Classical Greek Online

Lesson 7

Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan Slocum

Hesiod, the author of Works and Days, lived in the second section of the eighth century B.C. Reports of his life are sketchy, but he clearly was a poet in the Homeric tradition. In addition to fragments that have been preserved, his other major poem is the Theogony of 1020 lines. It sketches the 'births of the gods', beginning with those of the nine Muses from the union of Zeus and Mnemosyne or Memory, and ending with the union of Kalypso and Odysseus that resulted in two children. His language and subject matter is clearly less elegant than that of Homer, but it has maintained its interest for providing information on everyday life and for information on the views of the Greek peoples of his time.

Reading and Textual Analysis

Hesiod's Works and Days is a poem in the eastern tradition of wisdom literature. Addressed to his brother, Perses, who is pictured as a ne'er-do-well, it consists of four parts in its 828 lines, each of approximately 200 lines. The first part tells Perses that work is essential. It contains the lines excerpted here, which are of especial interest in sketching the ages of man that correspond in part to the periods determined by archeologists of our day, with the bronze age leading to the iron age, and so on. The second part provides instructions on how to achieve prosperity through righteous actions and proper dealings with others. The third part outlines the work that is necessary for success in farming, such as the type of work that is essential in the four seasons. The last part indicates the proper time for activities, such as sailing to market one's produce, marriage, and also for everyday activities, such as urinating and copulating. And last of all it is essential to be aware of the good and bad days of the month for all of one's activities.

There is considerable agreement on the text of Works and Days; the lines here correspond to those of Hesiod: Works and Days, ed. M. L. West (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978), which differ in a few respects from the text of the Loeb Classical Library prepared by Hugh G. Evelyn-White with credit to W. H. D. Rouse (1914, frequently reprinted). The differences are noted in the commentary.

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  • χρύσεον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <χρύσεος> golden -- golden
  • μὲν -- particle; <μέν> on the one hand -- indeed
  • πρώτιστα -- adverb; <πρώτιστα> first of all -- first of all
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <γένος> race -- race
  • μερόπων -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <μέροψ> endowed with speech -- of speaking
  • ἀνθρώπων -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ἄνθρωπος> human being -- humans

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  • ἀθάνατοι -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <ἀθάνατος> immortal -- (the) immortals
  • ποίησαν -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <ποιέω> make, do -- made
  • Ὀλύμπια -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <Ὀλύμπιος> Olympian -- Olympian
  • δώματ' -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <δῶμα> house, home -- homes
  • ἔχοντες -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <ἔχω> have -- having

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  • οἳ -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ὅς> this, that, he, she, it -- who
  • μὲν -- particle; <μέν> on the one hand -- ...
  • ἐπὶ -- preposition; <ἐπί> on, about -- at the time
  • Κρόνου -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Κρόνος> Cronos -- of Cronos
  • ἦσαν -- verb; 3rd person singular plural imperfect of <εἰμί> I am -- existed
  • ὅτ' -- conjunction; <ὅτε> when -- when
  • οὐρανῷ -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <οὐρανός> heaven -- in heaven
  • ἐμβασίλευεν -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <ἐμβασιλεύω> be king in -- was king (in)

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  • ὥστε -- adverbial conjunction; <ὥστε> like, so that -- like
  • θεοὶ -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <θεός> god -- gods
  • δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
  • ἔζωον -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <ζώω> live -- they lived
  • ἀκηδέα -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <ἀκήδης> without sorrow -- without sorrow
  • θυμὸν -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <θυμός> soul, heart -- heart
  • ἔχοντες -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <ἔχω> have -- having

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  • νόσφιν -- adverb; <νόσφι> apart, afar, except -- apart
  • ἄτερ -- preposition; <ἄτερ> without -- without
  • τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
  • πόνων -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <πόνος> grief -- grief
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
  • οἰζύος -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <οἰζύς> misery, suffering -- suffering

