Analysis of Hesiod's Works and Days
An Analysis of Hesiod’s The Works and Days
In Hesiod’s piece, “The Works and Days”, Hesiod addresses his brother Perses about how to be a good and virtuous man. Hesiod calls upon Zeus to direct his speech in explaining to Perses how to describe the true way to exist. He starts by explaining the difference between healthy competition and trouble and fighting, Hesiod says “It was never true that there was only one kind of strife. There have always been two on earth” (Lattimore, Hesiod’s Works and days, 2010, p.19). That one is evil and builds up towards war while the other is harsh, but promotes his strife with reward. He goes on to say that being clever and creating short cuts is not a trait worth having. Hesiod gives the example of when Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and in turn, future generations were punished because of Prometheus’ cleverness and deception. He relates this to his life and the time when he and Perses’ father died. This was a prominent theme in the poem and conveyed the injustice Hesiod felt towards his brother. There were issues splitting the inheritance between the two men, and Hesiod accuses Perses of coercing and bribing the “kings” residing over this matter. This is why Hesiod created this poem – to address his brother on his short comings and explain ways of how to improve them.
Though this poem was addressed to Perses, my first impression was that it was a practical guide to living and prospering in society. Upon closer inspection, however, this work could be more about morality. Which poses the question of “What is the value of morality?” Hesiod goes into great detail about how morality and honest work can better your life in many ways, an example would be farming, it’s both rewarding to the land and family but it is also rewarding to the individual because he has what he needs and doesn’t need to be jealous of his neighbor. Hesiod gives many suggestions on how Perses can better his life through honest work. The first part of this
In Hesiod’s piece, “The Works and Days”, Hesiod addresses his brother Perses about how to be a good and virtuous man. Hesiod calls upon Zeus to direct his speech in explaining to Perses how to describe the true way to exist. He starts by explaining the difference between healthy competition and trouble and fighting, Hesiod says “It was never true that there was only one kind of strife. There have always been two on earth” (Lattimore, Hesiod’s Works and days, 2010, p.19). That one is evil and builds up towards war while the other is harsh, but promotes his strife with reward. He goes on to say that being clever and creating short cuts is not a trait worth having. Hesiod gives the example of when Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and in turn, future generations were punished because of Prometheus’ cleverness and deception. He relates this to his life and the time when he and Perses’ father died. This was a prominent theme in the poem and conveyed the injustice Hesiod felt towards his brother. There were issues splitting the inheritance between the two men, and Hesiod accuses Perses of coercing and bribing the “kings” residing over this matter. This is why Hesiod created this poem – to address his brother on his short comings and explain ways of how to improve them.
Though this poem was addressed to Perses, my first impression was that it was a practical guide to living and prospering in society. Upon closer inspection, however, this work could be more about morality. Which poses the question of “What is the value of morality?” Hesiod goes into great detail about how morality and honest work can better your life in many ways, an example would be farming, it’s both rewarding to the land and family but it is also rewarding to the individual because he has what he needs and doesn’t need to be jealous of his neighbor. Hesiod gives many suggestions on how Perses can better his life through honest work. The first part of this
Bibliography: Hesiod, Richmond Lattimore, Hesiod, and Hesiod. The Works and Days. Theogony. The Shield of Herakles. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1959. Print.