Hesiod

Hesiod (Ancient Greek Ἡσίοδος [Hēsíŏdŏs]; New Greek Ησίοδος; Latin Hēsiodus) was a poet of the Ancient Greece. The dating of him around the year 700 a. C. is disputed. Some authors have also considered him as the first Greek philosopher.

Timeline

Since antiquity, the chronological relationship between Homer and Hesiod was discussed. Xenophanes and Philochorus belonged to the group of authors who placed Homer before Hesiod. The Contest, a very late work, supposed that they were contemporaneous with each other. On the other hand, Ephorus of Cime, Lucio Accio and the Chronicle of Paros said that Hesiod had been earlier.

Current research tends to place Hesiod chronologically as later than Homer, placing his birth around the second half of the 8th century BCE. C. or the first of the VII century B.C. C. There is agreement that he was before Simonides of Ceos, since it is considered evident that he was inspired by verses from The works and days , by Hesiod. On the other hand, it is not certain that he was prior to Archilochus of Paros, since it is possible that the coincidences that occur between the work of both may be due to the fact that both used a common source.

Biography

The biographical data of Hesiod have been obtained mainly from what he himself says in his own works, with the exception of the fact of death (which comes from Aristotle).

Hesiod's father was engaged in the coastal trade in Cumae, on the west coast of Anatolia, where he tried to make his fortune but, ruined, had to return to the land of his parents: Boeotia. There, in the small town of Ascra, he was granted some land and he devoted himself to farming and herding, and it was probably where Hesiod was born. He spent his childhood and adolescence also dedicating himself to agriculture and herding, together with his brother Perses, with whom he ended up facing due to the inheritance they received. Apparently, Perses had squandered his share quickly and entered into a lawsuit with Hesiod. The court of justice agreed with Perses and Hesiod had to give him part of what he had received as an inheritance from him. Later, Perses was once again in a precarious financial situation and tried to resort to the help of his brother, who even threatened to go to court again, but he refused to help him.

Hesiod tells how he decided to become a poet when the muses appeared to him while he was with his flock at the foot of Mount Helicon.

He went to Chalcis to attend some funerary games in honor of Amphidamas, and there he participated in a poetic contest in which he won. He obtained as a prize a two-handled tripod which he offered to the muses of the Helicon.

He died in Ascra. A short time later, Ascra was attacked by the Thespians, who destroyed the city. The survivors went to Orchomenus and took with them the ashes of Hesiod, which they placed in the agora, next to the tomb of Minias, the city's eponymous hero.

Legend

There are other data about Hesiod that were transmitted by other ancient sources: the Homer and Hesiod Contest, a Life of Hesiod, the article of the Suda, a story by Plutarch and another story by Pausanias. However, these data are considered doubtful.

The Hesiod and Homer Contest tells of a poetic competition in which the public proclaimed Homer the winner but the judges awarded the prize to Hesiod for having sung peace while Homer had sung la war.

A legend about the death of Hesiod said that an oracle had warned Hesiod that he should avoid passing through Nemea, so he changed his route to try to avoid the danger, but in Aenoe, in Locris Ozolia, he covered up for Hesiod. a man who had seduced the daughter of his host. Her brothers, to take revenge on her, lured Hesiod to the sanctuary of Zeus Nemeo, where they killed him, along with his servant, and threw him into the sea. The body was picked up by dolphins, who left it in Rion, located next to Molicria at the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. The Locrians picked up the body, pursued their tormentors, killed them, and threw them into the sea. Hesiod's body was buried in a place kept secret by the inhabitants of Naupactus, since those of Orcómeno wanted to take the remains. But, according to Alcidamante's account, those who killed Hesiod fled in a boat, until Zeus struck them down.

Pausanias points out that some admitted as true and others did not that the cause of the crime was the dishonor of the young woman, and tells that those of Orchomenus, advised by the Pythia, followed the flight of a crow, which led them to the grave of Hesiod, and that's how they got their remains.

It is assumed that the origin of the legend is the rivalry between Naupactus and Orchomenus because both places were considered as the tomb of Hesiod.

Works

Hesiodo and the Musa, by Gustave Moreau (Museum of Orsay, Paris).

Hesiodi Ascraei quaecumque exstant (Writings gathered from Hesiodo the astute1701.

His works, like those of Homer, were already the object of the sixth century B.C. C. of study and veneration.

Hesiod put in writing and ordered the entire mythological body transmitted orally until then. Later classical mythographers were based on his work, thanks to which much of it has been preserved.

Many works have been attributed to him, but currently only Theogony is considered authentic, in which he relates the genealogy of the gods of Greek mythology in a prophetic way (written in verses), as written in 'Works and Days, the first 54 verses of The Shield of Heracles — the the rest is considered apocryphal — and the Catalogue of Women (also called Eeas). Of the latter, only fragments remain.

Other works that were attributed to him and of which fragments are preserved are:

• Tips of Quirón or Chiron Lessons.
• Ceix's wedding.
• Great Eeas (Mεγαλαι εοιαι).
• Melampodia (MINελαμποδεια).
• Descenso de Pirítoo
• Ideo dactilos.
• Great jobs (Mεγαλα εργα).
• Egyptian (γγίμιος).
• The potters.
• Ornitomancia.
• Astronomy.
• Other fragments.

Eponymy

• The lunar crater Hesiodus bears this name in honor of the poet.