See Also: Hesiod(encyclopedia)

Hesiod (sh)




flourished งใ 700 BC

Greek poet.

One of the earliest Greek poets, he is often called the father of Greek didactic poetry. A native of Boeotia, in central Greece, he may have been a professional reciter of poetry. Two complete epics have survived: the Theogony, relating stories of the gods, and the Works and Days, describing peasant life and expressing his views on the proper conduct of men. His works reveal his essentially serious outlook on life and portray a less glamorous world than Homer's. His poems won renown during his lifetime, and the power of his name was such that epics by others were later attributed to him.