Hesiod and Theognis

Hesiod is an early Greek poet, whose work gives an insight into the creation myths of Greek society. 
 
Theognis, writing c.525 bce, was an aristocrat. 
 
 
Dorothea Wender is a well-know translator.

Together the poetry of Hesiod and Theognis offers a superb introduction to the life and thought of ancient Greece. Hesiod's Theogoney (c. 725 BCE) is a powerful creation myth: an epic, bloody tale of dark forces, sex and violence, tracing the history of the world from primeval Chaos to the establishment of Zeus as supreme king of the gods. In contrast, Hesiod's Works and Days, written to advise his indolent brother Perseus, is an intriguing, sophisticated combination of ethical maxims, social and political comment and superstitious law. Elegiac rather than epic, the works of Theognis - written some two centuries after Hesiod - include theological speculations, love lyrics and moral advice for his protégé Kurnos, reflecting the moods and themes of an aristocratic poet who mourned a changing Greek society.

Hesiod

A. E. Stallings

Stallings's new translation of Hesiod's Works and Days - witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant - is not to be missed. Toil; corruption in high places; injustice; the prevailing sense that things are getting worse - none of these prevents the Muses' chosen poets from doing their indispensable and soul-refreshing work

A. E. Stallings brings Hesiod back to life in her rhyming translation of Works and Days, which mingles farming tips, myths and evocation of the seasons: 'when first the cuckoo cuckoos in the oak'. Stallings's lively and learned notes make it a treat

A. E. Stallings new verse translation of Works and Days for Penguin is a splendid development upon a recent flurry of Hesiod translation and poetic response ... Brilliantly sensitive ... Stallings's translation triumphs

Mixing rhyme and assonance, this is a Works and Days for the age of rap. By translating Hesiod as poetry, Stallings encourages us to realize that the poem should not just be the object of scholarly study, but can be read aloud for fun

Stallings is a true poet ... She finds enormous breadth and depth of resource in her open couplets ... No reader of the best poetry should miss this Works and Days

Stallings makes a home for Hesiod in the English poetic landscape, where he can live the sort of idiosyncratic life that he enjoys in Greek, at once timeless and contemporary ... In prose, she makes for an appealing guide, elegant and accessible, intelligent and breezy ... A wonderful book

A Brilliant rendition of a fountainhead epic ... For clarity and class and prosody that sings through its print, Stallings' Hesiod is unrivaled. Endear yourselves to the immortals and read this compelling translation that introduces with a formalist literary flourish that fragile Western Civilization which still, to this day, nurtures the best of artistic creation

Hesiod

Praise for Works and Days

Stallings's new translation of Hesiod's Works and Days - witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant - is not to be missed. Toil; corruption in high places; injustice; the prevailing sense that things are gettin ...

A. E. Stallings brings Hesiod back to life in her rhyming translation of Works and Days, which mingles farming tips, myths and evocation of the seasons: 'when first the cuckoo cuckoos in the oak'. Stallings's ...

A. E. Stallings new verse translation of Works and Days for Penguin is a splendid development upon a recent flurry of Hesiod translation and poetic response ... Brilliantly sensitive ... Stallings's translati ...

Stallings's new translation of Hesiod's Works and Days - witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant - is not to be missed. Toil; corruption in high places; injustice; the prevailing sense that things are gettin ...

A. E. Stallings brings Hesiod back to life in her rhyming translation of Works and Days, which mingles farming tips, myths and evocation of the seasons: 'when first the cuckoo cuckoos in the oak'. Stallings's ...

A. E. Stallings new verse translation of Works and Days for Penguin is a splendid development upon a recent flurry of Hesiod translation and poetic response ... Brilliantly sensitive ... Stallings's translati ...

Stallings's new translation of Hesiod's Works and Days - witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant - is not to be missed. Toil; corruption in high places; injustice; the prevailing sense that things are gettin ...

A. E. Stallings brings Hesiod back to life in her rhyming translation of Works and Days, which mingles farming tips, myths and evocation of the seasons: 'when first the cuckoo cuckoos in the oak'. Stallings's ...

A. E. Stallings new verse translation of Works and Days for Penguin is a splendid development upon a recent flurry of Hesiod translation and poetic response ... Brilliantly sensitive ... Stallings's translati ...

Books by Hesiod

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