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lebelinconnu's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
saladfingers69's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hitbigbrainwithrock's review
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
evenstarwen's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
maryftay's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
brenticus's review
3.0
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 between the gods and Kronos. And Works and Days, while interesting, works better as a manual for a farmer than it does as a poem. They're useful to give context to other more interesting tales, but aren't great on their own.
The Penguin Classics edition also includes the Elegies of Theognis, which really doesn't fit well with Hesiod's works and honestly isn't very good. He's mostly trying to give advice to a friend, but instead spends a bunch of time complaining about the state of the world and how poor he is. He also swings wildly between opposite opinions several times throughout the text, so I have to wonder if he ended up having any useful advice at all. It's incredibly well edited, though, with tons of footnotes, marks indicated verses that are particularly interesting or of questionable authorship, and occasionally alternate prose translations of some obscure verses. So if you're interested in Theognis for some odd reason, this is a good edition to look for.
On that note, Wender's treatment of the texts is pretty good. She maintains most of the poetry first and foremost, which is rare for a lot of these works, and her footnotes help with particularly obscure epithets or references without being overwhelming. There's also a nice glossary at the back for a lot of untranslated Greek terms and gods that is handy for anyone new to the mythology. The introductions to each poem are a bit long but provide interesting backstory into the authors, the scholarly importance, and even a bit about how good or bad they are as poetry.
So overall, I would recommend reading Hesiod even though he kind of sucks, you should probably skip Theognis, and the Penguin Classics edition has good translation and editing so it's a good one to check out if you're interested.
The Penguin Classics edition also includes the Elegies of Theognis, which really doesn't fit well with Hesiod's works and honestly isn't very good. He's mostly trying to give advice to a friend, but instead spends a bunch of time complaining about the state of the world and how poor he is. He also swings wildly between opposite opinions several times throughout the text, so I have to wonder if he ended up having any useful advice at all. It's incredibly well edited, though, with tons of footnotes, marks indicated verses that are particularly interesting or of questionable authorship, and occasionally alternate prose translations of some obscure verses. So if you're interested in Theognis for some odd reason, this is a good edition to look for.
On that note, Wender's treatment of the texts is pretty good. She maintains most of the poetry first and foremost, which is rare for a lot of these works, and her footnotes help with particularly obscure epithets or references without being overwhelming. There's also a nice glossary at the back for a lot of untranslated Greek terms and gods that is handy for anyone new to the mythology. The introductions to each poem are a bit long but provide interesting backstory into the authors, the scholarly importance, and even a bit about how good or bad they are as poetry.
So overall, I would recommend reading Hesiod even though he kind of sucks, you should probably skip Theognis, and the Penguin Classics edition has good translation and editing so it's a good one to check out if you're interested.
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