Analysis of Hesiod's Works and Days

In Hesiod’s Theogony, the Greek family relationships were often a repeated cycle between the husband, wife and their children. Based on the generations including Ouranos, all the men that came to rule automatically loathed their child, because they believed their children would take away their power. Since this behavior was similarly recurring every generation, the women were often forced to create wicked plans involving their children’s rise to power. The cycle of power, deceit and achievement created by the families in the first generation of Greek mythology became dominant characteristics that future generations would inherit.

Hesiod’s versions of the Prometheus/Pandora story and the book of Genesis’s story of Eve’s act of eating the forbidden fruit both introduce a female figure whose actions are connected with the seeming introduction of evil into the world. At first glance, it appears that the Genesis story is more compelling than Hesiod’s account at explaining the origin of evil because its monotheistic structure makes the logic behind the evils far more clear and straightforward than Hesiod’s logic. The act of disobedience by Eve seems fully her own fault while God (Yahweh) is faultless. However, Genesis is too simple because the story of Prometheus/Pandora is far more complex. The Hesiod story of Prometheus/Pandora is more compelling than Genesis because the conflict allowed disputes between the gods in its polytheistic worldview rather than one god making Hesiod more compelling at explaining the evils of the world.

This passage is from Hesiod’s Works and Days. It describes the birth of Pandora and exactly how she was created. Works and days is a didactic poem by Hesiod that embodies the experiences of his daily life and work, forming a sort of shepherd's calendar, interwoven with episodes of fable, allegory, advice and personal history. This passage begins with Zeus ordering the lame God Hephaestus to create Pandora from clay.

Action from necessity is a constantly recurring theme in Thucydides’ The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. A sentiment used to explain the growth of the Athenian Empire which some Athenians espoused to an assembly at Sparta best quantifies necessity, “. . . we were necessarily compelled at first to advance the hegemony to where it is—especially by fear, and then by honor, and later by benefit.” (Selected Passages 1.75.3). This claim, referred to as the Athenian Thesis, is used to advance the two following implications: all states act with the motivations of fear, honor and interest and no one can condemn a state for doing so. The Athenian Thesis influences the way many of the Athenian elite structure their patterns of reasoning in both noticeable and subtle ways.

Hesiod after the slave system, on the one hand, is poor, on the other – his ideals related to enrichment in the old and new sense. His assessment of life is full of pessimism, but at the same time of labor optimism and hope that a happy life comes through constant activity. First of all, the nature for him is a source of benefits, but Hesiod is a big fan of its beauty.

It is interesting to note then, that the argument between Agamemnon and Achilles finds a parallel right at the end of the same book in the fight between Zeus and his wife Hera. This produces a somewhat suprising effect, the first chapter of an epic that is originally about a foreign military campaign is bookended by scenes of internal conflict: dissent within the ranks of the Greek army and a domestic dispute among the immortals. Even

In Book I, Socrates states that "Injustice... causes civil war, hatred, and fighting among themselves, while justice brings friendship and a

As Hephaestus is notified of Thetis’ arrival, he explores what their relationship has meant to him. Hephaestus recalls that “Thetis saved my life when the mortal pain came on me after my great fall…” (P. 480) After Hephaestus falls out of Zeus’ good graces, Thetis is able to lend her helping hand, displaying the hierarchical dynamic between the gods. The gods are indebted to each other, the likely reason that Hephaestus felt as though he needed to make Thetis the ornate shield. The duty and obligation to each other fuels the mutualistic relationships between the gods. Thetis’ motivation to help Hephaestus was not solely out of kindness; rather Thetis saw the opportunity to make a strategic move and put Hephaestus in her debt, knowing that she very well could use his services in her future. Hephaestus describes the pain that he felt as “mortal pain” signifying a distinction between the discomforts and vulnerability of mortals and gods.

Euripides sends the message through his characters that human character is altered by suffering. During the pressures of war when humans are subject to harsh necessity, human nature has a new range of behaviors, chaotic and uncontrollable. Behind Jason and Medea Euripides wanted the audience to see that the spreading of expedience and revenge, when unchecked by culture or religion, would bring about the Peloponnesian War (Arrowsmith 361).

Hesiod’s Theogony has transcended generations, delivering to vast audiences the traditional stories of the Greek gods as well as ancient Greek conceptions of the world. One particularly well known aspect of the Theogony, the section that tells the tale of Prometheus, is unique in that it has little intrinsic worth; its value is in its ability to enhance other stories and conceptions. Across the globe, people know well the story of the one who deceived Zeus and stole fire for man, but few recognize its role in Hesiod’s work as a whole. The story of Prometheus serves two primary purposes for Hesiod and his audience. First, it solidifies Zeus’s position as king of the gods, providing one of the first characterizations of his temperament, and

In Ancient Greece, tensions were always high as city-states competed for resources and territories, which led to constant battles between city-states in an attempt to steal resources or territories. There are also periods where city-states banded together to fight a common enemy, like the Persians, the Trojans, or other city-states. This means that warfare was an integral part of life in ancient greece. This meant that warfare frequently appeared in classic greek literature, such as the Iliad and Ajax, although different authors have different interpretations about warfare which is shown through their work of literature, with the Iliad having warfare as a glorified battle, while Ajax is about an uncompromising hero who turned mad which driven him to commit suicide.

Regardless of the time frame, Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s epic the Iliad share both a copious amount of similarities and differences. For example, many common themes such as heroism, fate, and destiny are apparent in both works. Within the Aeneid and the Iliad, it is seen that the wars going on during that time were glorious that is why the role of gods were significant in leading both Aeneas and Achilles and influencing fate. In both texts, it is clear from the beginning that the role of the gods is to make Aeneas and Achilles fulfill their journey The Iliad focuses on the end of the Trojan War and the damaging power, while the Aeneid is focused during the aftermath of the war and underlies the foundation for the new civilization. This paper will address and argue the comparison of the role of gods and how each of the authors representation of the gods have influence on the lives of mortals.

Virgil’s The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The poem details the journey of Aeneas and his men after they are forced to flee burning Troy and as they wander the seas in search of land suitable to found a new Troy. Throughout the many books, the Trojans suffer through the Trojan War, the loss of their home, fierce storms, horrible monsters, and the wrath of the gods. A major theme of The Aeneid is human suffering as the characters in the poem experience the full front of despair and pain.

A leaders determination and will to do something good can lead to doing unwanted things. The “principal” of a society might not plan on doing things to affect others, instead they try to do things to improve the society. But while doing so a person can cause serious harm. For example Oedipus the King, who was raised by a Shepherd and a queen, finds out that he was adopted. He also discovers that he had been cursed by a Sphinx. He knew that due to this curse his fate would lead him to marrying his mother and killing his father. Obviously this was not wanted so to avoid this from happening he travels to Thebes to try and conquer the Sphinx. On his way to Thebes he runs into trouble with this man and ends up killing him. When he arrives to Thebes he later becomes the hero and leader of the society for solving the riddle to the curse. He finds a beautiful girl named Jocasta, marries her, and even has four children with her. Later Oedipus realizes that Laius, the guy he had killed due to the road rage was his birth father and the lady whom he had married was his mother. This represents how a leaders determination can affect not only a society but a group of people while having good intentions.

MacKay, L.A. "Antigone, Coriolanus and Hegel." Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 93 (1962): 166-174. Web. 19 Mar 2012. JSTOR <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/283759?uid=2&uid=4&sid=47698786493307>