Hesiod
M. L. West once claimed that "Greece is part of Asia;
Greek literature is a Near
Eastern literature" (Theogony, p. 31). This is more true of some
genres (types) of Greek literature than it
is of others, and naturally it is more true of the older Greek literature
than it is of the later stuff.
Hesiod is one of the first Greek writers whose work has survived. He
wrote probably around 700 BC, during the
Greek Archaic period. It is not
clear whether he wrote before or after Homer.
Two big pieces of writing survive: one is called the Theogony and the
other is called the Works and Days.
We know very little about Hesiod other than what you can see in these
two works. In the Theogony, Hesiod describes the beginning of the world
and the birth of the gods. In the
Works and Days, he describes the life of a farmer
(a pretty wealthy farmer) in Greece at this time.
To find out more about Hesiod, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
(Sorry, I can't find any kids' books about Hesiod. Let me know if you know about any).
Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod, with a translation and introduction by M. L. West (reprinted 1999). A long introduction explains who Hesiod was and what he had to say. Also includes the whole text, translated into English.
Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod, by Charles Penglase (1997). More discussion of the influence of West Asian myths on Greek ones.