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τοῦτο γένος κατὰ γαῖα κάλυψεν
# (line 121; for κάλυψεν West omits the augment, as was done in ἐμ-βασίλευεν above, and maintains the full form of γαῖα; others elide the final vowel of γαῖα and include the augment, e.g. γαῖ' ἐκάλυψε, where the -ν is also omitted. The line is repeated before the paragraphs on the third and fourth races.)
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  • αὐτὰρ -- conjunction; <αὐτάρ> but -- but
  • ἐπεὶ -- conjunction; <ἐπεί> when, after -- after
  • δὴ -- particle; <δή> indeed -- indeed
  • τοῦτο -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <οὗτος> this -- this
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <γένος> race -- race
  • κατὰ -- adverb; <κατά> completely, down, under -- under
  • γαῖα -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <γαῖα> land -- the earth
  • κάλυψεν -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <καλύπτω> cover -- covered

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  • δεύτερον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <δεύτερος> second -- second
  • αὖτε -- adverb; <αὖτε> then, again -- then
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <γένος> race -- race
  • πολὺ -- adverb; <πολύς> many -- much
  • χειρότερον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter comparative of <κακός> evil, poor -- inferior
  • μετόπισθεν -- adverb; <μετόπισθε> afterwards -- somewhat later

ἀργύρεον ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες,
# (For δώματ' West elides the -α before a form whose root begins with a vowel.)
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  • ἀργύρεον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ἀργύρεος> silver -- of silver
  • ποίησαν -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <ποιέω> make, do -- made
  • Ὀλύμπια -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <Ὀλύμπιος> Olympian -- Olympian
  • δώματ' -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <δῶμα> house, home -- homes
  • ἔχοντες -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <ἔχω> have -- having

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  • χρυσέῳ -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <χρύσεος> golden -- the golden
  • οὔτε -- adverb; <οὔτε> neither, nor -- neither
  • φυὴν -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <φύη> stature -- in stature
  • ἐναλίγκιον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ἐναλίγκιος> resembling, like -- like
  • οὔτε -- adverb; <οὔτε> neither, nor -- nor
  • νόημα -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <νόημα> thought, understanding -- in understanding

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  • Ζεὺς -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ζεύς> Zeus -- Zeus
  • δὲ -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
  • πατὴρ -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <πατήρ> father -- father
  • τρίτον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <τρίτος> third -- third
  • ἄλλο -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ἄλλος> other -- other
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <γένος> race -- race
  • μερόπων -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <μέροψ> endowed with speech -- endowed with speech
  • ἀνθρώπων -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ἄνθρωπος> human being -- of humans

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  • χάλκειον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <χάλκειος> of bronze -- bronze
  • ποίησ' -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <ποιέω> make, do -- made
  • οὐκ -- particle; <οὐκ> not -- not
  • ἀργυρέῳ -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <ἀργύρεος> silver -- to the silver (race)
  • οὐδὲν -- adverb; <οὐδέν> in no way -- in no way
  • ὁμοῖον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ὅμοιος> like, similar -- like

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  • ἐκ -- preposition; <ἐκ> from, out of -- out of
  • μελιᾶν -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <μελία> the ash tree -- ash wood
  • δεινόν -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <δεινός> terrible -- terrible
  • τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
  • ὄβριμον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ὄβριμος> strong -- strong
  • οἷσιν -- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural masculine of <ὅς> this, that, he, she, it -- to them
  • Ἄρηος -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Ἄρης> Ares -- of Ares

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  • ἔργ' -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <ἔργον> work, deed -- works
  • ἔμελε -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <μέλω> to care, to be an object of care -- were loved
  • στονόεντα -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <στονόεις> sad, wretched -- wretched
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
  • ὕβριες -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <ὕβρις> violence -- violent acts
  • οὐδέ -- particle; <οὐδέ> not -- not
  • τι -- indefinite pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <τις> someone, something -- any
  • σῖτον -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <σῖτος> corn, bread -- bread

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  • ἤσθιον -- verb; 3rd person plural aorist of <ἐσθίω> eat -- they did ...eat
  • ἀλλ' -- conjunction; <ἀλλά> but -- but
  • ἀδάμαντος -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ἀδάμας> steel -- of steel
  • ἔχον -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <ἔχω> have -- they had
  • κρατερόφρονα -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <κρατερόφρων> stout-hearted, dauntless -- a dauntless
  • θυμόν -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <θυμός> soul, heart -- heart

