Hesiod facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hesiod
Native name	Ἡσίοδος
Born	fl. 750 BC Cyme, Aeolis (now Aliağa, İzmir, Turkey)
Occupation	Poet philosopher farmer
Language	Ancient Greek

Hesiod (pronounced HEE-see-ud) was an ancient Greek poet. He lived a long, long time ago, probably between 750 and 650 BC. This was around the same time as another famous Greek poet, Homer. Many people think Hesiod was the first Western poet to write about himself in his poems.

Ancient writers believed Hesiod and Homer helped create many Greek religious traditions. Today, experts study Hesiod's poems to learn about Greek mythology. They also learn about old farming methods, early ideas about money, and how ancient Greeks kept track of time.

Life of Hesiod

It's a bit tricky to know exactly when Hesiod lived. This is something scholars still discuss today. Unlike some poets, Hesiod shared some details about his own life in his poems. This helps us learn more about him.

Hesiod's Family and Home

In his poem Works and Days, Hesiod tells us his father came from a place called Cyme in Aeolis. This was on the coast of what is now Turkey. His father then sailed across the sea to settle in a small village called Ascra. This village was near Thespiae in Boeotia, Greece. Hesiod described Ascra as "a cursed place, cruel in winter, hard in summer, never pleasant."

Hesiod inherited a small piece of land there, at the foot of Mount Helicon. He had some legal problems with his brother, Perses. It seems Perses might have cheated Hesiod out of his fair share of the land. This happened because of unfair officials. Later, Perses became poor and had to ask Hesiod for help.

His Journey and Inspiration

Hesiod didn't like sea travel, unlike his father. But he once crossed a narrow sea passage to Euboea. He went there for a singing contest at a funeral celebration. Hesiod won the contest and received a special prize: a tripod.

He also wrote about meeting the Muses on Mount Helicon. The Muses were goddesses of inspiration. Hesiod said he was looking after his sheep when the goddesses gave him a laurel staff. This staff was a symbol of being a poet. This story makes some experts think he wasn't a trained professional singer. If he was, he might have been given a lyre instead of a staff.

Hesiod's Farm Life

Even though Hesiod complained about being poor, his farm life wasn't too bad. His poem Works and Days describes a farm that seems quite successful. His farmer had friends helping him. He also had servants, including a skilled plowman and a house cleaner. The farm even had working teams of oxen and mules.

Some experts believe Hesiod learned about world geography from his father. His father was a merchant who traveled by sea. Hesiod's poems mention many rivers, which he might have heard about from his father's stories.

It's likely Hesiod wrote his poems down or dictated them. This is different from how traveling poets usually shared their stories. Writing them down helped keep his personal style clear. An ancient writer named Pausanias even said he saw an old lead tablet with Hesiod's Works carved into it.

Hesiod's Personality

Hesiod's poems show him as someone who was often argumentative. He could be suspicious and had a dry sense of humor. He was careful with money and didn't seem to like women much. He was also very interested in right and wrong. He wondered how a fair god could let bad people succeed.

He was different from epic heroes. Instead, he focused on the farmer's life. But he could also praise kings in one poem and criticize them in another. This suggests he might have changed his style to fit his audience.

Stories About Hesiod

Many legends grew up about Hesiod over time. These stories are found in different ancient writings. Some famous ones include:

• A story about a singing contest between Homer and Hesiod.
• A biography of Hesiod by a writer named John Tzetzes.
• Information about Hesiod in an ancient encyclopedia called the Suda.

Hesiod's Death

There are two old stories about where Hesiod died and was buried. One story says that the Delphic oracle warned Hesiod he would die in Nemea. So, he ran away to Locris. But he was killed there at a temple to Zeus. This story shows how prophecies often come true, even if you try to avoid them.

Another story says Hesiod was buried in Orchomenus, a town in Boeotia. This story comes from a poem written soon after Hesiod's death. Later, people in Orchomenus even saw Hesiod as their town's founder. Writers tried to combine these two different stories.

When Did Hesiod Live?

Modern Mount Helicon. Hesiod once described his nearby hometown, Ascra, as "cruel in winter, hard in summer, never pleasant."

In ancient Greece, people first thought poets like Orpheus and Musaeus were the oldest. Then came Hesiod and Homer. Later, many Greek writers started to think Homer lived before Hesiod.

Today, most experts agree that Homer probably lived before Hesiod. But there are good arguments for both sides. We know Hesiod lived before many other famous Greek poets. This helps us guess that he lived no later than about 650 BC.

We also know he probably lived no earlier than 750 BC. This is because his poems mention a special place called Delphi. This place didn't become very important until around 750 BC. He also lists rivers that flow into the Black Sea. This area was explored by Greek settlers starting in the 8th century BC.

