Describe Books During Hesiod and Theognis

ISBN:	0140442839 (ISBN13: 9780140442830)
Edition Language:	English URL http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hesiod/index.htm

Hesiod and Theognis Paperback | Pages: 176 pages

Description Concering Books Hesiod and Theognis

Hesiod, who lived in Boetia in the late 8th century BCE, is one of the oldest known of Greek poets. His Theogony contains a systematic genealogy of the gods from the beginning of the world & an account of the struggles of the Titans. In contrast, Works & Days is a compendium of moral & practical advice on husbandry, throwing unique light on archaic Greek society. As well as offering the earliest known sources for the myths of Pandora, Prometheus & the Golden Age, his poetry provides a valuable account of the ethics & superstitions of the society in which he lived. Unlike Homer, Hesiod writes about himself & his family. He stands out as the 1st personality in European literature. This new translation, by a leading expert on the Hesiodic poems combines accuracy with readability. It's accompanied by an introduction & explanatory notes.
Theognis of Megara (fl. 6th century BCE) was an ancient Greek poet. More than half of the extant elegiac poetry of Greece before the Alexandrian period is included in the 1,400 verses ascribed to Theognis.

Declare About Books Hesiod and Theognis

Title	:	Hesiod and Theognis
Author	:	Hesiod
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 176 pages
Published	:	February 22nd 1973 by Penguin Classics (first published -800)
Categories	:	Poetry. Classics. Fantasy. Mythology. Fiction. Philosophy

Rating About Books Hesiod and Theognis

Ratings: 3.69 From 380 Users | 33 Reviews

Comment On About Books Hesiod and Theognis

I'd already read Hesiod, at least Works & Days and the Theogony, but not Theognis and certainly not this translation. The reading was done in Springfield, Vermont, the book provided by my host.

Looked at three different translations. This one is the best, in my opinion. This contains Hesiods Theogony (2 stars), Hesiods Works and Days (5 stars) and Theogniss Elegies (3 stars). Contemporaries of Homer, not the most lauded of the classic Greek poets. Oh well. Still enjoyed it. Lots of minor gems in throughout but especially in Works and Days.

For anyone interested in Greek mythology, Hesiod is pretty much required reading. His Theogony provides one of the most comprehensive overviews of ancient Greek cosmology available from the time period, and his Works and Days provides insight into pre-classical Greek society that is fantastic context to put larger works like the Iliad against. That being said, Hesiod isn't a great poet. Theogony drolls on aimlessly for most of its lines, only occasionally lurching back to the main conflict

POC: noQueer: yes

Wender's translations are terrible (and especially changes the voice of Theognis into Billy Eichner's character, Craig Middlebrooks, from 'Parks and Rec'). Her introductions to each author, her notations, absolutely everything point to a mockery of the source material. She even goes as far as to write about the disdain of having to translate Hesiod -- why are you even bothering? At the very least, while Hesiod is far less interesting of a read and more jumbled, Theognis is much more entertaining

Greek poetry, fine. What I loved most about this collection was the translator's (Dorothea Wender) candor. She straight up says things like (and I'm paraphrasing here, obviously) "Yeah, these two Hesiod poems were written by different people. You can tell because one of them fucking sucks. Translating this was awful, so don't blame me if you hate it." One footnote reminds us that the poetry was just as tedious and repetitive in the source material. She also has notes like "I made some of these

Hesiod's works are classics among classics (and will teach you the detailed rules for taking a piss in ancient Greece!) but Theognis was a big surprise. He writes a number of brilliantly whiny and almost hilariously cynical sayings and short pieces, and his voice is really something different than my (meager) experience with the ancient Greeks thus far. I'd compare it more to Job in the Bible, or possibly even the bleakest classical Chinese poets. The obvious inspiration he had on Nietzsche is