Containstranslationsofthefollowingworks:
Hesiod:\"WorksandDays\",\"TheTheogony\",fragmentsof\"TheCataloguesofWomenandtheEoiae\",\"TheShieldofHeracles\"
（attributedtoHesiod）,andfragmentsofvariousworksattributedtoHesiod。
Homer:\"TheHomericHymns\",\"TheEpigramsofHomer\"（bothattributedtoHomer）。
Various:FragmentsoftheEpicCycle（partsofwhicharesometimesattributedtoHomer）,fragmentsofotherepicpoemsattributedtoHomer,\"TheBattleofFrogsandMice\",and\"TheContestofHomerandHesiod\"。
PREFACE
Thisvolumecontainspracticallyallthatremainsofthepost—
Homericandpre—academicepicpoetry。
Ihaveforthemostpartformedmyowntext。InthecaseofHesiodIhavebeenabletouseindependentcollationsofseveralMSS。byDr。W。H。D。Rouse;otherwiseIhavedependedontheapparatuscriticusoftheseveraleditions,especiallythatofRzach（1902）。Thearrangementadoptedinthisedition,bywhichthecompleteandfragmentarypoemsarerestoredtotheorderinwhichtheywouldprobablyhaveappearedhadtheHesiodiccorpussurvivedintact,isunusual,butshouldnotneedapology;thetrueplaceforthe\"Catalogues\"（forexample）,fragmentaryastheyare,iscertainlyafterthe\"Theogony\"。
Inpreparingthetextofthe\"HomericHymns\"mychiefdebt——anditisaheavyone——istotheeditionofAllenandSikes（1904）
andtotheseriesofarticlesinthe\"JournalofHellenicStudies\"（vols。xv。sqq。）byT。W。Allen。TothesamescholarandtotheDelegatesoftheClarendonPressIamgreatlyindebtedforpermissiontousetherestorationsofthe\"HymntoDemeter\",lines387—401and462—470,printedintheOxfordTextof1912。
OfthefragmentsoftheEpicCycleIhavegivenonlysuchasseemedtopossessdistinctimportanceorinterest,andindoingsohavereliedmostlyuponKinkel\'scollectionandonthefifthvolumeoftheOxfordHomer（1912）。
Thetextsofthe\"Batrachomyomachia\"andofthe\"ContestofHomerandHesiod\"arethoseofBaumeisterandFlachrespectively:whereIhavedivergedfromthese,thefacthasbeennoted。
HughG。Evelyn—White,Rampton,NR。Cambridge。
Sept。9th,1914。
INTRODUCTION
GeneralTheearlyGreekepic——thatis,poetryasanaturalandpopular,andnot（asitbecamelater）anartificialandacademicliteraryform——passedthroughtheusualthreephases,ofdevelopment,ofmaturity,andofdecline。
Nofragmentswhichcanbeidentifiedasbelongingtothefirstperiodsurvivetogiveusevenageneralideaofthehistoryoftheearliestepic,andwearethereforethrownbackupontheevidenceofanalogyfromotherformsofliteratureandofinferencefromthetwogreatepicswhichhavecomedowntous。
Soreconstructed,theearliestperiodappearstousasatimeofslowdevelopmentinwhichthecharacteristicepicmetre,diction,andstructuregrewupslowlyfromcrudeelementsandwereimproveduntilthevergeofmaturitywasreached。
Thesecondperiod,whichproducedthe\"Iliad\"andthe\"Odyssey\",needsnodescriptionhere:butitisveryimportanttoobservetheeffectofthesepoemsonthecourseofpost—Homericepic。Asthesupremeperfectionanduniversalityofthe\"Iliad\"andthe\"Odyssey\"castintooblivionwhateverpre—Homericpoetshadessayed,sothesesamequalitiesexercisedaparalysinginfluenceoverthesuccessorsofHomer。Iftheycontinuedtosingliketheirgreatpredecessorofromanticthemes,theyweredrawnasbyakindofmagneticattractionintotheHomericstyleandmanneroftreatment,andbecamemereechoesoftheHomericvoice:inaword,Homerhadsocompletelyexhaustedtheepicgenre,thatafterhimfurthereffortsweredoomedtobemerelyconventional。
