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cameronius's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those texts that registers as somewhat dry in isolation but shines brightly along the rich continuum of the classic Greek tradition. Like most works of this sort from antiquity, I wish it were longer.
ctenophora's review against another edition
wouldve gone thru it if i had it on epub instead of pdf
whit_finney's review against another edition
3.0
“For all those that were born of Earth and Heaven were the most fearsome children, and their father loathed them from the beginning” (7).
Hesiod’s Theogony is more or less a giant family tree of the gods intermixed with short stories of how Zeus came into power (his allies, battles, etc.). Personally, I was most interested in the etiology of certain givens in Greek mythology. For instance, the most powerful oath for the gods is through the river Styx. Styx (the river personified) was honored this way because she was the first to desert the Titans and back the Olympians in the great war. Also named are the actual consequences for a god breaking the oath.
Works and Days is more of a ‘how to behave’ guide and gives many pieces of advice. This part was a little harder to get through, simply because of the ‘do’ or ‘don’t’ language. Hesiod in general is pretty dry. If you don’t have a keen interest in Greek Mythology, I would not recommend this book to you.
[3 stars, hardcopy read]
[#17 of Bookshelf Reread]
kimodified's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really know how to rate this. I found it difficult to read, to pay attention to.
Theogony is a long family tree of Greek gods origins and some side stories .... a LOT of names, and some repetition made it hard to follow. I read it for class and appreciate that it's one of the earliest written records of what was being passed down by oral tradition. And it did give me a little background for reading the Iliad & Odyssey & the Aeneid after.
Works and Days was really more like an Almanac, some of it had some great proverbs and general wisdom, other parts had some really bizarre advice. It was amusing for that.
In the end I kind of feel like I don't understand it's place in literature well enough to truly *appreciate* it ... sorry, Hesiod.
Theogony is a long family tree of Greek gods origins and some side stories .... a LOT of names, and some repetition made it hard to follow. I read it for class and appreciate that it's one of the earliest written records of what was being passed down by oral tradition. And it did give me a little background for reading the Iliad & Odyssey & the Aeneid after.
Works and Days was really more like an Almanac, some of it had some great proverbs and general wisdom, other parts had some really bizarre advice. It was amusing for that.
In the end I kind of feel like I don't understand it's place in literature well enough to truly *appreciate* it ... sorry, Hesiod.
mooki02's review against another edition
4.0
i read this for school
my thoughts: the end where it gets oddly specific about certain days to do certain things is the funniest shit. i will now be opening a jar on the fourth day.
my thoughts: the end where it gets oddly specific about certain days to do certain things is the funniest shit. i will now be opening a jar on the fourth day.
harryeustace118's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
4.0
4.3 stars. So THIS is where so many of the stories come from!