9/24 - hesiod study sheet

aetiology

Stories that provide reasoning/origin of a specific act.

S: We find aetiologies in Greek works, such as Hesoid Greek practice of sacrificial offering and general relationship between God's and humans through Prometheus' deception of Zeus.

agon (poetic)

Poetic competition.

S: Individuals could explore morality and complexities of the divinities through these competitions. Agon's also emphasized the importance of literature and enhanced public performances of works.

ancestral sin

On later quizlet set

arete

Meaning virtue (key to didactic poetry). Must pursue to secure support of divinities.

S: In another quizlet

biographical fallacy ★

Biographical fallacy is the (wrong) assumption that you can reconstruct an author's life by the basis of their works.

S: While epic poet's like Homer lives were unclear and unable to be pieced by their work, the process of understand a poem is significant to Greek culture. It shows that Greeks digested literary works and took them as fact, showing that not only did they try to derive understanding about the poets of these works, but would also therefore be learning about and practicing critical ideals/virtues spread through epic poetry, such as pursuing kleos and remaining brave/honorable.

dike

Meaning justice (key to didactic poetry). Must pursue to secure support of divinities.

S: Sets a value of justice and fairness across Greek polis, noting that men must strive for dike in their everyday life (yet another value that men should work towards to live an honorable life).

fable

Fables were stories that had some sort of moral dilemnia/conclusion behind them.

S: First Western fable produced by Hesoid (about weaker and stronger), between the nightingale & the hawk.
Explores moral concept of "might is right", justifies imperial politics. Does having more power mean it's ok to use that power?

parthenogenesis

Producing children without anybody elses help/input (woman gives birth by herself).

S: In Hesiod's Theogony, Gaia produces children through parthenogenesis. Again, this idea of parthogenesis explores how the Greek world initiated and has developed into what it is today. No male input is important as in Greek society, it was critical to know who the father is - breaks typical gender norms as Gaia was powerful enough to give birth ALONE.

personification

Human characteristics to something non-human.

S: Hesiod personifies "goodness" and "badness" when saying to achieve arete, you must seek goodness. In general, divinities also often personified virtues (such as Athena resembling virginity) to illustrate significance of concepts and make them easier to understand, thus more practicable by mortals.

poetic authority

When a poet, such as Hesiod, seeks inspiration from Muses (daughters of Zeus).

S: Human beings need inspiration from muses to sing epic poetry (Greeks don't have access to all this information without the Muses help). EX: How could Hesiod, small farmer, perform all this grand info?

prooimion

Opening of a poem.

S: Same significance of poetic authority. Hesoid's Works & Days begins by calling on Muses to assist poets in oral performance + embody memory in order to help performance of song. THEY NEED HELP!

Self-sufficiency

Attempt to be entirely independent from the community to the highest extent possible (rely on only own grains, crops, etc)

S: Shows cultural norms of Greek culture. Hesiod's Works and Days instilled this idea of self-sufficiency, as it taught farmers to be self-reliant and efficient by themselves in harsh conditions.

Syncretism

Putting together sparse elements.

S: Hesoid created a pan-hellenic myth (Greek pantheon as a system/a coherent narrative for ALL Greeks), allows for better understanding of Greek religion/culture.

travelling poets

Went to different cities to compete in competitions (reciting poetry, Hesiod was an ex).

S: Shares different texts, allows for widespread engagement w/ literature. Travelling poets also displayed how Greeks valued traits beyond bravery, rewarding individuals for their intellectual/artistic expressions of poems.

tripod

One of the most important emblems of athletic or poetic achievement, like being assigned an olympic gold medal.

S: Marked great intelligence or achievement in their respective fields, one of the highest honors and representations of status/victory.

What is the significance of Hesiod’s Works and Days within Greek epic tradition?

Hesiod has provided us the first systematic didactic poems, where he related the most important tasks of a farmer and teaches farmers self-reliance/efficiency. Provides basic roles for self-suffiency and aims to help farmers to survive in harsh conditions.

How does Hesiod represent himself in the poem? What is 'biographical fallacy'?

He represents himself as a combination of a farmer and a poet who is seeking justice. He also represents himself as an Asian minor who immigrated to Ancient Greek. He also claims he won a prize for a poem competition.

- We often deal with a projected persona as poets, making it hard to gauge how much biographical info the poem has.

What do we learn from 'the myth of ages' about early Greek outlook on human existence?

The myth of the ages begins with the golden age, ending with the iron age (us), we can learn that Greeks had an extremely pessimistic view on the generations of mortals. They believed each generation was worse than the one before, and the iron age (us) is the worst thus far.

How do topics of self-reliance, virtue and justice relate to historical reality of early Greece?

We know from historical, archeological, and literacy that life in the Archaic period (800-500 BC) wealth was strenuous.
- So, the poems relate to how much a farmer could rely on themselves to work the land to survive, with a focus on inquiring justice and obtaining virtue because the Gods were always watching.
- They believed that if they obey Gods & respect humans, they might achieve some progress w/ wealth.

What is the larger framework of Hesiod's poetry?

Wisdom literature that thrived near the Mediterranean (widespread)

Plow

Farming ability takes hard work, perseverance, humility. The plough will not define your ability in harsh conditions, the user will.

Laconian Cup (prometheus sacrifice)

He willingly sacrificed himself for mortals, trying to steal fire for them. He knew he would likely be punished, and suffered by being tied up anyways.