H.G. Evelyn-White

“ The geographical knowledge of a poem like the Returns is far wider and more precise than that of the Odyssey. (5) Moreover, in the Cyclic poems epic is clearly degenerating morally — if the expression may be used. The chief greatness of the Iliad is in the character of the heroes Achilles and Hector rather than in the actual events which take place: in the Cyclic writers facts rather than character are the objects of interest, and events are so packed together as to leave no space for any exhibition of the play of moral forces. ”

“ The only complete poem of the genealogical group is the Theogony, which traces from the beginning of things the descent and vicissitudes of the families of the gods. Like the Works and Days this poem has no dramatic plot; but its unifying principle is clear and simple. The gods are classified chronologically: as soon as one generation is catalogued, the poet goes on to detail the offspring of each member of that generation. Exceptions are only made in special cases, as the Sons of Iapetus (II. 507-616) whose place is accounted for by their treatment by Zeus. ”

“ Very probably Hesiod used much material of a far older date, just as Shakespeare used the Gesta Romanorum, old chronicles, and old plays; but close inspection will show that the Works and Days has a real unity and that the picturesque title is somewhat misleading. The poem has properly no technical object at all, but is moral: its real aim is to show men how best to live in a difficult world. ”

“ The Ionic School of Epic poetry was, as we have seen, dominated by the Homeric tradition, and while the style and method of treatment are Homeric, it is natural that the Ionic poets refrained from cultivating the ground tilled by Homer, and chose for treatment legends which lay beyond the range of the Iliad and Odyssey. Equally natural it is that they should have particularly selected various phases of the tale of Troy which preceded or followed the action of the Iliad and Odyssey. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It is surely an error to suppose that lines 22-35 all refer to Hesiod: rather, the author of the Theogony tells the story of his own inspiration by the same Muses who once taught Hesiod glorious song. The lines 22-3 are therefore a very early piece of tradition about Hesiod, and though the appearance of Muses must be treated as a graceful fiction, we find that a Avriter, later than the Works and Days by perhaps no more than three-quarters of a century, believed in the actuality of Hesiod and in his life as a farmer or shepherd. ”

“ Freedom from the domination of the great tradition could only be found by seeking new subjects, and such freedom was really only illusionary, since romantic subjects alone are suitable for epic treatment.
In its third period, therefore, epic poetry shows two divergent tendencies. In Ionia and the islands the epic poets followed the Homeric tradition, singing of romantic subjects in the now stereotyped heroic style, and showing originality only in their choice of legends hitherto neglected or summarily and imperfectly treated. ”

“ The end of the Cycle marks also the end of the Heroic Age.
The Homeric Hymns.
The collection of thirty-three Hymns, ascribed to Homer, is the last considerable work of the Epic School, and seems, on the whole, to be later than the Cyclic poems. It cannot be definitely assigned either to the Ionian or Continental schools, for while the romantic element is very strong, there is a distinct genealogical interest; and in matters of diction and style the influences of both Hesiod and Homer are well-marked. The date of the formation of the collection as such is unknown. ”

“ Two considerations help us to fix a relative date for the Works. (1) In diction, dialect and style it is obviously dependent upon Homer, and is therefore considerably later than the Iliad and Odyssey; moreover, as we have seen, it is in revolt against the romantic school, already grown decadent, and while the digamma is still living, it is obviously growing weak, and is by no means uniformly effective.
(2) On the other hand while tradition steadily puts the Cyclic poets at various dates from 776 B.C. downwards, it is equally consistent in regarding Homer and Hesiod as "prehistoric." ”

“ For (1) if the quarrel between the brothers were a fiction, we should expect it to be detailed at length and not noticed allusively and rather obscurely — as we find it; (2) as MM. Croiset remark, if the poet needed a lay-figure the ordinary practice was to introduce some mythological person — as, in fact, is done in the Precepts of Chiron. In a word, there is no more solid ground for treating Perses and his quarrel with Hesiod as fictitious than there would be for treating Cyrnus, the friend of Theognis, as mythical. ”

“ It seems certain that "Hesiod" stands as a proper name in the fullest sense. Secondly, Hesiod claims that his father — if not he himself — came from Aeolis and settled in Boeotia. There is fairly definite evidence to warrant our acceptance of this: the dialect of the Works and Days is shown by Rzach [3] to contain distinct Aeolisms apart from those which formed part of the general stock of epic poetry. ”

“ The Theogony might be tentatively placed a century later; and the Catalogues and Eoiae are again later, but not greatly later, than the Theogony: the Shield of Heracles may be ascribed to the later half of the seventh century, but there is not evidence enough to show whether the other "developed" poems are to be regarded as of a date so low as this.
Literary Value of Hesiod.—Quintilian's [12] 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. ”

“ He set himself to finish the tale of Troy, which, so far as events were concerned, had been left half-told by Homer, by tracing the course of events after the close of the Iliad. The Aethiopis thus included the coming of the Amazon Penthesilea to help the Trojans after the fall of Hector and her death, the similar arrival and fall of the Aethiopian Memnon, the death of Achilles under the arrow of Paris, and the dispute between Odysseus and Aias for the arms of Achilles. ”

“ Such a connection between the first and second sections is easily seen, but the links between these and the third and fourth are no less real: to make life go tolerably smoothly it is most important to be just and to know how to win a livelihood; but happiness also largely depends on prudence and care both in social and home life as well, and not least on avoidance of actions which offend supernatural powers and bring ill-luck. ”

“ Next, after the Fable of the Hawk and Nightingale, which serves as a condemnation of violence and injustice, the poet passes on to contrast the blessings which Righteousness brings to a nation, and the punishment which Heaven sends down upon the violent, and the section concludes with a series of precepts on industry and prudent conduct generally. (b) The second section shows how a man may escape want and misery by industry and care both in agriculture and in trading by sea. ”

“ This work was divided into four (Suidas says five) books, the last one (or two) of which was known as the Eoiae and may have been again a distinct poem: the curious title will be explained presently. The Calalogues proper were a series of genealogies which traced the Hellenic race (or its more important peoples and families) from a common ancestor. The reason why women are so prominent is obvious: since most families and tribes claimed to be descended from a god, the only safe clue to their origin was through the mortal woman beloved by that god ”

“ Then by means of the Myth of Pandora the poet shows how evil and the need for work first arose, and goes on to describe the Five Ages of the World, tracing the gradual increase of evil, and emphasizing the present miserable condition of the World, a condition in which struggle is inevitable. ”

“ A comparison of this work with the Lay of Demodocus (Odyssey viii, 266 ff.) , which is superficially similar, will show how far superior is the former in which the goddess is but a victim to forces stronger than herself. The lines (247-255) in which Aphrodite tells of her humiliation and grief are specially noteworthy.
There are only general indications of date. The influence of Hesiod is clear, and the hymn has almost certainly been used by the author of the Hymn to Demeter, so that the date must lie between these two periods, and the seventh century seems to be the latest date possible. ”

“ From this it is clear that the two parts need not be of one date — The first, indeed, is ascribed (Scholiast on Pindar Nem. ii, 2) to Cynaethus of Chios (fl. 504 B.C.) , a date which is obviously far too low; general considerations point rather to the eighth century. The second part is not later than 600 B.C.; for (1) the chariot-races at Pytho, which commenced in 586 B.C., are unknown to the writer of the hymn, (2) the temple built by Trophonius and Agamedes for Apollo (ll. 294-299) seems to have been still standing when the hymn was written, and this temple was burned in 548. ”