Article #348-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica, by Hesiod

Literary Value of Homer

Quintillian’s 1111 judgment on Hesiod that ‘he rarely rises to great
heights... and to him is given the palm in the middle-class of speech’
is just, but is liable to give a wrong impression. Hesiod has nothing
that remotely approaches such scenes as that between Priam and
Achilles, or the pathos of Andromache’s preparations for Hector’s
return, even as he was falling before the walls of Troy; but in matters
that come within the range of ordinary experience, he rarely fails to
rise to the appropriate level. Take, for instance, the description of
the Iron Age (Works and Days, 182 ff.) with its catalogue of
wrongdoings and violence ever increasing until Aidos and Nemesis are
forced to leave mankind who thenceforward shall have ‘no remedy against
evil’. Such occasions, however, rarely occur and are perhaps not
characteristic of Hesiod’s genius: if we would see Hesiod at his best,
in his most natural vein, we must turn to such a passage as that which
he himself—according to the compiler of the Contest of Hesiod and
Homer—selected as best in all his work, ‘When the Pleiades, Atlas’
daughters, begin to rise...’ (Works and Days, 383 ff.). The value of
such a passage cannot be analysed: it can only be said that given such
a subject, this alone is the right method of treatment.

Hesiod’s diction is in the main Homeric, but one of his charms is the
use of quaint allusive phrases derived, perhaps, from a pre-Hesiodic
peasant poetry: thus the season when Boreas blows is the time when ‘the
Boneless One gnaws his foot by his fireless hearth in his cheerless
house’; to cut one’s nails is ‘to sever the withered from the quick
upon that which has five branches’; similarly the burglar is the
‘day-sleeper’, and the serpent is the ‘hairless one’. Very similar is
his reference to seasons through what happens or is done in that
season: ‘when the House-carrier, fleeing the Pleiades, climbs up the
plants from the earth’, is the season for harvesting; or ‘when the
artichoke flowers and the clicking grass-hopper, seated in a tree,
pours down his shrill song’, is the time for rest.

Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt on Hesiod’s Literary Value

This passage, likely written by an anonymous scholar or editor (possibly Hugh G. Evelyn-White, the translator of the Loeb Classical Library edition of Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica), compares Hesiod’s poetic style to Homer’s while highlighting Hesiod’s unique strengths. Below is a breakdown of the text’s key ideas, themes, literary devices, and significance, with a focus on the excerpt itself.

1. Context & Source

The excerpt comes from an introductory or critical section of a collection that includes Hesiod’s works (Theogony, Works and Days), the Homeric Hymns, and other early Greek poetry. The passage responds to the Roman rhetorician Quintilian’s (1st century CE) assessment of Hesiod, which praised him as competent but not sublime. The author argues that while Hesiod lacks Homer’s dramatic grandeur, he excels in everyday realism, rustic charm, and precise observational poetry.

Key works referenced:

Hesiod’s Works and Days (8th–7th century BCE) – A didactic poem offering moral and agricultural advice.
The Contest of Hesiod and Homer – A later (possibly Hellenistic) fictional account of a poetic competition between the two bards, where Hesiod allegedly declares his favorite passage.

2. Themes in the Excerpt

A. Hesiod vs. Homer: Contrasting Genius

The passage contrasts Hesiod’s and Homer’s strengths:

Homer’s Sublimity: Homer’s genius lies in epic pathos—emotionally charged scenes like Priam begging Achilles for Hector’s body (Iliad 24) or Andromache’s tragic ignorance of Hector’s death (Iliad 6). These moments are dramatic, universal, and psychologically profound.
Hesiod’s Realism: Hesiod lacks such tragic elevation but excels in ordinary, practical, and rural life. His power lies in observation, precision, and homely wisdom, not in mythic grandeur.

