Synopsis
Hesiod was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. His writings serve as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, archaic Greek astronomy and ancient timekeeping. Of the many works attributed to Hesiod, three survive complete and many more in fragmentary state. They include Alexandrian Papyri, some dating from as early as the 1st century BC, and manuscripts written from the eleventh century forward. He wrote a poem of some 800 verses, the Works and Days, which revolves around two general truths: labour is the universal lot of Man, but he who is willing to work will get by. Tradition also attributes the Theogony, a poem which uses the same epic verse-form as the Works and Days, to Hesiod. A short poem traditionally attributed to Hesiod is The Shield of Heracles. Several additional poems were sometimes ascribed to Hesiod: Aegimius, Astrice, Chironis Hypothecae, Idaei Dactyli, Wedding of Ceyx, Great Works (presumably an expanded Works and Days), Great Eoiae (presumably an expanded Catalogue of Women), Melampodia and Ornithomantia.
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Présentation de l'éditeur
The Works and Days is a poem of over 800 lines which revolves around two general truths: labour is the universal lot of Man, but he who is willing to work will get by. Scholars have interpreted this work against a background of agrarian crisis in mainland Greece, which inspired a wave of documented colonisations in search of new land. This poem is one of the earliest known musings on economic thought. This work lays out the five Ages of Man, as well as containing advice and wisdom, prescribing a life of honest labour and attacking idleness and unjust judges (like those who decided in favour of Perses) as well as the practice of usury. It describes immortals who roam the earth watching over justice and injustice. The poem regards labor as the source of all good, in that both gods and men hate the idle, who resemble drones in a hive. In the horror of the triumph of violence over hard work and honor, verses describing the "Golden Age" present the social character and practice of nonviolent diet through agriculture and fruit-culture as a higher path of living sufficiently.
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