The Theogony

By Hesiod

Samuel Pepys was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II.
The detailed private diary Pepys kept is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilder Publications, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781515451921

Hesiod

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet; Classical Myth; Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization; and many other books.

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The Theogony

by Hesiod

© 2021 SMK Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, used, or transmitted in any form or manner by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express, prior written permission of the author and/or publisher, except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

Hardcover ISBN 13: 978-1-5154-2705-6

Trade Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-6172-0851-5

E-book ISBN 13: 978-1-5154-5192-1

The Theogony

(1-25) From the Heliconian Muses let us begin to sing, who hold the great and holy mount of Helicon, and dance on soft feet about the deep-blue spring and the altar of the almighty son of Cronos, and, when they have washed their tender bodies in Permessus or in the Horse’s Spring or Olmeius, make their fair, lovely dances upon highest Helicon and move with vigorous feet. Thence they arise and go abroad by night, veiled in thick mist, and utter their song with lovely voice, praising Zeus the aegis-holder and queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-eyed Athene, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth-holder who shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and quick-glancing Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold, and fair Dione, Leto, Iapetus, and Cronos the crafty counsellor, Eos and great Helius and bright Selene, Earth too, and great Oceanus, and dark Night, and the holy race of all the other deathless ones that are for ever. And one day they taught Hesiod glorious song while he was shepherding his lambs under holy Helicon, and this word first the goddesses said to me—the Muses of Olympus, daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis:

(26-28) ‘Shepherds of the wilderness, wretched things of shame, mere bellies, we know how to speak many false things as though they were true; but we know, when we will, to utter true things.’

(29-35) So said the ready-voiced daughters of great Zeus, and they plucked and gave me a rod, a shoot of sturdy laurel, a marvellous thing, and breathed into me a divine voice to celebrate things that shall be and things there were aforetime; and they bade me sing of the race of the blessed gods that are eternally, but ever to sing of themselves both first and last. But why all this about oak or stone?

(36-52) Come thou, let us begin with the Muses who gladden the great spirit of their father Zeus in Olympus with their songs, telling of things that are and that shall be and that were aforetime with consenting voice. Unwearying flows the sweet sound from their lips, and the house of their father Zeus the loud-thunderer is glad at the lily-like voice of the goddesses as it spread abroad, and the peaks of snowy Olympus resound, and the homes of the immortals. And they uttering their immortal voice,

Reviews for The Theogony

[sashame-485567 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The most classic/authoritative account of ancient Greek cosmology.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Both of these works are very short.Theogony offers a genealogy of the gods, and an explanation of the order in which they were born. Though it is very short, it is also very hard to follow as it assumes a certain amount of prior knowledge of the gods and relationships. (For coursera course Greek and Roman Mythology.)Works and Days, on the other hand, offers practical advise for a man on how to succeed in life as a farmer. When to plow and plant, harvest, and how to store. When to marry, how to treat neighbors, etc. It is very interesting to read what is essentially a short almanac summing up the year of a Greek farmer.

[lukerik-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Theogony would perhaps be of greatest interest to a student of the Greek myths, and perhaps they might notice the lack of an index in this edition. What I found most interesting is the language he uses to describe Zeus. We wouldn’t find much of that out of place in our own descriptions of God. The creation of woman also has some interesting parallels in Genesis. At other points it’s pick you own god time as he waxes lyrical about Hecate. I would image that the standard of the poetry is high in the original Greek but that is of course lost here so parts read almost as simple lists of names. It made me realise how much we must have lost here in England. Imagine what we’d know if the Celts had been literate.Works and Days is a very different kettle of fish. It rambles about and degenerates towards the end but it gives a much clearer eye into the mind of the poet. He seems to hate the real world (look at the subject matter of Theogony). He’s bitter. His blames his brother for taking his land. Who knows if the accusations are true. He hates women and the way he intersperses his condemnation of his brother with his comments on them makes me suspect he has been cuckolded.I’ve read a lot but never anything like these poems. Unique pieces of work. Best of all I think is being able to read something that is just so damn old. 2700 years of the text being copied and stored and read and added to and edited and passed on and translated and printed and sold so I can read the words of a man who stands in time closer to the Stone Age than he does to me.

[norabelle414 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

M. L. West translation - I had to read Theogony for my Coursera class, but I figured I might as well read Works and Days too, while I had it from the library.Theogony: A narrative detailing the birth of the universe and the gods. Very interesting and relevant to my course. I knew most of the stories already, but I had never read the original.Works and Days: This is kind of boring, but HILARIOUS if you read it as Hesiod trying to tell his little brother what to do, which it is. He tells his brother everything from what time during the year to plant his crops, to what kind of hat to wear when going outside in February, to where to pee. It has little blurbs about the gods sometimes, but mostly it is just a glimpse into everyday life for the Greeks in Hesiod's time. I can see why it was not assigned for my particular class, which was about Greek mythology specifically and not everyday Greek life.

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's not my favorite, by far, when it comes to works related to Greek or Roman Mythology. In truth, it's a bit of a tricky read, and downright tedious at times. Still, the two works do serve important purposes within that area of literature, so I can definitely appreciate them even if I don't truly enjoy them. The good notes helped with that as well.

[heidilove_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A must-have for mythology investigation