B. Hesiod’s Strengths: The Poetry of the Everyday

The author identifies two key passages where Hesiod shines:

The Iron Age (Works and Days 182 ff.)
- A pessimistic vision of human decline, where Aidos (Shame) and Nemesis (Retribution) abandon humanity, leaving them without moral restraint.
- While powerful, this is not typical of Hesiod’s usual tone—it’s more prophetic and moralistic than his usual style.
The Agricultural Almanac (Works and Days 383 ff.)
- Hesiod’s favorite passage (according to the Contest), describing seasonal signs (e.g., the rising of the Pleiades).
- This is pure Hesiod: practical, rhythmic, and deeply connected to peasant life.

C. Hesiod’s Diction: Rustic Charm & Folk Poetry

The excerpt praises Hesiod’s uniquely earthy, metaphorical language, which draws from pre-literate peasant traditions:

Quaint, riddling phrases:
- "The Boneless One" (a cuttlefish or octopus) gnawing its foot → winter, when Boreas (the north wind) blows.
- "Sever the withered from the quick upon that which has five branches" → cutting nails (hand = "five branches").
- "Day-sleeper" → burglar (who works at night).
- "Hairless one" → snake.
Seasonal markers tied to nature’s rhythms:
- "The House-carrier (snail) flees the Pleiades" → time to harvest.
- "The artichoke flowers and the grasshopper sings" → time to rest.

This language is not Homeric (which is more formal and heroic) but folksy, concrete, and rooted in rural experience.

3. Literary Devices & Style

A. Cataloguing (Enumeratio)

Hesiod often uses lists to create rhythm and emphasis:
- The litany of sins in the Iron Age (violence, betrayal, irreverence).
- The seasonal almanac (when to plow, sail, harvest).

B. Metaphor & Personification

"Aidos and Nemesis abandon mankind" → Moral forces given human form, emphasizing societal collapse.
"The Boneless One" → A metaphorical riddle, forcing the reader to engage with the natural world.

C. Parataxis (Simple, Direct Syntax)

Unlike Homer’s hypotaxis (complex, subordinate clauses), Hesiod’s style is straightforward and declarative, fitting his didactic purpose.

D. Oral & Folk Traditions

His proverbial, gnomic style (e.g., "No remedy against evil") reflects oral wisdom literature.
The riddling phrases suggest a pre-literate, peasant oral culture where knowledge was passed through memorable, cryptic sayings.

4. Significance of the Passage

A. Reevaluating Hesiod’s Reputation

The excerpt challenges Quintilian’s dismissal of Hesiod as merely "middle-class" in speech.
It argues that Hesiod’s realism and precision are not inferior to Homer’s grandeur—just different in purpose.

B. The Value of the Mundane in Literature

Hesiod proves that everyday life (farming, seasons, moral labor) can be just as poetic as epic battles.
His work is proto-realist, foreshadowing later pastoral and Georgic poetry (e.g., Virgil’s Georgics).

C. Hesiod as a Bridge Between Oral and Literary Tradition

His folk metaphors show how pre-literate peasant culture influenced early Greek literature.
Unlike Homer’s aristocratic, warrior-centric world, Hesiod speaks for the common farmer, making his work socially significant.

D. The "Unanalyzable" Quality of Great Poetry

The author claims that Hesiod’s best passages (like the Pleiades almanac) defy analysis—they are perfect in their simplicity.
This suggests that some poetry’s power lies in its immediacy, not in intellectual dissection.

5. Key Takeaways from the Text Itself

Hesiod is not a lesser Homer—he has a distinct genius rooted in observation and rural wisdom.
His best moments come when he describes farming, seasons, and moral labor, not mythic battles.
His language is rich in folk metaphor, making his poetry both practical and poetic.
The Iron Age passage is powerful but not representative; his almanac verses are his true masterpiece.
Hesiod’s work shows that great literature need not be grand—it can be grounded in the ordinary.

