Most, if not all, of ancient Greek history comes to us from Homer and Hesiod. The works by both differ greatly and each have had there own impact on our present day society. Surviving literature by Hesiod includes but are not limited to Works and Days and Theogony. Homer's works include the Iliad as well as Odyssey. Though along similar subject matter, the two authors differ in their styles and the characters they use in their writings. .
First, we need to look at Homer. Virtually nothing is known about Homer. It has been rumored that Homer was a woman, a group of writers, and also a blind man. Scholars tend to agree that he/she/they was/were Ionian and lived in the 9th or 8th century BC. It is believed that Homer composed his/her/their works, but never did write them to paper. Homer is said to be of the oral tradition, and thus inspired somebody to put his epic poems on paper. Ancient Greeks esteemed Homer's epic poems as symbols of Hellenistic unity and heroism and as sources of moral and practical instruction. .
Secondly, we must take a look at Hesiod. Hesiod has been called the father of Greek didactic poetry. Hesiod was a native of Boeotia, a district of central Greece. It is believed by scholars that he started as a rhapsodist ( professional reciter of poetry). It is through his days as a rhapsodist that he learned the techniques and vocabulary of the epic by memorizing and reciting heroic songs. Hesiod attributes his gifts of poetry to the Muses, said to have appeared to him while he was tending sheep. We know that his epics were highly regarded during his time because other bits of history have placed him at the funeral games of Amphidamas at Chalcis on the island of Euboea. Theogany is Hesiod's epic about the creation of the Gods. Though this work owes several significant episodes to Middle Eastern models, the Uranus-Cronos-Zeus succession approximates the pattern of Greek tragic trilogy.
Homer is considered the greatest Greek poet. ... The first major Greek poet after Homer was Hesiod. Hesiod was the founder of the didactic epic. ... Historical writings were especially popular. ... Socrates left no writings, but his ideas are preserved in writings of other Greeks, especially Plato. ...
The marbles are reaching more eyes and educating more people in their home in the London Museum than they would if they were removed back to Greece, besides most people in Greece learned about the marbles through history classes in their country's education system, most people who see them in the London museum hadn't been very educated about them. ... I chose to use the Greek text and chose the subject of Hesiod's Theogony and Cosmogony at the website http://alexm.here.ru/mirrors/www.enteract.com/jwalz/Eliade/059.html, the author of the text is Hesiod, a philosopher who lived ar...
Because of the difficulty in vocabulary, Apuleius eventually decided to use daemon and daemones, employing these words 120 times throughout his writings (Brenk 1986, 2134). ... As noted earlier, little distinction was made between theos and daimon in the writings of Homer. ... Brenk notes that in Homer's Odyssey, "the daimon acts very much like a god, except that it tends to be unidentifiable and evil" (Brenk 1986, 2074). ... In Homer, we find a daimon with no visible shape, no mind, and no history (Brenk 1986, 2081). ... In the literary period after Homer (c. 800 B.C.), Hesiod writes ...
Because of the difficulty in vocabulary, Apuleius eventually decided to use daemon and daemones, employing these words 120 times throughout his writings (Brenk 1986, 2134). ... As noted earlier, little distinction was made between theos and daimon in the writings of Homer. ... Brenk notes that in Homer's Odyssey, "the daimon acts very much like a god, except that it tends to be unidentifiable and evil" (Brenk 1986, 2074). ... In Homer, we find a daimon with no visible shape, no mind, and no history (Brenk 1986, 2081). ... In the literary period after Homer (c. 800 B.C.), Hesiod writes...
., and was illuminated five hundred years later in Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey, clearly following the oral traditions of ancient societies. ... In later Greek times, Helen was revered as a goddess, especially by the Spartans, her natal home. Homer's works became the Greek "bible", outlining for the Greeks their heroic past, and how they were to feel, think, and behave, including what was the most important facet of their life, fighting. ...
Zeus was considered, according to Homer, the father of the gods and of mortals. ... Beginning with the writings of the Greek poet Homer, Zeus is pictured in two very different ways. ... During his wanderings after the Trojan War, the Greek hero Odysseus and his men were cast ashore on Polyphemus's island home, Sicily. ... In Hesiod, the three sons "Arges, Brontes, and Steropes "of Uranus and Gaea, the personifications of heaven and earth, were Cyclopes. ... The poet and musician Terpander, who was born on Lesbos but lived much of his life in Sparta, introduced the ...
