerge
§ Nestor’s Cup: earliest known Greek writing are lines from a scene
from poetry
Travelling Bards and Poetic Festivals
• Aoidos – singers/poets who travel around and perform songs/poems
• After 8th century, emergence of sanctuaries, began performing for open public
religious festivals
• Mobility of poets – to perform and compete in a poetic festival
, o Spread of myth in Mediterranean, transform and modified through festivals
across
Theogony – Genealogy (or family tree) of the gods
• Epic poem giving an aetiological explanation about the birth of the universe and the
gods
• Describes the wars and cooperation that creates the 12 Olympian gods today
o Hesiod’s version of Theogony
• Familial relationships of the gods in Greek pantheon were viewed in early
o Who’s oZspring by who
o Who’s parents is who
The Theogony
• Invocation: Calls for inspiration from the gods or the muses in the beginning and the
end: hallmark of epic poetry
o Marks the religious nature of poetry
• Hesiod as a shepherd – fictional persona or real?
o Describes himself as one of the pastoral poets, known to be a divinely
inspired poet
• Muses gives Hesiod a laurel staZ (plant associated Apollo related to muses and
music)
o Connotation: a symbol of poetic authority & chosen one to this power of
poet (creates a character of being a reputative and gifted as the the Muses
entrusting the power of poetic)
• Ambiguity towards myth: warning towards the audiences: “we are accustomed to
speak when we wish to, the literal truth, too” [line 26]
o Muses and gods may give wrong vision of the world
Birth of the Muses
• Mother is Titan Mnemosyne (memory), father is Zeus, slept together for 9 nights and
bore the 9 muses
o Patrons of the arts
§ All has its own art
o Their roles & role of art:
§ Born to give respite from woe and as a means of forgetting
§ bestowing mortal race escape/relief through their art