OnlytherareandexceptionalgeniusofVergilandMiltoncouldusetheHomericmediumwithoutlossofindividuality:andthisqualitynoneofthelaterepicpoetsseemtohavepossessed。
Freedomfromthedominationofthegreattraditioncouldonlybefoundbyseekingnewsubjects,andsuchfreedomwasreallyonlyillusionary,sinceromanticsubjectsalonearesuitableforepictreatment。
Initsthirdperiod,therefore,epicpoetryshowstwodivergenttendencies。InIoniaandtheislandstheepicpoetsfollowedtheHomerictradition,singingofromanticsubjectsinthenowstereotypedheroicstyle,andshowingoriginalityonlyintheirchoiceoflegendshithertoneglectedorsummarilyandimperfectlytreated。IncontinentalGreece（1）,ontheotherhand,butespeciallyinBoeotia,anewformofepicsprangup,whichfortheromanceandPATHOSoftheIonianSchoolsubstitutedthepracticalandmatter—of—fact。Itdealtinmoralandpracticalmaxims,ininformationontechnicalsubjectswhichareofserviceindailylife——agriculture,astronomy,augury,andthecalendar——inmattersofreligionandintracingthegenealogiesofmen。
ItsattitudeissummedupinthewordsoftheMusestothewriterofthe\"Theogony\":`Wecantellmanyafeignedtaletolookliketruth,butwecan,whenwewill,utterthetruth\'（\"Theogony\"
26—27）。Suchapoetrycouldnotbepermanentlysuccessful,becausethesubjectsofwhichittreats——ifsusceptibleofpoetictreatmentatall——werecertainlynotsuitedforepictreatment,whereunityofactionwhichwillsustaininterest,andtowhicheachpartshouldcontribute,isabsolutelynecessary。
While,therefore,anepiclikethe\"Odyssey\"isanorganismanddramaticinstructure,aworksuchasthe\"Theogony\"isamerelyartificialcollocationoffacts,and,atbest,apageant。Itisnotsurprising,therefore,tofindthatfromthefirsttheBoeotianschoolisforcedtoseasonitsmatterwithromanticepisodes,andthatlaterittendsmoreandmoretorevert（asinthe\"ShieldofHeracles\"）totheHomerictradition。
TheBoeotianSchoolHowdidthecontinentalschoolofepicpoetryarise？Thereislittledefinitematerialforananswertothisquestion,buttheprobabilityisthattherewereatleastthreecontributorycauses。First,itislikelythatbeforetheriseoftheIonianeposthereexistedinBoeotiaapurelypopularandindigenouspoetryofacrudeform:itcomprised,wemaysuppose,versifiedproverbsandpreceptsrelatingtolifeingeneral,agriculturalmaxims,weather—lore,andthelike。InthissensetheBoeotianpoetrymaybetakentohaveitsgerminmaximssimilartoourEnglish`TillMaybeout,ne\'ercastaclout,\'
or`ArainbowinthemorningIstheShepherd\'swarning。\'
SecondlyandthirdlywemayascribetheriseofthenewepictothenatureoftheBoeotianpeopleand,asalreadyremarked,toaspiritofrevoltagainsttheoldepic。TheBoeotians,peopleoftheclassofwhichHesiodrepresentshimselftobethetype,wereessentiallyunromantic;theirdailyneedsmarkedthegenerallimitoftheirideals,and,asaclass,theycaredlittleforworksoffancy,forpathos,orforfinethoughtassuch。ToapeopleofthisnaturetheHomericeposwouldbeinacceptable,andthepost—Homericepic,withitsconventionalatmosphere,itstriteandhackneyeddiction,anditsinsinceresentiment,wouldbeanathema。Wecanimagine,therefore,thatamongsuchfolkasettler,ofAeolicoriginlikeHesiod,whoclearlywaswellacquaintedwiththeIonianepos,wouldnaturallyseethattheonlyoutletforhisgiftslayinapplyingepicpoetrytonewthemesacceptabletohishearers。
ThoughthepoemsoftheBoeotianschool（2）wereunanimouslyassignedtoHesioddowntotheageofAlexandriancriticism,theywereclearlyneithertheworkofonemannorevenofoneperiod:
