This study reveals the unity of Hesiod's vision of the Cosmos by reading both his poems as two complementary halves of a whole embracing the human and divine cosmos. In the Theogony and Works and Days, Hesiod, roughly contemporary with Homer, does not describe the deeds of the heroes. He provides instead the earliest comprehensive account of the genesis of the Greek gods and the nature of human life that became the foundation for later Greek literature and philosophy.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"...an excellent scholarly book abounding in insights and informed by a vast scholarship. Highly recommended." Choice
"Clay's valuable book should become essential reading on Hesiod and archaic Greek poetry." New England Classical Journal
"This is a virtuoso performance by a scholar whose knowledge of Hesiod few can match. It is a book that first-time readers of Hesiod, including students, can profit from, while it challenges recent critical and scholaraly perspectives." Classical World, Robert Lamberton, Washington University in St. Louis
"passionate, well-argued, deeply researched, driven by fresh perspectives which will challenge, provoke and excite" - Stephen Scully, Department of Classical Studies, Boston University
Book Description
Reads Hesiod's poems as complementary halves of a whole embracing the divine and human cosmos.
About the Author
Jenny Strauss Clay is Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Wrath of Athena (1983; 0691065748) and The Politics of Olympus (1989; 0691067759).
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