Hesiod: Theogony

Hesiod was and is regarded as one of the founding figures of Greek literature and culture, alongside Homer, and his Theogony is the first extant attempt to give an account of the whole, of the gods and of the cosmos, how it came to be, from what, and how it achieved its present state. Strong parallels can be identified between it and various myths and texts from the ancient Near East. Moreover, it was highly influential on subsequent Greek and Latin literature and philosophy. This, the first modern commentary in over half a century, includes all the necessary linguistic, textual, metrical, and literary material that will allow students to understand and enjoy the Theogony and its place in the literary tradition. It is intended primarily for advanced undergraduates and graduate students but will also be considered valuable by scholars of Greek literature and thought.

• Provides explanations of all difficult linguistic phenomena as well as a summary of the main linguistic features that differentiate the Theogony from Attic Greek so that students are equipped to translate and interpret the text
• The Introduction provides full coverage of the literary and cultural context so that students can understand how the poem's building blocks fit together and how it fits within the literary and philosophical tradition
• Each section of the Commentary is preceded by a detailed introduction to its narrative logic and structure and the main interpretative problems so that students are better equipped to understand the development of the Theogony's argument