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  • αὔτις -- adverb; <αὔτις> again -- again
  • ἔτ' -- adverb; <ἔτι> still -- yet
  • ἄλλο -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <ἄλλος> other -- another
  • τέταρτον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <τέταρτος> fourth -- a fourth
  • ἐπὶ -- preposition; <ἐπί> on, about -- on
  • χθονὶ -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <χθών> earth -- the earth
  • πουλυβοτείρῃ -- adjective; dative singular feminine of <πουλυβότειρα> all nourishing, fruitful -- fruitful

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  • Ζεὺς -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Ζεύς> Zeus -- Zeus
  • Κρονίδης -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <Κρονίδης> son of Kronos -- the son of Kronos
  • ποίησε -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <ποιέω> make, do -- made
  • δικαιότερον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of comparative of <δίκαιος> just, righteous -- more righteous
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
  • ἄρειον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of comparative of <ἄγαθος> good -- better

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  • ἀνδρῶν -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ἀνήρ> man -- of men
  • ἡρώων -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ἥρως> hero -- (of) heroes
  • θεῖον -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <θεῖος> divine, godlike -- godlike
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <γένος> race -- race
  • οἵ -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ὅς> who, which -- who
  • καλέονται -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <καλέω> call, summon -- are called

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  • ἡμίθεοι -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <ἡμίθεος> demi-god -- demi-gods
  • προτέρη -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <πρότερος> first, before -- prior (to ours)
  • γενεὴ -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <γενεή> family, generation, race -- a race
  • κατ' -- preposition; <κατά> completely, down, under -- on
  • ἀπείρονα -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <ἀπείρων> boundless -- the boundless
  • γαῖαν -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <γαῖα> land -- earth

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  • νῦν -- adverb; <νῦν> now -- now
  • γὰρ -- conjunction; <γάρ> for -- and
  • δὴ -- particle; <δή> indeed -- indeed
  • γένος -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <γένος> race -- the race
  • ἐστὶ -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <εἰμί> I am -- is
  • σιδήρεον -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <σιδήρεος> of iron -- of iron
  • οὐδέ -- particle; <οὐδέ> not -- and ... not
  • ποτ' -- adverb; <ποτέ> at some time, ever -- ever
  • ἧμαρ -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ἧμαρ> day -- by day

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  • παύονται -- verb; 3rd person plural present middle of <παύω> stop, cease -- they do ...stop
  • καμάτου -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <κάματος> toil, labor -- laboring
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
  • οἰζύος -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <οἰζύς> misery, suffering -- suffering
  • οὐδέ -- particle; <οὐδέ> not -- and . . . not
  • τι -- adverb; <τι> in any way -- at all
  • νύκτωρ -- adverb; <νύκτωρ> by night -- by night

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  • φθειρόμενοι -- verb; nominative plural masculine of participle middle of <φθείρω> perish -- perishing
  • χαλεπὰς -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <χαλεπός> difficult -- difficult
  • δὲ -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- indeed
  • θεοὶ -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <θεός> god -- the gods
  • δώσουσι -- verb; 3rd person plural future of <δίδωμι> give -- will give
  • μερίμνας -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <μέριμνα> care, anxious thought -- anxieties

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  • ἀλλ' -- conjunction; <ἀλλά> but -- but
  • ἔμπης -- adverb; <ἔμπης> nevertheless -- nevertheless
  • καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- also
  • τοῖσι -- article; dative plural masculine of <ὁ> the -- for them
  • μεμείχεται -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect passive of <μίγνυμι> mix -- will be mixed
  • ἐσθλὰ -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural neuter of <ἐσθλόν> good -- good things
  • κακοῖσιν -- adjective; dative plural neuter of <κακός> evil, poor -- with evils