some,doubtless,werefraudulentlyfatheredonhiminordertogaincurrency;butitisprobablethatmostcametoberegardedashispartlybecauseoftheirgeneralcharacter,andpartlybecausethenamesoftheirrealauthorswerelost。Onefactinthisattributionisremarkable——thevenerationpaidtoHesiod。
LifeofHesiodOurinformationrespectingHesiodisderivedinthemainfromnoticesandallusionsintheworksattributedtohim,andtothesemustbeaddedtraditionsconcerninghisdeathandburialgatheredfromlaterwriters。
Hesiod\'sfather（whosename,byaperversionof\"WorksandDays\",299PERSEDIONGENOStoPERSE,DIONGENOS,wasthoughttohavebeenDius）wasanativeofCymeinAeolis,wherehewasaseafaringtraderand,perhaps,alsoafarmer。Hewasforcedbypovertytoleavehisnativeplace,andreturnedtocontinentalGreece,wherehesettledatAscranearThespiaeinBoeotia（\"WorksandDays\",636ff。）。EitherinCymeorAscra,twosons,HesiodandPerses,wereborntothesettler,andthese,afterhisdeath,dividedthefarmbetweenthem。Perses,however,whoisrepresentedasanidlerandspendthrift,obtainedandkeptthelargersharebybribingthecorrupt`lords\'whoruledfromThespiae（\"WorksandDays\",37—39）。Whilehisbrotherwastedhispatrimonyandultimatelycametowant（\"WorksandDays\",34ff。）,Hesiodlivedafarmer\'slifeuntil,accordingtotheveryearlytraditionpreservedbytheauthorofthe\"Theogony\"（22—23）,theMusesmethimashewastendingsheeponMt。Heliconand`taughthimaglorioussong\'——doubtlessthe\"WorksandDays\"。TheonlyotherpersonalreferenceistohisvictoryinapoeticalcontestatthefuneralgamesofAmphidamasatChalcisinEuboea,wherehewontheprize,atripod,whichhededicatedtotheMusesofHelicon（\"WorksandDays\",651—9）。
BeforewegoontothestoryofHesiod\'sdeath,itwillbewelltoinquirehowfarthe\"autobiographical\"noticescanbetreatedashistorical,especiallyasmanycriticstreatsome,orallofthem,asspurious。Inthefirstplaceattemptshavebeenmadetoshowthat\"Hesiod\"isasignificantnameandthereforefictitious:itisonlynecessarytomentionGoettling\'sderivationfromIEMItoODOS（whichwouldmake`Hesiod\'meanthe`guide\'invirtuesandtechnicalarts）,andtorefertothepitifulattemptsinthe\"EtymologicumMagnum\"（s。v。ESIODUS）,toshowhowprejudicedandlackingeveninplausibilitysucheffortsare。Itseemscertainthat`Hesiod\'standsasapropernameinthefullestsense。Secondly,Hesiodclaimsthathisfather——ifnothehimself——camefromAeolisandsettledinBoeotia。Thereisfairlydefiniteevidencetowarrantouracceptanceofthis:thedialectofthe\"WorksandDays\"isshownbyRzach（3）tocontaindistinctAeolismsapartfromthosewhichformedpartofthegeneralstockofepicpoetry。AndthatthisAeolicspeakingpoetwasaBoeotianofAscraseemsevenmorecertain,sincethetraditionisneveroncedisputed,insignificantthoughtheplacewas,evenbeforeitsdestructionbytheThespians。
Again,Hesiod\'sstoryofhisrelationswithhisbrotherPerseshavebeentreatedwithscepticism（seeMurray,\"Anc。Gk。
Literature\",pp。53—54）:Perses,itisurged,isclearlyameredummy,setuptobethetargetforthepoet\'sexhortations。Onsuchamatterpreciseevidenceisnaturallynotforthcoming;butallprobabilityisagainstthescepticalview。For1）ifthequarrelbetweenthebrotherswereafiction,weshouldexpectittobedetailedatlengthandnotnoticedallusivelyandratherobscurely——aswefindit;2）asMM。Croisetremark,ifthepoetneededalay—figuretheordinarypracticewastointroducesomemythologicalperson——as,infact,isdoneinthe\"PreceptsofChiron\"。Inaword,thereisnomoresolidgroundfortreatingPersesandhisquarrelwithHesiodasfictitiousthantherewouldbefortreatingCyrnus,thefriendofTheognis,asmythical。
