The Theogony

By Hesiod

Hesiod's straightforward account of family conflict among the gods is the best and earliest evidence of what the ancient Greeks believed about the beginning of the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Start Publishing LLC
• Release date: Nov 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781625581211

Hesiod

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet; Classical Myth; Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization; and many other books.

Reviews for The Theogony

[madepercy-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days are interesting in the context of other classic works and provide an interesting understanding of the genealogy of the ancient Greek gods and the agrarian life of the time. This is a work of poetry translated into prose, and there are some issues. The first thing that struck me was the misogyny of Theogony. Women (pp. 20-21) were sent down by Zeus as a curse to men:No fit partners for accursed Poverty, but only for Plenty... a bane for mortal men has high-thundering Zeus created women, conspirators in causing difficulty.The misogyny doesn't stop there. In Works and Days, the mythological Pandora (echoing Eve in Genesis), releases evil upon the world (p. 39). Not by opening a "box" as Erasmus mistakenly conveyed, but by opening a clay storage jar (p. xiv). La Rochefoucauld's maxims often talk about love as an illness that is difficult to cure, no doubt echoing Hesiod (p. 21):...the man who gets a good wife who is sound and sensible, spends his life with bad competing constantly against good; while the man who gets the awful kind lives with unrelenting pain in heart and spirit, and it is an ill without cure.
In Works and Days, Hesiod provides advice to living the agrarian life. Virgil seems to echo Hesiod in his Eclogues and Georgics. But Virgil is reflecting back on the simple life, whereas Hesiod reminds me of people offering advice on an internet bulletin board (p. 56):I will show you the measure of the resounding sea - quite without instruction as I am either in seafaring or in ships; for as to ships, I have never yet sailed the broad sea...Of course, in true bulletin board style, Hesiod goes on to instruct others in how and when to sail. This is an important historical work and well worth reading. But while there are instances of timeless proverbs (which have tended to reappear through history), I don't think I will be taking on too much of Hesiod's advice any time soon.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Both of these works are very short.Theogony offers a genealogy of the gods, and an explanation of the order in which they were born. Though it is very short, it is also very hard to follow as it assumes a certain amount of prior knowledge of the gods and relationships. (For coursera course Greek and Roman Mythology.)Works and Days, on the other hand, offers practical advise for a man on how to succeed in life as a farmer. When to plow and plant, harvest, and how to store. When to marry, how to treat neighbors, etc. It is very interesting to read what is essentially a short almanac summing up the year of a Greek farmer.

[laurochka-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting if labrynthine intro to the origins of the Greek gods.

[heidilove_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A must-have for mythology investigation

[sashame-485567 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The most classic/authoritative account of ancient Greek cosmology.

[alexanme-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The most classic/authoritative account of ancient Greek cosmology.

[lukerik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Theogony would perhaps be of greatest interest to a student of the Greek myths, and perhaps they might notice the lack of an index in this edition. What I found most interesting is the language he uses to describe Zeus. We wouldn’t find much of that out of place in our own descriptions of God. The creation of woman also has some interesting parallels in Genesis. At other points it’s pick you own god time as he waxes lyrical about Hecate. I would image that the standard of the poetry is high in the original Greek but that is of course lost here so parts read almost as simple lists of names. It made me realise how much we must have lost here in England. Imagine what we’d know if the Celts had been literate.Works and Days is a very different kettle of fish. It rambles about and degenerates towards the end but it gives a much clearer eye into the mind of the poet. He seems to hate the real world (look at the subject matter of Theogony). He’s bitter. His blames his brother for taking his land. Who knows if the accusations are true. He hates women and the way he intersperses his condemnation of his brother with his comments on them makes me suspect he has been cuckolded.I’ve read a lot but never anything like these poems. Unique pieces of work. Best of all I think is being able to read something that is just so damn old. 2700 years of the text being copied and stored and read and added to and edited and passed on and translated and printed and sold so I can read the words of a man who stands in time closer to the Stone Age than he does to me.

[norabelle414 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

M. L. West translation - I had to read Theogony for my Coursera class, but I figured I might as well read Works and Days too, while I had it from the library.Theogony: A narrative detailing the birth of the universe and the gods. Very interesting and relevant to my course. I knew most of the stories already, but I had never read the original.Works and Days: This is kind of boring, but HILARIOUS if you read it as Hesiod trying to tell his little brother what to do, which it is. He tells his brother everything from what time during the year to plant his crops, to what kind of hat to wear when going outside in February, to where to pee. It has little blurbs about the gods sometimes, but mostly it is just a glimpse into everyday life for the Greeks in Hesiod's time. I can see why it was not assigned for my particular class, which was about Greek mythology specifically and not everyday Greek life.

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's not my favorite, by far, when it comes to works related to Greek or Roman Mythology. In truth, it's a bit of a tricky read, and downright tedious at times. Still, the two works do serve important purposes within that area of literature, so I can definitely appreciate them even if I don't truly enjoy them. The good notes helped with that as well.

[crmass_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While this book gives an account of the Greek gods, it all seemed rather quickly done. I'd prefer if the end-notes were footnotes, as it would make it easier to understand certain parts (especially since the notes are not numbered). Interesting for the fact that it is one of the earliest writings on the gods, but perhaps not the best edition to read. The author actually lists other versions/translations as recommended reading.