Lesson Text

χρύσεον μὲν πρώτιστα γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
# (line 109) ἀθάνατοι ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες.
οἳ μὲν ἐπὶ Κρόνου ἦσαν, ὅτ' οὐρανῷ ἐμβασίλευεν.
ὥστε θεοὶ δ' ἔζωον ἀκηδέα θυμὸν ἔχοντες
νόσφιν ἄτερ τε πόνων καὶ οἰζύος·
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τοῦτο γένος κατὰ γαῖα κάλυψεν
# (line 121; for κάλυψεν West omits the augment, as was done in ἐμ-βασίλευεν above, and maintains the full form of γαῖα; others elide the final vowel of γαῖα and include the augment, e.g. γαῖ' ἐκάλυψε, where the -ν is also omitted. The line is repeated before the paragraphs on the third and fourth races.) δεύτερον αὖτε γένος πολὺ χειρότερον μετόπισθεν
# (line 127) ἀργύρεον ποίησαν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες,
# (For δώματ' West elides the -α before a form whose root begins with a vowel.) χρυσέῳ οὔτε φυὴν ἐναλίγκιον οὔτε νόημα.
Ζεὺς δὲ πατὴρ τρίτον ἄλλο γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων
# (line 143) χάλκειον ποίησ' οὐκ ἀργυρέῳ οὐδὲν ὁμοῖον,
ἐκ μελιᾶν, δεινόν τε καὶ ὄβριμον· οἷσιν Ἄρηος
ἔργ' ἔμελε στονόεντα καὶ ὕβριες· οὐδέ τι σῖτον
ἤσθιον, ἀλλ' ἀδάμαντος ἔχον κρατερόφρονα θυμόν
αὔτις ἔτ' ἄλλο τέταρτον ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ
# (line 158) Ζεὺς Κρονίδης ποίησε, δικαιότερον καὶ ἄρειον,
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων θεῖον γένος, οἵ καλέονται
ἡμίθεοι, προτέρη γενεὴ κατ' ἀπείρονα γαῖαν.
νῦν γὰρ δὴ γένος ἐστὶ σιδήρεον· οὐδέ ποτ' ἧμαρ
# (line 176) παύονται καμάτου καὶ οἰζύος, οὐδέ τι νύκτωρ
φθειρόμενοι χαλεπὰς δὲ θεοὶ δώσουσι μερίμνας
ἀλλ' ἔμπης καὶ τοῖσι μεμείχεται ἐσθλὰ κακοῖσιν

Translation

First of all the immortal gods, who live on Olympus, made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Cronos when he was king in heaven. And they lived like gods having a life without sorrow, remote and without grief and suffering. ... But somewhat later after the earth covered this generation, those having Olympian homes made a second generation, silver, inferior, like the golden neither in stature nor in understanding. ... Father Zeus made a third, different race of humans endowed with speech, bronze out of the ash tree, in no way like the silver race, terrible and strong. The wretched works and violent acts of Ares were loved by them, and did not eat any bread, but they inflexibly maintained a dauntless spirit. ... Yet again Zeus, the son of Cronos, made another, the fourth, on the fruitful earth, that was more righteons and better, a godlike race of men, heroes, who are called demigods, the race prior to ours, on the boundless earth. ... And now indeed the race is of iron, and they do not stop laboring and suffering by day, and not at all from perishing by night. Indeed the gods give them difficult anxieties. But nevertheless, also for them, good will be mixed with evils.

Grammar

31 Inflection of adjectives and participles.

Section 12 provided the inflection of the most common adjectives, Here that of adjectives with consonantal stems is given for the adjective ἄκων 'unwilling'; it applies also to present participles.

    Masculine   Feminine   Neuter
Nom. sg.   ἄκων   ἄκουσα   ἄκον
Gen. sg.   ἄκοντος   ἀκούσης   ἀκοντος
Dat. sg.   ἄκοντι   ἀκούσῃ   ἄκοντι
Acc. sg.   ἄκοντα   ἄκουσαν   ἄκον
             
Nom. pl.   ἄκοντες   ἄκουσαι   ἄκοντα
Gen. pl.   ἀκόντων   ἀκουσῶν   ἀκόντων
Dat. pl.   ἄκουσι(ν)   ἀκούσαις   ἄκουσι(ν)
Acc. pl.   ἄκοντας   ἀκούσας   ἄκοντα

The frequent adjective, πᾶς 'all, whole' is also inflected in this way; the nominative and genitive singular are given as an illustration.

