2 most important works of HESIOD: The Works and the Days and Theogony
The most important works of Hesiod are works such as "The jobs and the days" and his"Theogony", a key work the genesis and genealogy of the Greek gods. At unPROFESOR.com we tell you more about them.
Hesiod (700 BC) is considered the first figure of Greek antiquity who can be called a philosopher, in addition to being the father of didactic Greek poetry. He was a poet and philosopher who opened Greek philosophy previously to the pre-Socratic philosophers, considering himself the author of that transition from mythos to logos, that is, the move from explaining the events of the universe through mythology to doing so through reason.
In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we tell you what the most important works of Hesiod and why he is the first philosopher of antiquity.
Index
- Who was Hesiod and what did he do?
- The most important works of Hesiod
- What was Hesiod's philosophy?
Who was Hesiod and what did he do?
Before talking about the works of Hesiod, it is important that we clarify what wise man we are dealing with.
Hesiod of Ascra was a classical poet and philosopher who, along with Homer, is considered one of the transmitters of mythological tradition in a literary way through his poetic works. Both belong to the period called the Greek Middle Ages, a time of great importance for the greek cultural development by laying the foundations of what would be classical Greek civilization.Hesiod's literary work was transmitted orally as a literacy and civilizing element, giving answers to numerous questions about the origin of the world, the gods or the meaning of life, death or other topics of a moral nature.
Furthermore, Hesiod raises in his poems the origin of the cosmos and the gods, This being a first approximation to what Tales of Miletus He considered the main object of philosophy: to tell and transmit the truth as a command from the gods.
The most important works of Hesiod.
Hesiod is the author of two works of Greek epic. In them he used the dactylic hexameter as a metric line, considering himself as the father of didactic Greek poetry. Hesiod's poems show a most complete vision of the world by presenting the gods, ancestors and Greek values in a world ordered to the measure of the dignity of man (timé, aidós), in an environment of coexistence with a broad structure (philia) and with an egalitarian criterion to regulate that coexistence (tò eikes).
Here we leave you a review of the most important works of Hesiod.
the jobs and the days
One of his works is "The jobs and the days", a poem of 828 hexameters, is a reflection on the hard work of the Boeotian peasants, in addition to highlighting the injustice in which they live.
Theogony
But his most famous work is his "Theogony". This poem has about a thousand hexameter verses. This poem is a didactic poem about genesis of the Greek gods and their genealogy, representing these mythical beings as phenomena of Nature.
This work establishes that the origin of the cosmos and that of human beings, that is, cosmogony and anthropogony, is in Greek mythology through good and justice, these being qualities typical of Zeus.
The "Theogony" of Hesiod constitutes one of the classic poems with the most cultural, artistic and theological impact. Thus, many of the creationist elements that appear in this work can be found in many other literary works throughout. throughout History, even considering that there are certain similarities with the Book of Genesis of the Ancient Will.
What was Hesiod's philosophy?
Now that we know the works of Hesiod, let's get to know better the contributions that this wise man made. According to Professor Sánchez de la Torre, Hesiod is a philosopher because he manages to translate mythological language into ideological language and the latter manages to translate it into political language. An action that allows the study of ideological superstructures. Through works such as "Theogony" Hesiod carefully studies what the nature of things is like, analyzing the origin and genesis of phenomena.
One of Hesiod's objectives is distinguish between what is true and what is false. The truth makes it possible for the human being to survive by being able to discern between what is true and appearances.
Hesiod used poetry to capture all his philosophical knowledge. A knowledge in which justice and equity constantly appear, the former being considered equal treatment. For him, justice is based on the dialectical tension between chaos and cosmos, reaching the order from a disorder and Zeus being the one who watches over being and non-being and dictating laws positive. Both these laws and the messages of the Muses are basic to achieving social harmony.
The poetic and the mythological in Hesiod have a legal support, Justice being what provides a rationalizing order to society.
Everything explained by Hesiod in his works has led to considering his philosophy as objective existential philosophy since it allows events to be explained through their internal causality, that is, their genesis, and the reality of the human being through his efforts to survive.
If you want to read more articles similar to Hesiod: most important works, we recommend that you enter our category of Philosophy.
Bibliography
- ALSINA CLOTA, Josep, et al. Hesiod, prophet and thinker. Convivium, 1956, p. 115-143.
- KLINGER, Friedrich. Hesiod's idea of justice to Saint Augustine. Journal of political studies, 1953, no 72, p. 23-36.
- MILES, Jorge. The first forms of philosophizing in the poetry of Hesiod of Boeotia. In Annals of the University of Chile. 1955. p. ag. 7-19.
- MIRALLES, Carlos. Hesiod on the origins of man and the meaning of the Works and Days. Bulletin of the Institute of Hellenic Studies, 1975, vol. 9, no. 1, p. 3-36.
- SÁNCHEZ DE LA TORRE, Ángel: Hesiod (8th century BC. C.), Editions of the. Orto, Philosophical Library 145, Madrid, 2012