Hesiod mentions winning a poetry contest in Chalcis. He won a tripod prize there. This contest might have happened around 730–705 BC. This timeline fits with what we know about Hesiod. He might have won the prize for his poem Theogony.

Hesiod's Works

A drawing from an old book of Hesiod's works (1701).

Three main poems are believed to have been written by Hesiod. These are Works and Days, Theogony, and Shield of Heracles. We only have small pieces of other poems that were said to be his. All his surviving works are written in the epic style, like Homer's poems.

However, many experts now think Shield of Heracles was not written by Hesiod. It was probably written later, around the 6th century BC. Some ancient critics also doubted if Theogony was truly his. But Hesiod does mention his own name in that poem.

Theogony and Works and Days are about different things. But they share a special way of using language and rhythm. This makes them different from Homer's work and the Shield of Heracles. They also both tell the same version of the Prometheus myth. Even these real poems might have had parts added to them later.

Hesiod is sometimes called the "father of wise sayings" in poetry. He loved to organize and explain things. Ancient Greek poetry often had deep thoughts. Hesiod, like Homer, was very interested in big questions. These included ideas about fairness from the gods and how human society began.

Hesiod often wrote from the point of view of ordinary people. He complained about unfair rulers. His writing style has been called "grumpy but dignified." But as mentioned before, he could change his tone for different audiences.

In Works and Days, he describes human history in different "ages." He talks about a golden time when life was easy and good. Then, things got worse through the silver, bronze, and Iron Ages. But he added a heroic age between the bronze and iron ages. This shows how he tried to please different groups of people.

Theogony

The Theogony is usually thought to be Hesiod's earliest poem. Most experts believe that Hesiod wrote both Theogony and Works and Days. As one scholar put it, both poems show a similar personality. This is someone who is a bit grumpy, likes to think, and feels the strong presence of the gods.

The Theogony tells the story of how the world began (cosmogony). It also explains how the gods came to be (theogony). It starts with Chaos, Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (the underworld), and Eros (Love). The poem is very interested in the family trees of the gods.

Hesiod's stories about the gods became the accepted versions for all Greeks. This poem is the oldest known source for the myths of Pandora, Prometheus, and the Golden Age. Many people believe that Hesiod's creation myths were influenced by stories from the Middle East. These ideas might have spread through Greek trading towns.

Works and Days

The first lines of Works and Days from a book made in the 1500s.

Works and Days is a long poem with over 800 lines. It teaches two main ideas. First, everyone has to work. Second, if you are willing to work hard, you will succeed. Experts think this poem was written during a time when farming was difficult in Greece. This led many Greeks to travel and start new colonies.

This poem might have been influenced by older teaching poems. These came from places like Sumer, Babylon, and Egypt.

Works and Days describes the five Ages of Man. It also gives advice and wisdom. It encourages an honest life of hard work. It criticizes lazy people and unfair judges. It also talks about gods who watch over the earth, seeing what is fair and unfair. The poem says that work is the source of all good things. Both gods and people dislike those who are lazy.

Other Poems by Hesiod

Besides Theogony and Works and Days, many other poems were once thought to be by Hesiod. Today, experts are not sure if he wrote them. These works are called the "Hesiodic corpus."

One of these works, the Shield of Heracles, has survived completely. It tells a story about the hero Heracles.

Another important poem was the Catalogue of Women. This poem listed mortal women who had children with gods. It also traced the family lines of these unions.

Other poems sometimes linked to Hesiod include:

• Megalai Ehoiai: A longer poem similar to the Catalogue of Women.
• Wedding of Ceyx: About Heracles at a wedding, known for its riddles.
• Melampodia: A poem about famous seers (people who could see the future).
• Precepts of Chiron: A teaching poem with advice from the wise centaur Chiron to young Achilles.
• Astronomia: A poem about stars and the sky.

Depictions of Hesiod

Monnus Mosaic

Monnus mosaic from the end of the 3rd century AD. This mosaic shows a figure identified as Hesiod.

This mosaic shows a portrait of Hesiod. It comes from a Roman house in Trier, Germany. It was made around the end of the 3rd century AD. The artist, Monnus, signed his name on it. The figure is clearly labeled "ESIO-DVS" (Hesiod). This is the only known true portrait of Hesiod.

Portrait Bust

A Roman bronze bust, or head sculpture, was found in Herculaneum. It was once thought to be of a philosopher named Seneca the Younger. But now, experts believe it is an imagined portrait of Hesiod. This idea was suggested by an art historian named Gisela Richter. Most scholars now agree with her.

Images for kids

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  Title page from an edition of Hesiod's Carmina (1823).

See also

In Spanish: Hesíodo para niños