Thirdly,thereisthepassageinthe\"Theogony\"relatingtoHesiodandtheMuses。Itissurelyanerrortosupposethatlines22—35allrefertoHesiod:rather,theauthorofthe\"Theogony\"tellsthestoryofhisowninspirationbythesameMuseswhooncetaughtHesiodglorioussong。Thelines22—3arethereforeaveryearlypieceoftraditionaboutHesiod,andthoughtheappearanceofMusesmustbetreatedasagracefulfiction,wefindthatawriter,laterthanthe\"WorksandDays\"
byperhapsnomorethanthree—quartersofacentury,believedintheactualityofHesiodandinhislifeasafarmerorshepherd。
Lastly,thereisthefamousstoryofthecontestinsongatChalcis。Inlatertimesthemodestversioninthe\"WorksandDays\"waselaborated,firstbymakingHomertheopponentwhomHesiodconquered,whilealaterperiodexerciseditsingenuityinworkingupthestoryofthecontestintotheelaborateforminwhichitstillsurvives。Finallythecontest,inwhichthetwopoetscontendedwithhymnstoApollo（4）,wastransferredtoDelos。Thesedevelopmentscertainlyneednoconsideration:arewetosaythesameofthepassageinthe\"WorksandDays\"？
CriticsfromPlutarchdownwardshavealmostunanimouslyrejectedthelines654—662,onthegroundthatHesiod\'sAmphidamasistheherooftheLelantineWarsbetweenChalcisandEretria,whosedeathmaybeplacedcirca705B。C。——adatewhichisobviouslytoolowforthegenuineHesiod。Nevertheless,thereismuchtobesaidindefenceofthepassage。Hesiod\'sclaiminthe\"WorksandDays\"ismodest,sinceheneitherpretendstohavemetHomer,nortohavesunginanybutanimpromptu,localfestival,sothatthesupposedinterpolationlacksasufficientmotive。AndthereisnothinginthecontexttoshowthatHesiod\'sAmphidamasistobeidentifiedwiththatAmphidamaswhomPlutarchaloneconnectswiththeLelantineWar:thenamemayhavebeenbornebyanearlierChalcidian,anancestor,perhaps,ofthepersontowhomPlutarchrefers。
ThestoryoftheendofHesiodmaybetoldinoutline。AfterthecontestatChalcis,HesiodwenttoDelphiandtherewaswarnedthatthe`issueofdeathshouldovertakehiminthefairgroveofNemeanZeus。\'AvoidingthereforeNemeaontheIsthmusofCorinth,towhichhesupposedtheoracletorefer,HesiodretiredtoOenoeinLocriswherehewasentertainedbyAmphiphanesandGanyetor,sonsofacertainPhegeus。Thisplace,however,wasalsosacredtoNemeanZeus,andthepoet,suspectedbyhishostsofhavingseducedtheirsister（5）,wasmurderedthere。Hisbody,castintothesea,wasbroughttoshorebydolphinsandburiedatOenoe（or,accordingtoPlutarch,atAscra）:atalatertimehisboneswereremovedtoOrchomenus。Thewholestoryisfullofmiraculouselements,andthevariousauthoritiesdisagreeonnumerouspointsofdetail。Thetraditionseems,however,tobeconstantindeclaringthatHesiodwasmurderedandburiedatOenoe,andinthisrespectitisatleastasoldasthetimeofThucydides。InconclusionitmaybeworthwhiletoaddthegracefulepigramofAlcaeusofMessene（\"PalatineAnthology\",vii55）。
\"WhenintheshadyLocriangroveHesiodlaydead,theNymphswashedhisbodywithwaterfromtheirownsprings,andheapedhighhisgrave;andthereonthegoat—herdssprinkledofferingsofmilkmingledwithyellow—honey:suchwastheutteranceofthenineMusesthathebreathedforth,thatoldmanwhohadtastedoftheirpuresprings。\"
TheHesiodicPoemsTheHesiodicpoemsfallintotwogroupsaccordingastheyaredidactic（technicalorgnomic）orgenealogical:thefirstgroupcentresroundthe\"WorksandDays\",thesecondroundthe\"Theogony\"。
