Works and days
Works and Days ( Greek Ἔργα καὶ ἡμέραι [Érga kaì hêmérai], Erga for short ) is an epic didactic poem by Hesiod and was written around 700 BC. It comprises 828 hexameters .
Literary starting point
A quarrel between Hesiod and his brother Perses is cited as the reason for the writing of Works and Days . Hesiod accused him of wanting to get rich illegally, and held against him his own way of life, which was geared to generate wealth through hard farm work. In this respect one can also speak of a kind of reminder poem, but this dispute among brothers is placed in a much broader context in the poem, which deals with the cosmic order, the history of the human race and its myths .
object
First the myth of Prometheus and the Pandora's box are described , then the five consecutive world ages ( golden , silver, bronze, heroic and brazen / iron ages); it follows the story of the falcon and the nightingale (the falcon stands for the king and the nightingale for the poet) and finally a vision of two realms: the realm of justice is opposed to the realm of hubris .
In the course of the didactic poem, Hesiod expands his extensive knowledge of farming activities, presenting them in the context of a detailed calendar and accompanied by useful advice for the farmer; This is how farm tools are described, the care for the cattle, the seeds and the harvest, etc. The harsh winter in the mountains of Greece is also described as true to life. He who shows justice and moderation is praised; in the end prosperity will be given to this. On the other hand, those who follow hubris excessively and hope for quick profit will lose everything.
Some philologists assume that works and days should be placed after Hesiod's other major work, the theogony . For this thesis, it is asserted that Hesiod's theogony was based on an Eris , but now postulates that there are two: one that stands for divisive controversy and one that represents sporting, constructive competition ( agon ).
reception
Works and Days had an after-effect on literary history that can hardly be overestimated. Many quotes, often sententious, have remained alive to the present day.
Works and days also play a major role in the study of history , as they describe life in the peasant society of archaic Greece. In contrast to the Homeric epics, which primarily show the aristocratic world, Hesiod's descriptions allow conclusions to be drawn about life just above the subsistence level: work in agriculture or the inheritance and its dangers are just as much a topic as debt and neighborly solidarity , which helped to ensure survival in the farming community. For Hesiod, the survival of his own little oiko was more important than participating in the political process in the polis .
literature
- Hans Diller : The poetic form of Hesiods Erga (= treatises of the humanities and social science class of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz. 1962, No. 2).
- Hesiod: Works and Days , translated and edited by Otto Schönberger, Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 2004. ISBN 3-15-009445-3
- Wilhelm Blümer : Interpretation of archaic poetry. The mythological parts of Erga Hesiods . 2 volumes. Aschendorff, Münster 2001. ISBN 3-402-05420-5
- K. Golla: Hesiod's “Erga”. Aspects of their mental physiognomy. (= Contributions to archeology, 351). de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 2016.
- Matthias Becker: The threat to the polis. Hesiod's "Works and Days" as testimony to literary communication of threats . (= Threatened Orders, 9). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2018. ISBN 978-3-16-156508-3