Ancient Greece Reflection Paper , writing homework help
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Excerpts from
Works and Days
–
Hesiod
1.
I will sum you up another tale well and skillfully
--
and do you lay it
up in your heart,
--
how the gods and mortal men sprang from one
source. First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a
golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of
Cronos the Titan
when he was reigning in heaven. And they lived like gods without
sorrow of heart, remote and free from toil and grief: miserable age rested
not on them; but with legs and arms never failing they made merry with
feasting beyond the reach o
f all evils. When they died, it was as though
they were overcome with sleep, and they had all good things; for the
fruitful earth unforced b
o
re them fruit abundantly and without stint.
They dwelt in ease and peace upon their lands with many good things,
ri
ch in flocks and loved by the blessed gods.
2.
But after earth had covered this generation
--
they are called pure
spirits dwelling on the earth, and are kindly, delivering from harm, and
guardians of mortal men; for they roam everywhere over the earth,
c
lothed in mist and keep watch on judgements and cruel deeds, givers of
wealth; for this royal right also they received;
--
then they who dwell on
Olympus made a second generation which was of silver and less noble
by far. It was like the golden race neithe
r in body nor in spirit. A child
was brought up at his good mother's side an hundred years, an utter
simpleton, playing childishly in his own home. But when they were full
grown and were come to the full measure of their prime, they lived only
a little tim
e in sorrow because of their foolishness, for they could not
keep from sinning and from wronging one another, nor would they serve
the immortals, nor sacrifice on the holy altars of the blessed ones as it is
right for men to do wherever they dwell. Then Ze
us the son of Cronos
was angry and put them away, because they would not give honour to
the blessed gods who live on Olympus.
3.
But when earth had covered this generation also
--
they are called
blessed spirits of the underworld by men, and, though they
are of second
order, yet honour attends them also
--
Zeus the Father made a third
generation of mortal men, a brazen race, sprung from ash
-
trees; and it
was in no way equal to the silver age, but was terrible and strong. They
loved the lamentable works of
Ares and deeds of violence; they ate no
bread, but were hard of heart like adamant, fearful men. Great was their
strength and unconquerable the arms which grew from their shoulders
on their strong limbs. Their armour was of bronze, and their houses of
bron
ze, and of bronze were their implements: there was no black iron.
These were destroyed by their own hands and passed to the dank house
of chill Hades, and left no name: terrible though they were, black Death
seized them, and they left the bright light of t
he sun.
4.
But when earth had covered this generation also, Zeus the son of
Cronos made yet another, the fourth, upon the fruitful earth, which was
nobler and more righteous, a god
-
like race of hero
-
men who are called
demi
-
gods, the race before our own, t
hroughout the boundless earth.
Grim war and dread battle destroyed a part of them, some in the land of
Cadmus at seven
-
gated Thebe when they fought for the flocks of
Oedipus, and some, when it had brought them in ships over the great sea
gulf to Troy for
rich
-
haired Helen's sake: there death's end enshrouded a
part of them. But to the others father Zeus the son of Cronos gave a
living and an abode apart from men, and made them dwell at the ends of
earth. And they live untouched by sorrow in the islands of
the blessed
along the shore of deep swirling Ocean, happy heroes for whom the
grain
-
giving earth bears honey
-
sweet fruit flourishing thrice a year, far
from the deathless gods, and Cronos rules over them; for the father of
men and gods released him from hi
s bonds. And these last equally have
honour and glory.
5.
And again far
-
seeing Zeus made yet another generation, the fifth, of
men who are upon the bounteous earth. Thereafter, would that I were
not among the men of the fifth generation, but either had d
ied before or
been born afterwards. For now truly is a race of iron, and men never rest
from labour and sorrow by day, and from perishing by night; and the
gods shall lay sore trouble upon them. But, notwithstanding, even these
shall have some good mingled
with their evils. And Zeus will destroy
this race of mortal men also when they come to have grey hair on the
temples at their birth. The father will not agree with his children, nor the
children with their father, nor guest with his host, nor comrade wit
h
comrade; nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. Men will
dishonour their parents as they grow quickly old, and will carp at them,
chiding them with bitter words, hard
-
hearted they, not knowing the fear
of the gods. They will not repay their ag
ed parents the cost their nurture,
for might shall be their right: and one man will sack another's city. . . .
Bitter sorrows will be left for mortal men, and there will be no help
against evil.
6.