I。\"TheWorksandDays\":
Thepoemconsistsoffourmainsections。a）Aftertheprelude,whichPausaniasfailedtofindintheancientcopyengravedonleadseenbyhimonMt。Helicon,comesageneralexhortationtoindustry。ItbeginswiththeallegoryofthetwoStrifes,whostandforwholesomeEmulationandQuarrelsomenessrespectively。
ThenbymeansoftheMythofPandorathepoetshowshowevilandtheneedforworkfirstarose,andgoesontodescribetheFiveAgesoftheWorld,tracingthegradualincreaseinevil,andemphasizingthepresentmiserableconditionoftheworld,aconditioninwhichstruggleisinevitable。Next,aftertheFableoftheHawkandNightingale,whichservesasacondemnationofviolenceandinjustice,thepoetpassesontocontrasttheblessingwhichRighteousnessbringstoanation,andthepunishmentwhichHeavensendsdownupontheviolent,andthesectionconcludeswithaseriesofpreceptsonindustryandprudentconductgenerally。b）Thesecondsectionshowshowamanmayescapewantandmiserybyindustryandcarebothinagricultureandintradingbysea。Neithersubject,itshouldbecarefullynoted,istreatedinanywaycomprehensively。c）Thethirdpartisoccupiedwithmiscellaneouspreceptsrelatingmostlytoactionsofdomesticandeverydaylifeandconductwhichhavelittleornoconnectionwithoneanother。d）Thefinalsectionistakenupwithaseriesofnoticesonthedaysofthemonthwhicharefavourableorunfavourableforagriculturalandotheroperations。
Itisfromthesecondandfourthsectionsthatthepoemtakesitsname。Atfirstsightsuchaworkseemstobeamiscellanyofmyths,technicaladvice,moralprecepts,andfolkloremaximswithoutanyunifyingprinciple;andcriticshavereadilytakentheviewthatthewholeisacantooffragmentsorshortpoemsworkedupbyaredactor。VeryprobablyHesiodusedmuchmaterialofafarolderdate,justasShakespeareusedthe\"GestaRomanorum\",oldchronicles,andoldplays;butcloseinspectionwillshowthatthe\"WorksandDays\"hasarealunityandthatthepicturesquetitleissomewhatmisleading。Thepoemhasproperlynotechnicalobjectatall,butismoral:itsrealaimistoshowmenhowbesttoliveinadifficultworld。Soviewedthefourseeminglyindependentsectionswillbefoundtobelinkedtogetherinarealbondofunity。Suchaconnectionbetweenthefirstandsecondsectionsiseasilyseen,butthelinksbetweentheseandthethirdandfourtharenolessreal:tomakelifegotolerablysmoothlyitismostimportanttobejustandtoknowhowtowinalivelihood;buthappinessalsolargelydependsonprudenceandcarebothinsocialandhomelifeaswell,andnotleastonavoidanceofactionswhichoffendsupernaturalpowersandbringill—luck。Andfinally,ifyourindustryistobefruitful,youmustknowwhatdaysaresuitableforvariouskindsofwork。Thismoralaim——asopposedtothecurrentlyacceptedtechnicalaimofthepoem——explainstheotherwisepuzzlingincompletenessoftheinstructionsonfarmingandseafaring。
OftheHesiodicpoemssimilarincharactertothe\"WorksandDays\",onlythescantiestfragmentssurvive。Oneatleastofthese,the\"DivinationbyBirds\",was,asweknowfromProclus,attachedtotheendofthe\"Works\"untilitwasrejectedbyApolloniusRhodius:doubtlessitcontinuedthesamethemeofhowtolive,showinghowmancanavoiddisastersbyattendingtotheomenstobedrawnfrombirds。Itispossiblethatthe\"Astronomy\"or\"Astrology\"（asPlutarchcallsit）wasinturnappendedtothe\"Divination\"。Itcertainlygavesomeaccountoftheprincipalconstellations,theirdatesofrisingandsetting,andthelegendsconnectedwiththem,andprobablyshowedhowtheseinfluencedhumanaffairsormightbeusedasguides。The\"PreceptsofChiron\"wasadidacticpoemmadeupofmoralandpracticalprecepts,resemblingthegnomicsectionsofthe\"WorksandDays\",addressedbytheCentaurChirontohispupilAchilles。
