A review by whit_finney
Theogony, Works and Days by Hesiod

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]