Works and Days

£8.99

Hesiod

The ancient Greeks revered Hesiod, believing he had beaten Homer in a singing contest and that after his dead body was thrown to sea, it was brought back by dolphins. His ‘Works and Days’ is one of the most important early works of Greek poetry. Ostensibly written by the poet to chide his lazy brother, it recounts the story of Pandora’s box and humanity’s decline since the Golden Age, and can be read as a celebration of rural life and a hymn to work.

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SKU: 9780141197524 Category: Tag:

Description

‘Stallings’s new translation of Hesiod’s Works and Days – witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant – is not to be missed’ TLS, Books of the Year

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 RUNICMAN AWARD

A new verse translation of one of the foundational ancient Greek works by the award-winning poet A. E. Stallings.

Hesiod was the first self-styled ‘poet’ in western literature, revered by the ancient Greeks. Ostensibly written to chide and educate his lazy brother, Works and Days tells the story of Pandora’s jar and humanity’s place in a fallen world. Blending the cosmic and the earthy, and mixing myth, lyrical description, personal asides, astronomy, proverbs and down-to-earth advice on rural tasks and rituals, it is also a hymn to honest toil as man’s salvation. This vibrant new verse translation by award-winning poet A. E. Stallings conveys the clarity and unexpected humour of a founding work of classical literature.

Additional information

Weight 89 g
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 0.6 cm
Author

Publisher

Penguin Classics
Imprint

Cover

Paperback
Pages

96
Language

English
Edition
Dewey

881.01 (edition:23)
Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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