    Masculine   Feminine   Neuter
Nom. sg.   πᾶς   πᾶσα   πᾶν
Gen. sg.   παντός   πάσης   παντός

The nominative forms of other consonantal adjectives are given in dictionaries; the other cases may be identified with the help of the forms given above.

32 Two frequently occurring adjectives.

The forms of two frequently ocurring adjectives are given here in view of their common occurrence, μέγας 'great' and πολύς 'much'.

    Masculine   Feminine   Neuter
Nom. sg.   μέγας   μεγάλη   μέγα
Gen. sg.   μεγάλου   μεγάλης   μεγάλου
Dat. sg.   μεγάλῳ   μεγάλῃ   μεγάλῳ
Acc. sg.   μέγαν   μεγάλην   μέγα
             
Nom. pl.   μεγάλοι   μεγάλαι   μεγάλα
Gen. pl.   μεγάλων   μεγάλων   μεγάλων
Dat. pl.   μεγάλοις   μεγάλαις   μεγάλοις
Acc. pl.   μεγάλους   μεγάλας   μεγάλα

    Masculine   Feminine   Neuter
Nom. sg.   πολύς   πολλή   πόλυ
Gen. sg.   πολλοῦ   πολλῆς   πολλοῦ
Dat. sg.   πολλῷ   πολλῇ   πολλῴ
Acc. sg.   πολύν   πολλήν   πολύ
             
Nom. pl.   πολλοί   πολλαί   πολλά
Gen. pl.   πολλῶν   πολλῶν   πολλῶν
Dat. pl.   πολλοῖς   πολλαῖς   πολλοῖς
Acc. pl.   πολλούς   πολλάς   πολλά
33 Less frequent patterns of adjectival comparison.

The most frequent type of comparison with the suffixes -τερος, -τατος was given in section 22. Some common adjectives have different suffixes, as noted there for κακός, with its comparative in κακίων 'worse'and superlative κάκιστος. Similarly, καλός 'beautiful' has the forms καλλίων and κάλλιστος, ἐχθρός 'hostile' has the forms έχθίων, ἔχθιστος.

Other adjectives have different roots in the comparative and superlative forms. Some have several types of comparison, with differing connotations for the various types.

άγαθ́ος 'good'   ἀμείνων   ἄριστος   'clever, brave'
    βελτίων   βέλτιστος   'virtuous'
    κρείττων   κράτιστος   'strong, superior'
κακός 'bad'   χείρων   χείριστος   'less good'
    ἥττων   ἥκιστος   'weaker'
μέγας 'great'   μείζων   μέγιστος    
μικρός 'small'   μικρότερος   μικρότατος    
    ἐλάττων   ἐλαχ́ιστος   (also applies to ὀλίγος)
ὀλίγος 'little'   μείων   ---    
πολύς 'much'   πλείων   πλεῖστος    
34 Aorist of the passive.

As noted in section 30, the aorist in the passive differs from that in the middle.

    Indicative   Subjunctive   Optative   Imperative
1 sg   ἐπαιδεύθην   παιδευθῶ   παιδευθείην    
2 sg   ἐπαιδεύθης   παιδευθῇς   παιδευθείης   παιδεύθητι
3 sg   ἐπαιδεύθη   παιδευθῇ   παιδευθείη   παιδευθήτω
                 
1 pl   ἐπαιδεύθημεν   παιδευθῶμενͅ   παιδευθείημεν    
2 pl   ἐπαιδεύθητε   παιδευθῆτε   παιδευθείητε   παιδεύθητε
3 pl   ἐπαιδεύθησαν   παιδευθῶσι   παιδευθείησαν   παιδευθέντων
35 Infinitives and participles of the aorist middle and passive.
    Middle   Passive
Infinitive   παιδεύσασθαι
'to educate'
  παιδευθήσεσθαι
'to be educated'
Participle   παιδευσάμενος, -η, -ον
'one who educated'
  παιδευθείς, -θεῖσα, -θέν
'be educated'

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