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spinescens's review against another edition
Glad I read this if only for providing context for the hilarious reviews it inspired.
theycallmelech's review against another edition
1.0
Hesiod really said women are the devil and he was absolutely right oompa loompa body ass bitch.
atlas_shruggs's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.0
I thought Theogony was interesting, it brought up a bunch of myths I was already aware of which was fun and listed some gods and goddesses I had never heard of before. But it was essentially just a list, a long list of names and events in a weird order that I will never remember.
Works and days was... Fine. For the most part it was just a sort of "how to live" guide, but then in line 369 Hesiod mentioned that "one who believes in a woman believes in cheats and deceivers" and he lost me after that.
Works and days was... Fine. For the most part it was just a sort of "how to live" guide, but then in line 369 Hesiod mentioned that "one who believes in a woman believes in cheats and deceivers" and he lost me after that.
byindie's review against another edition
2.0
Theogony
The muses appeared to Hesiod and, snickering, handed him a genealogy and told him to "go wild." This is the result.
Reviewing ancient texts is hard for me because, on the one hand, if I like that text/think it's slightly less painfully sexist than I expected/or am literally just reading a specific translation, I'll judge it based on that, but this is not one of those texts. I've not read any other translations (other than, perhaps, seeing the phrase 'decorated arse cheeks' on Tumblr--here it's 'arse-rigged.') I don't particularly like the text for anything other than the practical information that it provides on the Theoi (and even then, those snippets are rather few.)
But this one, lads, sucked. The two stars are for the readability of the translation and nothing else.
Hesiod is full of shit. Poetic shit, sure, but shit nonetheless. Call me a modern woman, but I'm rather going to enjoy tearing this text apart by calling myself a 'plague upon mortals' (it's better than being a 'fertile wife,' anyhow.) I am coming to this text as a pagan, and I am reading it, and I am looking and the words that Hesiod has put on the page, suitably honouring, perfectly respectful, and somehow I still can't seem to bring myself to like what he's written.
The story is all over the place, repetitive and give you whiplash as you read, but at least it's short and West did a phenomenal job of making it readable.
But, y'know, at least Hecate is a badass.
Works and Days
Capitalism, the poem.
Hesiod rags on this guy for not working hard enough and having unrealistic expectations, while simultaneously advising him on how best to live his life. It reminds me a lot of modern American capitalism. Also, for some reason, Hesiod thinks it's possible to control when someone gives birth. Top tip! The only good day to give birth to a girl is the 9th of the month! Who knew?
We also get some Pandora for the second time, because woman-hating is what we're about and Pandora is just the ideal scapegoat. Women, creating all strife, lazing off of men, and stealing from granaries, am I right?
Holy fucking dick, Hesiod.
(At least I can say this was really fun to make fun of.)
The muses appeared to Hesiod and, snickering, handed him a genealogy and told him to "go wild." This is the result.
Reviewing ancient texts is hard for me because, on the one hand, if I like that text/think it's slightly less painfully sexist than I expected/or am literally just reading a specific translation, I'll judge it based on that, but this is not one of those texts. I've not read any other translations (other than, perhaps, seeing the phrase 'decorated arse cheeks' on Tumblr--here it's 'arse-rigged.') I don't particularly like the text for anything other than the practical information that it provides on the Theoi (and even then, those snippets are rather few.)
But this one, lads, sucked. The two stars are for the readability of the translation and nothing else.
Hesiod is full of shit. Poetic shit, sure, but shit nonetheless. Call me a modern woman, but I'm rather going to enjoy tearing this text apart by calling myself a 'plague upon mortals' (it's better than being a 'fertile wife,' anyhow.) I am coming to this text as a pagan, and I am reading it, and I am looking and the words that Hesiod has put on the page, suitably honouring, perfectly respectful, and somehow I still can't seem to bring myself to like what he's written.
The story is all over the place, repetitive and give you whiplash as you read, but at least it's short and West did a phenomenal job of making it readable.
But, y'know, at least Hecate is a badass.
Works and Days
Capitalism, the poem.
Hesiod rags on this guy for not working hard enough and having unrealistic expectations, while simultaneously advising him on how best to live his life. It reminds me a lot of modern American capitalism. Also, for some reason, Hesiod thinks it's possible to control when someone gives birth. Top tip! The only good day to give birth to a girl is the 9th of the month! Who knew?
We also get some Pandora for the second time, because woman-hating is what we're about and Pandora is just the ideal scapegoat. Women, creating all strife, lazing off of men, and stealing from granaries, am I right?
Holy fucking dick, Hesiod.
(At least I can say this was really fun to make fun of.)
mikeykfranks's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting look at early Greek writing and mythology. Super misogynistic (but that comes with the territory, unfortunately).
jordansbookescape's review against another edition
3.0
I am not a fan of Hesiod. I realized this last year when I was supposed to read this for class. Needless to say, I didn't do it. But, as a classics major, I felt like I needed to read this even if I hated it.
Theogony wasn't too bad. I love genealogy and learning about the gods, so with the help of those I was somewhat able to ignore Hesiod's arrogance. However, I was not able to do the same when reading Works and Days. I can only take so much hatred towards women before I have to quit the book. I skimmed the majority of Works and Days and that's okay with me.
I wasn't a fan of this translation nor the format. Hesiod's voice doesn't work well in prose. Overall, I don't like Hesiod, but I'm glad I can finally say I've read his works.
Theogony wasn't too bad. I love genealogy and learning about the gods, so with the help of those I was somewhat able to ignore Hesiod's arrogance. However, I was not able to do the same when reading Works and Days. I can only take so much hatred towards women before I have to quit the book. I skimmed the majority of Works and Days and that's okay with me.
I wasn't a fan of this translation nor the format. Hesiod's voice doesn't work well in prose. Overall, I don't like Hesiod, but I'm glad I can finally say I've read his works.
musicdeepdive's review against another edition
3.75
Theogony is nice enough, but you can find more compelling versions of those stories elsewhere, in later works. Works and Days is the star of the show here, a very grounded poem that differs greatly from the vast imagination of Homer's worlds composed around the same time.