midterm 1: hesiod + timelines

key evidence for minoan greek timeline

• palaces (redistributive economy, structure of palaces, hierarchy)

• art (frescoes revealing life in society, pottery, cookware)

• architecture/artifacts

• writing (clay slates)

timeline of hesiods works and days (the ages)

1. Golden Age: people lived in ease under Cronos, no toil

2. Silver Age: men were foolish, failed to honor gods, destroyed

3. Bronze Age: violent, warlike, destroyed themselves.

4. Heroic Age (demigods): brief improvement; heroes of Thebes and Troy.

5. Iron Age (Hesiod’s time): toil, injustice, decline; children dishonor parents

key ideas in works and days

• risky world: unpredictability, fragility, menacing gods

• to fight risk you must rationalize with knowledge (EX: calendars give you a sense of predictability)

• you must work hard, plan ahead, and pay attention to nature to bear good results

what is hesiod’s world view?

Pandora enabled labor/sickness to enter human life from Zeus’s punishment

Human task: accept the world as it is, fear gods, and strive for good strife

what is human society like at the time of Hesiod/from Hesiod pov?

• suffering/labor (pandora)

• farming economy (hesiod gives bunch of farming techniques)

• work morally = gain results