Hesiod: The rarest and oldest surviving account about the ancient Greek gods

Informationa bout Hesiod’s life is incredibly limited, with much of what is known about him mentioned in his own works.

He likely lived around the 8th century BCE, a period when Greek society was transitioning from the Dark Age into a more organized and literate civilization.

The exact dates of his life are uncertain, though scholars generally place him around the same time as the rise of the Greek polis, which began to emerge around the 700s BCE.

As a result, he lived during a crucial era of Greek history: when oral traditions were transitioned into the beginnings of written literature. 

His birthplace is believed to be the small, rugged village of Ascra, located in the region of Boeotia, which was known for its harsh climate and poor soil.

This rural environment explains much of Hesiod’s worldview, as his writings often reflected the struggles of a farming life.

Hesiod described himself as a shepherd who received a divine calling from the Muses while tending his flock on Mount Helicon.

Apparently, this spiritual encounter gave him the inspiration to write.  

However, unlike Homer, who focused on heroic epics, Hesiod’s work dealt with practical concerns.

Hesiod’s poetry did not elevate heroes, but rather it spoke to the ordinary man, offering guidance in a world governed by divine forces and the unpredictable nature of human existence.

Hesiod’s only two surviving works are Theogony and Works and Days. 

Theogony is a genealogical poem, which meant that it traced the origins and lineage of the gods.

Before Hesiod, the stories of the gods were scattered and often contradictory. His poem connected the disparate elements of Greek myth, showing how each god and being played a role in the grand structure of the cosmos. 

It begins with the primordial Chaos, a void from which the first gods emerged.

From Chaos came Gaia, the Earth, who then gave birth to Uranus, the Sky, and together they produced the first generation of Titans.

It then moves through generations of deities, explaining the birth of the Olympian gods and established the genealogy of their families.

Simply put, the poem was a systematic attempt to bring order to the vast and diverse myths surrounding the gods, offering a clear hierarchy and explaining the roles of key deities like Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Hades. 

Central to the poem is the climactic battle between Zeus and the Titans, known as the Titanomachy.

The Titans, who were the children of Uranus and Gaia, challenged the rule of Zeus and his Olympian siblings.

After a brutal struggle, Zeus emerged as the victor and established his dominance over the universe.

This theme of struggle for power was essential to Greek mythology, as it illustrated the volatile nature of divine rule and the eventual triumph of order over chaos.

Additionally, the poem introduced the concept of divine justice, where the actions of gods like Prometheus, who defied Zeus, led to punishment and the restoration of cosmic balance. 

In comparison, Works and Days is very different in tone and purpose. It is a didactic poem, addressed to Hesiod’s brother, Perses, in which he expresses his frustration with his brother's greed and laziness.

Hesiod warned Perses against idleness and injustice, urging him to embrace hard work as the only path to prosperity.

The poem emphasized the value of honest labor and condemned the corruption and unfair practices that plagued society.

Hesiod believed that divine justice, administered by Zeus, would eventually punish those who engaged in dishonest deeds. 

The poem also provides insights into agricultural life in ancient Greece. He provided specific advice on agricultural tasks, from plowing to harvesting.

The poem's detailed instructions gave practical guidance on how to navigate the hardships of the natural world.  

An important analogy used in the poem is the myth of the ‘Five Ages of Man’, which presented a view of humanity's gradual decline over time.

Hesiod described five distinct eras: the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Age of Heroes, and the Iron Age.

Each age represented a different stage of human existence, with the Golden Age being a time of peace and prosperity, while the Iron Age, in which Hesiod believed he lived, was marked by conflict, suffering, and moral decay.

As a result, it is possible to hear Hesiod's pessimistic view of the present world, where justice seemed absent, and people struggled under the weight of their own greed.

However, he also suggested that individual effort and righteousness could still lead to success, despite the challenges of the Iron Age. 

Hesiod’s and Homer’s works are very different even though they were written about the same time.

Homer’s epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey, focus on heroic warfare, adventure, and the lives of noble warriors.

He glorified the legendary deeds of individuals like Achilles and Odysseus.

Homer’s world was one of honor, glory, and the pursuit of personal greatness and his heroes followed a complex code of honor, where their reputations in life and death were paramount.

Consequently, Homer’s epics celebrated the values of the warrior elite, which showed their struggles and triumphs in grand and dramatic terms. 

In contrast, Hesiod’s work focused on the lives of ordinary people, offering a more grounded and practical view of existence.

While Homer’s heroes sought eternal glory, Hesiod’s vision was more concerned with survival, morality, and the harsh realities of life.

He did not elevate the actions of a single hero but instead reflected on how all men, regardless of status, faced challenges dictated by the gods and nature.

This difference in focus revealed a more universal and accessible worldview in Hesiod’s writings, one that spoke to the lives of the majority rather than an elite warrior class. 

Another significant difference between the two poets lay in their treatment of the divine.

In Homer’s works, the gods played a dynamic but often unpredictable role. As a result, they influenced battles and human fates based on their own personal whims and rivalries.

The gods in The Iliad and The Odyssey were powerful, but their behavior often mirrored that of the humans they watched over.

Hesiod, however, presented the gods in a more ordered and structured fashion.

The gods in Hesiod’s works acted as moral overseers, rewarding or punishing human behavior based on justice.

This led to a view of the gods in which they were less capricious and more involved in upholding order in the universe. 

Hesiod’s two writings played a surprisingly foundational role in shaping Greek thought.

Since his work provided a systematic account of the gods' origins and relationships, it helped unify and clarify Greek mythology.

In particular, Theogony offered a structured narrative of divine genealogy, which lay the foundation for how the Greeks understood their pantheon.

As a result, later writers and thinkers such as Pindar and Aeschylus drew upon Hesiod’s framework to craft their own stories, often building on the divine hierarchy he had established. 

Similarly, Hesiod’s focus on justice and morality in Works and Days also significantly impacted Greek philosophy.

His teachings about hard work, fairness, and the consequences of dishonesty were the earliest ideas about ethics and personal responsibility in Greek writing.

Philosophers such as Socrates and Plato later engaged with these concepts, debating the nature of justice and how individuals should live within society.

Hesiod’s emphasis on moral conduct, especially in a world where divine forces played a central role, consequently provided a basis for these philosophical inquiries.

His belief that human actions were judged by the gods resonated with the philosophical pursuit of understanding the relationship between fate, divine will, and human agency. 

In addition to his literary and philosophical influence, Hesiod’s works became a reference for rituals and cults dedicated to specific deities.

Priests and worshippers used Hesiod’s descriptions to better understand the attributes and domains of the gods they venerated.

This led to more organized and consistent forms of worship, where specific gods were honored for particular roles within the cosmos.

Moreover, Hesiod’s portrayal of divine justice influenced how Greeks viewed the intervention of gods in human affairs.