Homer & Hesiod

Even though I have a budding affinity for ancient Hellenic culture, I have never read the works of Homer or Hesiod before being assigned in this class. I must say, I greatly enjoyed reading the iliad, odyssey, and theogony.

Homer: I grew up loving action movies, and I noticed quite a bit of similarities between the action heroes today and those described in Homer's epics. For example Rocky Balboa is known for taking quite a beating, yet he over comes all of his obstacles. Perhaps He could be inspired by Odysseus, overcoming his many obstacles and sufferings to be reunited with his family. I could also see a correlation between Achillies and heroes like John Rambo or Jason Bourne, these are characters who are masters of destruction, able to kill everything they come across. 

(Side Note: In the movies Jason is not known for being a destroyer; however, in the original books he is   without a doubt a stone cold mass murderer.)

As a student learning Attic Greek, I really appreciate Vince Lombardo's translations of Homer's epics. Not only does stay true to the original text, but also he provides a translation with modern vernacular so that even today's readers can grow fond of Homer's beautiful work. 

Overall, these poems are not really philosophical; however, they are very fun to read and are often alluded to in a variety philosophical works, which makes them works reading. 

 Hesiod's Theogony I found was a more confusing read to me for some reason. Nevertheless, with sufficient elbow-grease applied, I felt I was able to understand the gist of what was happening. The title θεογόνια which translates into "birth of the gods" is kind of a dead give away. Theogony is essentially a creation story for the olympic gods. It starts out with the narrator minding his own business, but suddenly muses show up and charge him to be the tool of telling this story. (Perhaps there is a similar experience with the Holy Spirit for Christians?) 

Overall, I think Theogony is more philosophical in nature juxtaposed to Homer's epics because it introduces philosophical ideas personified as gods. That may come off as confusing, but allow me to explain. For example, philosophers have taken great lengths to explain ideas such as justice. Though everyone somewhat has an idea of what justice is, it becomes much harder to define what it means. It is, however, much easier for someone to recognize when a person is acting justly, and then attribute their character just. 

Again, perhaps when the Greeks think of someone as being powerful, they think of someone who is not only wise, but also cunning and able to manipulate others. And if there were someone else that could pose a threat to them, this being could easily destroy whoever opposes them. This idea of power is perfectly personified as Zeus. Not to mention, power is just of many  philosophical concepts that are personified. 

Overall, Theogony I thought was confusing in part because my translation made it difficult, but a great read nevertheless.

zip it up and zip it out