Conclusion: Why This Matters

This excerpt is not just literary criticism—it’s a defense of a different kind of poetry. While Homer dazzles with heroic tragedy, Hesiod elevates the everyday, proving that wisdom, labor, and nature are just as worthy of song. His folk metaphors and precise observations make him a unique voice in early Greek literature, one that speaks to the common person rather than the aristocratic warrior. In this way, Hesiod’s work is democratic in spirit, a precursor to later traditions that celebrate rural life and moral instruction.

Questions

Question 1

The passage suggests that the author’s primary objection to Quintilian’s assessment of Hesiod is NOT that it is factually incorrect, but rather that it:

A. overemphasises Hesiod’s reliance on Homeric diction at the expense of his original folk metaphors.
B. risks obscuring the distinctive virtues of Hesiod’s poetry by framing his strengths as merely "middle-class."
C. fails to acknowledge the prophetic power of Hesiod’s Iron Age passage as his most sublime achievement.
D. dismisses the technical precision of Hesiod’s agricultural advice as pedestrian rather than poetic.
E. conflates Hesiod’s didactic purpose with Homer’s epic ambitions, ignoring their divergent audiences.

Question 2

The claim that Hesiod’s description of the Pleiades passage "cannot be analysed" (lines 12–13) primarily serves to:

A. underscore the passage’s resistance to allegorical interpretation, unlike Homer’s myth-laden scenes.
B. highlight the passage’s reliance on oral traditions that defy written literary conventions.
C. suggest that its beauty is so self-evident that it transcends the need for critical justification.
D. imply that its perfection lies in its seamless fusion of form and subject, rendering dissection redundant.
E. argue that its value is inherently subjective, depending on the reader’s familiarity with peasant life.

Question 3

The "quaint allusive phrases" in Hesiod’s diction (e.g., "the Boneless One") are most effectively characterised as:

A. archaic remnants of a pre-Homeric poetic register, preserved for their ritualistic significance.
B. deliberate obfuscations intended to elevate the mundane into the realm of the mysterious.
C. Homeric pastiches recontextualised to suit Hesiod’s rustic themes and didactic tone.
D. mnemonic devices designed to aid the oral transmission of agricultural knowledge.
E. linguistic fossils of a peasant oral culture, repurposed to evoke immediacy and concrete experience.

Question 4

The passage’s structure—contrasting Hesiod’s Iron Age passage with his Pleiades almanac—primarily serves to:

A. illustrate the tension between Hesiod’s moralistic impulses and his observational genius.
B. demonstrate how Hesiod’s poetic range exceeds Quintilian’s narrow categorisation of his style.
C. argue that Hesiod’s true originality lies in his ability to merge mythic grandeur with rural realism.
D. reveal the limitations of Hesiod’s imagination when tackling themes beyond the everyday.
E. suggest that Hesiod’s reputation would be stronger if he had focused solely on pastoral subjects.

Question 5

The author’s assertion that Hesiod’s seasonal metaphors (e.g., "the House-carrier flees the Pleiades") are "the right method of treatment" (line 13) for their subject matter most closely aligns with which of the following literary principles?

A. The sublimity of a work is proportional to the grandeur of its themes, as exemplified by Homer’s epic scenes.
B. Poetic language should prioritise clarity and directness to ensure its didactic function is not obscured.
C. The most effective poetry arises when form and content are so harmoniously united that alternatives become unthinkable.
D. Literary merit is determined by a work’s ability to transcend its cultural context and achieve universal relevance.
E. The value of a poetic passage is inversely related to its susceptibility to critical analysis or paraphrase.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: B

Why B is most correct: The passage explicitly states that Quintilian’s judgment is "just" but "liable to give a wrong impression." The author’s concern is not factual inaccuracy but the reductive framing of Hesiod’s strengths as merely "middle-class," which risks overlooking the distinctive virtues of his observational and rustic style. This is evident in the contrast drawn between Hesiod’s "ordinary experience" and Homer’s sublime scenes, where the author argues Hesiod’s genius lies in a different, equally valid domain.