For the gods keep hidden from men the means of life. Else
you would
easily do work enough in a day to supply you for a full year even
without working; soon would you put away your rudder over the smoke,
and the fields worked by ox and sturdy mule would run to waste. But
Zeus in the anger of his heart hid it, bec
ause Prometheus the crafty
deceived him; therefore he planned sorrow and mischief against men. He
hid fire; but that the noble son of Iapetus stole again for men from Zeus
the counsellor in a hollow fennel
-
stalk, so that Zeus who delights in
thunder did no
t see it.
7.
But afterwards Zeus who gathers the clouds said to him in anger:
`
Prometheus
, surpassing all in cunning, you are glad that you have
outwitted me and stolen fire
--
a great plague to you yourself and to men
that shall be. But I will give men a
s the price for fire an evil thing in
which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace their own
destruction.' So said the father of men and gods, and laughed aloud.
8.
And Zeus bade famous Hephaestus make haste and mix earth with
water and to put
in it the voice and strength of human kind, and fashion
a sweet, lovely maiden
-
shape, like to the immortal goddesses in face;
and Athena to teach her needlework and the weaving of the varied web;
and golden Aphrodite to shed grace upon her head and cruel l
onging and
cares that weary the limbs. And he charged Hermes the guide to put in
her a shameless mind and a deceitful nature.
9.
So Zeus ordered. And the gods obeyed the lord Zeus the son of
Cronos. Forthwith the famous Lame God moulded clay in the likene
ss of
a modest maid. And the goddess bright
-
eyed Athena girded and clothed
her, and the divine Graces and queenly Persuasion put necklaces of gold
upon her, and the rich
-
haired Hours crowned her head with spring
flowers. And Athena bedecked her form with a
ll manners of finery. Also
Hermes the Guide contrived within her lies and crafty words and a
deceitful nature at the will of loud thundering Zeus, and the Herald of
the gods put speech in her.
10.
And Zeus called this woman Pandora because all the gods wh
o dwelt
on Olympus gave each a gift, a plague to men who eat bread.
11.
But when Zeus had finished the sheer, hopeless snare, the Father sent
glorious Hermes, the swift messenger of the gods, to take it to the man
Epimetheus as a gift. And Epimetheus did
not think on what Prometheus
had said to him, bidding him never take a gift of Olympian Zeus, but to
send it back for fear it might prove to be something harmful to men. But
he took the gift, and afterwards, when the evil thing was already his, he
understo
od.
12.
For ere this the tribes of men lived on earth remote and free from ills
and hard toil and heavy sickness which bring the Fates upon men; for in
misery men grow old quickly.
13.
But the woman took off the great lid of the jar with her hands and
scattered all that came forth, and her thought caused sorrow and
mischief to men. Only Hope remained there in an unbreakable home
within under the rim of the great jar, and did not fly out
at the door; for
ere that, the lid of the jar stopped her, by the will of Zeus who gathers
the clouds.
14.
But the rest, countless plagues, wander amongst men; for earth is full
of evils and the sea is full. Of themselves diseases come upon men
continuall
y by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently;
for wise Zeus took away speech from them. So is there no way to escape
the will of Zeus.
Excerpts from Apollonius,
The Library
15. Prometheus moulded men out of water and earth
and gave them al
so
fire, which, unknown to Zeus, he had hidden in a stalk of fennel.
But
when Zeus learned of it, he ordered Hephaestus to nail his body to
Mount Caucasus, which is a Scythian mountain. On it Prometheus was
nailed and kept bound for many years. Every day a
n eagle swooped on
him and devoured the lobes of his liver, which grew by night. That was
the penalty that Prometheus paid for the theft of fire until Hercules
afterwards released him, as we shall show in dealing with Hercules.
16. And Prometheus had a son
Deucalion.
He reigning in the regions
about Phthia, married Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora,
the first woman fashioned by the gods.
And when Zeus would destroy
the men of the Bronze Age, Deucalion by the advice of Prometheus
constructed a c
hest,
and having stored it with provisions he embarked in
it with Pyrrha. But Zeus by pouring heavy rain from heaven flooded the
greater part of Greece, so that all men were destroyed, except a few who
fled to the high mountains in the neighborhood. It was
then that the
mountains in Thessaly parted, and that all the world outside the Isthmus
and Peloponnese was overwhelmed.
17. But Deucalion, floating in the chest over the sea for nine days and as
many nights, drifted to Parnassus, and there, when the rain
ceased, he
landed and sacrificed to Zeus, the god of Escape. And Zeus sent Hermes
to him and allowed him to choose what he would, and he chose to get
men. And at the bidding of Zeus he took up stones and threw them over
his head, and the stones which Deuc
alion threw became men, and the
stones which Pyrrha threw became women. Hence people were called
metaphorically people (laos) from laas, “a stone.”
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