For homework, we were assigned to read Hesiod's Works and Days. This read was a didactic poetry that contained instructional and informative qualities. As seen from the title, this read embodied daily life and work and formed a shepherd's calendar. It may have been written against a background of an agrarian crisis in mainland Greece, which inspired a wave of documented colonizations in search of new land[1].

After an introduction from Zeus and the Muses, the initial portion of the poem is an ethical enforcement of true labour and guidance from idleness and strife. The second section consisted of rules and tips regarding agriculture and farming. The final portion is a religious calendar of the months, with remarks on the days most lucky or the contrary for rural or nautical employments.

I found this read to be extremely intriguing as it emphasized that God’s prefer labor over idleness, which makes complete sense. Those who voluntarily work hard are favored over those who stay stationary and do not contribute to society. I also found it interesting how early in history this societal notion was expressed, and ideally I realize that our society is based off of this idea. We find hard workers to be favored over those who are idle, and this is a result of ideas from around 700 BCE.

Again it is seen where greek myth has played a role in our society today, and this discovery is rather remarkable. It is interesting that the thought was that God’s sought after hard work, while in modern society it is high business executives, experienced medical professionals, and other high achieving positions which contain this similar quality which God had on ancient civilizations.

Works Cited: Mastin, Luke. "Works and Days - Hesiod - Ancient Greece - Classical Literature." Works and Days - Hesiod - Ancient Greece - Classical Literature. Accessed March 07, 2016


 [1] Mastin, Luke. Works and Days