Evenlessisknownofthepoemcalledthe\"GreatWorks\":thetitleimpliesthatitwassimilarinsubjecttothesecondsectionofthe\"WorksandDays\",butlonger。PossiblereferencesinRomanwriters（6）indicatethatamongthesubjectsdealtwithwerethecultivationofthevineandoliveandvariousherbs。
TheinclusionofthejudgmentofRhadamanthys（frag。1）:`Ifamansowevil,heshallreapevil,\'indicatesagnomicelement,andthenotebyProclus（7）on\"WorksandDays\"126makesitlikelythatmetalsalsoweredealtwith。Itisthereforepossiblethatanotherlostpoem,the\"IdaeanDactyls\",whichdealtwiththediscoveryofmetalsandtheirworking,wasappendedto,orevenwasapartofthe\"GreatWorks\",justasthe\"DivinationbyBirds\"wasappendedtothe\"WorksandDays\"。
II。TheGenealogicalPoems:
Theonlycompletepoemofthegenealogicalgroupisthe\"Theogony\",whichtracesfromthebeginningofthingsthedescentandvicissitudesofthefamiliesofthegods。Likethe\"WorksandDays\"thispoemhasnodramaticplot;butitsunifyingprincipleisclearandsimple。Thegodsareclassifiedchronologically:assoonasonegenerationiscatalogued,thepoetgoesontodetailtheoffspringofeachmemberofthatgeneration。Exceptionsareonlymadeinspecialcases,astheSonsofIapetus（ll。507—616）whoseplaceisaccountedforbytheirtreatmentbyZeus。Thechieflandmarksinthepoemareasfollows:afterthefirst103lines,whichcontainatleastthreedistinctpreludes,threeprimevalbeingsareintroduced,Chaos,Earth,andEros——hereanindefinitereproductiveinfluence。Ofthesethree,EarthproducesHeaventowhomshebearstheTitans,theCyclopesandthehundred—handedgiants。TheTitans,oppressedbytheirfather,revoltattheinstigationofEarth,undertheleadershipofCronos,andasaresultHeavenandEarthareseparated,andCronosreignsovertheuniverse。Cronosknowingthatheisdestinedtobeovercomebyoneofhischildren,swallowseachoneofthemastheyareborn,untilZeus,savedbyRhea,growsupandovercomesCronosinsomestrugglewhichisnotdescribed。Cronosisforcedtovomitupthechildrenhehadswallowed,andthesewithZeusdividetheuniversebetweenthem,likeahumanestate。TwoeventsmarktheearlyreignofZeus,thewarwiththeTitansandtheoverthrowofTyphoeus,andasZeusisstillreigningthepoetcanonlygoontogivealistofgodsborntoZeusbyvariousgoddesses。AfterthisheformallybidsfarewelltothecosmicandOlympiandeitiesandenumeratesthesonsbornofgoddesstomortals。ThepoemcloseswithaninvocationoftheMusestosingofthe`tribeofwomen\'。
Thisconclusionservedtolinkthe\"Theogony\"towhatmusthavebeenadistinctpoem,the\"CataloguesofWomen\"。Thisworkwasdividedintofour（Suidassaysfive）books,thelastone（ortwo）
ofwhichwasknownasthe\"Eoiae\"andmayhavebeenagainadistinctpoem:thecurioustitlewillbeexplainedpresently。
The\"Catalogues\"properwereaseriesofgenealogieswhichtracedtheHellenicrace（oritsmoreimportantpeoplesandfamilies）
fromacommonancestor。Thereasonwhywomenaresoprominentisobvious:sincemostfamiliesandtribesclaimedtobedescendedfromagod,theonlysafecluetotheiroriginwasthroughamortalwomanbelovedbythatgod;andithasalsobeenpointedoutthat`mutterrecht\'stillleftitstracesinnorthernGreeceinhistoricaltimes。
