What This Collection Is
This collection gathers the surviving fragments of the Greek world beyond the famous works of Homer. It centers on the Boeotian tradition of Hesiod, who abandons romantic heroes to focus on agricultural reality and the complex family tree of the gods. The volume contains the Works and Days, a blunt manual for 8th-century BCE survival, alongside the Theogony's account of how Zeus seized power. Beyond Hesiod, it preserves the Epic Cycle — lost stories that bridge the gaps between the Iliad and the Odyssey — and various Homeric Hymns dedicated to deities like Hermes and Aphrodite.
Figures & speakers
- Hesiod
A Boeotian farmer who offers agricultural maxims and moral warnings. (in “HESIOD’S WORKS AND DAYS”)
- Zeus
The father of gods who dances during the war against the Titans. (in “THE WAR OF THE TITANS”)
- Mopsus
A seer who defeats Calchas by correctly counting figs on a tree. (in “THE MELAMPODIA”)
- Alexandrus
The prince who chooses Aphrodite, leading to the abduction of Helen. (in “THE CYPRIA”)
What it's really about
- Justice
- Doing as one has done constitutes true cosmic justice.
- Hard Work
- Agricultural survival requires following the exact movements of the stars.
Why it's memorable
- A giant wooden horse standing outside Troy while the citizens debate burning it or keeping it.
- The seer Calchas dying of disappointment after failing a bushel-measure math problem.
Where it lands
The collection concludes with the Homerica, including the burlesque Battle of Frogs and Mice and fragments of lost epics like the Phocais.
For your book club
- Is the farmer's life in Boeotia a deliberate rejection of Homeric heroism?
- How do these fragmented 'lost' epics change the timeline of the Trojan War?