Theogony and Works and Days

A New Bilingual Edition

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Pub Date 15 Apr 2017 | Archive Date 09 Jun 2017

Description

Parallel Translation Edition

Widely considered the first poet in the Western tradition to address the matter of his own experience, Hesiod occupies a seminal position in literary history. His Theogony brings together and formalizes many of the narratives of Greek myth, detailing the genealogy of its gods and their violent struggles for power. The Works and Days seems on its face to be a compendium of advice about managing a farm, but it ranges far beyond this scope to meditate on morality, justice, the virtues of a good life, and the place of humans in the universe. These poems are concerned with orderliness and organization, and they proclaim those ideals from small-scale to vast, from a handful of seeds to the story of the cosmos. Presented here in a bilingual edition, Johnson’s translation takes care to preserve the structure of Hesiod’s lines and sentences, achieving a sonic and rhythmic balance that enables us to hear his music across the millennia.
 

Parallel Translation Edition

Widely considered the first poet in the Western tradition to address the matter of his own experience, Hesiod occupies a seminal position in literary history. His Theogony...


Advance Praise

"Wonderfully sensitive to the musicality and order of Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, Kimberly Johnson’s deft translation restores attention to the complex poetic dimensions of these texts. With lyrical precision, Johnson illuminates the vast range of form and figure Hesiod employs to evoke the genealogy of gods and the labor of quotidian agricultural life. At the same time, this translation vividly captures the humor, restlessness, and forceful assertion that distinguishes Hesiod’s oeuvre. Johnson’s translation should be an essential text not only for readers of classical poetry, but for those interested in the long history of environmental literature." —Margaret Ronda, author of Personification 

"Wonderfully sensitive to the musicality and order of Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, Kimberly Johnson’s deft translation restores attention to the complex poetic dimensions of these texts...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780810134874
PRICE $16.95 (USD)
PAGES 176

Average rating from 9 members


Featured Reviews

Theogony and Works and Days: A New Bilingual Edition by Hesiod is a collection of ancient Greek poetry. Hesiod wrote in the late 8th Century BC. His work is preserved in dactyl hexameter and in over fifty sources exist. The work as published by Northwestern University Press is printed in both Greek and English on opposite pages. Kimberly Johnson is responsible for the translation. Johnson is a professor in the English department at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Johnson translates the Greek and provides the introductions. The Works are translated in a way to preserve the original intent as well as to keep the flow of words in poetic form. Reading Theogony one easily catches the rhythm of the words and lines and falls into the story. It reads as an epic poem much like the later Beowulf and Paradise Lost. Zeus throws lightning bolts without mercy instead of angels heaving mountains. There is a grand scale to it. For those not familiar with Greek mythology, the Kindle Edition will allow the reader to immediately identify gods, demigods, and titans with Wikipedia. I used that feature throughout the reading.

Johnson also explains why a large part of Theogony is devoted to the minor god Hekate. She was a bridge between the Titans and the Olympians. She was the last goddess born in the Titan generation but honored above all by Zeus. There is plenty of action in the poem as well as a bit of the god's family tree. The translation brings the poem to life.

Works and Days is a mix topics. There is Hesiod's dispute with his brother over inherited property. The rest is a mix of advice -- Never accept a gift from Zeus. Rules -- A man must never bathe in a woman's bath water. Agricultural advice -- how to use the constellations to determine planting and harvesting. Hesiod also offers advice on never planting on the thirteenth day of a waxing moon. This sounds a bit mystical, but recalling Hesiod's fondness of Hekate, the goddess of magic, among other things, it makes sense. Although it is not known if Hesiod took a wife he does offer advice on the subject:

When you've come to ripeness, bring home a wife --
Neither far shy of thirty nor aged too far past:
The sweet spot for your marrying.

Johnson translates an exciting bit of history, poetry, and mythology that seems rather rare today. The blending of several aspects of Greek culture in one book makes it an excellent study for those who enjoy poetry, history, or mythology. A great read and a great bit of education.

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A great resource for students and scholars. This edition provides a helpful introduction and explanation by the author and the Greek text and a new and clear English translation.of Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days.

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