Works and Days

As is typically the case with ancient literature, scholars debate the poem’s dating, meaning, and influences. Further, some of Hesiod’s Greek is obscure, leaving the meaning in these sections unclear. In addition, “Works and Days” is discursive, wandering from one topic to the next. It also incorporates contradictions, sometimes leaning toward misanthropy and pessimism and other times encouraging hopefulness. The conclusion wraps up the wide-ranging discussion in a single sentence.

Historical context suggests a possible explanation for the poem’s discursive construction. In the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, the Hellenic world was emerging from a Dark Age during which written language seems to have been lost (based on archeological findings). Travel, trade, and cultural exchange were developing. Communication among Hellenic communities was increasing. Around 850 BCE, some scholars believe the Greek alphabet was adapted from the Phoenician, with a ground-breaking difference: the Greek alphabet included symbols for vowels. Previous alphabets featured symbols only for consonants. This rendered deciphering written language an arcane and specialized process limited to a learned scribe class. In contrast, the Greek alphabet enabled anyone who memorized the sounds of its twenty-four symbols to read. Whether Hesiod himself was literate and transcribed his poem is debated.