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Homer and Hesiod are two of Greece’s most famous classical writers and poets that both lived sometime between the 8th and 7th century B.C.. Homer, believed to be the elder among the two, lived at around 750 B.C and is considered as Greece’s greatest poet. Two of his most important works are the Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War and is one of the most popular epic on Greek mythology. He also wrote the Odyssey, which tells about Odysseus’ adventure after the Trojan War. Hesiod, on the other hand, lived around 700 B.C. and is considered as the “father of Greek didactic poetry”. Two of his famous works were the ‘Theogony,’ which tells about the origins of the gods; and the ‘Works and Days,’ which tells about the typical peasant life in ancient Greece. The work of Homer and Hesiod are often being compared against each other. But because they both live in a particular point in time and share a similar culture, their writing style as well as the topic of their narratives has close resemblance with each other. However, if one looks closer, there are certain individualities in the work of these two great poets, which is mostly related to how they approach their narratives and how they depict their subjects. Nevertheless, no one can argue that these two poets gave the most vivid accounts of the life and culture of ancient Greece; and their contribution to human culture, particularly in literature, is significantly priceless.
Aside from being both of Grecian origin, Homer and Hesiod have striking similarities and differences. One of their similarities, for instance, is that both are epic writers. The work of Homer and Hesiod, according to scholars, are “part of a unified tradition known as epos” or epic poetry. Both writers are also didactic poets; that is, they use their poetry to give instructions on matters that concern religion, politics and morality. As observed by scholars, “part of the ancient reception of Homer was to consider his poetry to be the fount of various kinds of knowledge, ranging from skills and crafts to higher learning to politics, religion, and especially ethics”. Similarly, Hesiod’s works are didactic in nature, especially his work in ‘Works and Days’ wherein he instructs his brother, Perses, on morality and agriculture. Another striking resemblance between the works of these two poets is their use of the dactylic hexameter, a traditional rhythmic scheme or meter consisting of one long syllable followed by short syllables and is observed by poets in the classical period. According to scholars, dactylic hexameter signals that poems being recited are epics and that during the time of Homer and Hesiod, it is inconceivable that epic poems are not composed in hexameters.
Among the observable differences between Homer and Hesiod can be seen in the length of their poems. Homer’s works, for instance, are very long narratives while Hesiod’s works are significantly shorter as compared to Homer’s. Homer and Hesiod also vary in their approach towards Greek mythology. Homeric poems, for instance, are more passionate in its depiction of human characters and their adventures and talks less about the gods, while Hesiod’s narratives are more focused on the gods with little human participation. Hesiod, for instance, gives a fuller account of the origins of the gods as compared to Homer. For the same reason, scholars of Greek mythology turn to Hesiod for a more thorough understanding about the gods’ genesis and genealogy. However, when it comes to the depiction of the gods, it was Homer who gave a more concrete portrayal or depiction of the Greek gods. As observed by scholars, “Homer did not invent the gods, but the images of the gods contained in his poetry were the ones that continued to dominate the Greek imagination”. It can be said that Homer’s approach to Grecian mythology is more of the artistic type while Hesiod is more of the scholarly type.
Works Cited
Clay, J. Hesiod's Cosmos. 2003. February 2016 <http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam041/2003046175.pdf>.
Introduction to the Dactylic Hexameter. n.d. February 2016 <http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/classics/courses/1998fall/cl202/resource/meter/metintro.html>.
Lloyd, J. Homer. 2013. February 2016 <http://www.ancient.eu/homer/>.
Rosen, R. Homer and Hesiod. 1997. February 2016 <http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=classics_papers>.
Solmsen, F. Hesiod. 2016. February 2016 <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Hesiod>.
Wibmann, J. 'The Poet Teaches Us': How to Read Homer as a Didactic Writer. 2009. February 2016 <http://www.kirke.hu-berlin.de/fiec/proposals/wissmann.pdf>.
