A review by davidpc83
Theogony, Works and Days by Hesiod

4.0

 

“Works and Days” was basically a how-to-be successful in your life / guide for the ancient Greek men. It is a mix of moral standards of that time (although many would not be considered outdated), practical ways to farm and live off the land (and not die during winter for example), how to build and have a home, but also what we would call superstitions but to the ancient Greeks probably took seriously (i.e. lucky days for a baby to be born, or to do a specific errand, etc). It was an interesting text to read to get a glimpse into what the expectations were for living back then as an ancient Greek (man).

Theogony is Greek for “the genealogy or birth of the gods.” It is exactly that - it tells the story of how the world came to be and how the Greek gods as we know them played a part in it (as well as other Greek entities/monsters) and who was related to who, etc. It goes into some of the plots involving the characters (ex: Zeus leading his siblings to take down the Titans), but for the most part is a summary of all these events, so not nothing feels fully fleshed out. It’s more of a straight-forward telling of WHAT happened, not how or why, etc. I imagine that would be told in fuller detail with their own individual stories and retellings orally. But this gives the framework.