Thefollowinganalysis（afterMarckscheffel）（8）willshowtheprincipleofitscomposition。FromPrometheusandPronoiasprangDeucalionandPyrrha,theonlysurvivorsofthedeluge,whohadasonHellen（frag。1）,thereputedancestorofthewholeHellenicrace。FromthedaughtersofDeucalionsprangMagnesandMacedon,ancestorsoftheMagnesiansandMacedonians,whoarethusrepresentedascousinstothetrueHellenicstock。Hellenhadthreesons,Dorus,Xuthus,andAeolus,parentsoftheDorian,IonicandAeolianraces,andtheoffspringofthesewasthendetailed。Inoneinstanceaconsiderableandcharacteristicsectioncanbetracedfromextantfragmentsandnotices:
Salmoneus,sonofAeolus,hadadaughterTyrowhoboretoPoseidontwosons,PeliasandNeleus;thelatterofthese,kingofPylos,refusedHeraclespurificationforthemurderofIphitus,whereuponHeraclesattackedandsackedPylos,killingamongsttheothersonsofNeleusPericlymenus,whohadthepowerofchanginghimselfintoallmannerofshapes。FromthisslaughterNeleusaloneescaped（frags。13,and10—12）。Thissummaryshowsthegeneralprincipleofarrangementofthe\"Catalogues\":eachlineseemstohavebeendealtwithinturn,andthemonotonywasrelievedasfaraspossiblebyabriefrelationoffamousadventuresconnectedwithanyofthepersonages——asinthecaseofAtalantaandHippomenes（frag。
14）。SimilarlythestoryoftheArgonautsappearsfromthefragments（37—42）tohavebeentoldinsomedetail。
Thistendencytointroduceromanticepisodesledtoanimportantdevelopment。SeveralpoemsareascribedtoHesiod,suchasthe\"EpithalamiumofPeleusandThetis\",the\"DescentofTheseusintoHades\",orthe\"CircuitoftheEarth\"（whichmusthavebeenconnectedwiththestoryofPhineusandtheHarpies,andsowiththeArgonaut—legend）,whichyetseemtohavebelongedtothe\"Catalogues\"。Itishighlyprobablethatthesepoemswereinterpolationsintothe\"Catalogues\"expandedbylaterpoetsfrommoresummarynoticesinthegenuineHesiodicworkandsubsequentlydetachedfromtheircontextsandtreatedasindependent。Thisisdefinitelyknowntobetrueofthe\"ShieldofHeracles\",thefirst53linesofwhichbelongtothefourthbookofthe\"Catalogues\",andalmostcertainlyappliestootherepisodes,suchasthe\"SuitorsofHelen\"（9）,the\"DaughtersofLeucippus\",andthe\"MarriageofCeyx\",whichlastPlutarchmentionsas`interpolatedintheworksofHesiod。\'
Tothe\"Catalogues\",aswehavesaid,wasappendedanotherwork,the\"Eoiae\"。Thetitleseemstohaveariseninthefollowingway（10）:the\"Catalogues\"probablyended（ep。\"Theogony\"963ff。）
withsomesuchpassageasthis:`Butnow,yeMuses,singofthetribesofwomenwithwhomtheSonsofHeavenwerejoinedinlove,womenpre—eminentabovetheirfellowsinbeauty,suchaswasNiobe（？）。\'Eachsucceedingheroinewasthenintroducedbytheformula`Orsuchaswas……\'（cp。frags。88,92,etc。）。Alargefragmentofthe\"Eoiae\"isextantatthebeginningofthe\"ShieldofHeracles\",whichmaybementionedhere。The\"supplement\"（ll。
57—480）isnominallyHeraclesandCycnus,butthegreaterpartistakenupwithaninferiordescriptionoftheshieldofHeracles,inimitationoftheHomericshieldofAchilles（\"Iliad\"xviii。
478ff。）。NothingshowsmoreclearlythecollapseoftheprinciplesoftheHesiodicschoolthanthisultimateserviledependenceuponHomericmodels。
Atthecloseofthe\"Shield\"HeraclesgoesontoTrachistothehouseofCeyx,andthiswarningsuggeststhatthe\"MarriageofCeyx\"mayhavecomeimmediatelyafterthe`Orsuchaswas\'ofAlcmenainthe\"Eoiae\":possiblyHalcyone,thewifeofCeyx,wasoneoftheheroinessunginthepoem,andtheoriginalsectionwas`developed\'intothe\"Marriage\",althoughwhatformthepoemtookisunknown。
Nexttothe\"Eoiae\"andthepoemswhichseemedtohavebeendevelopedfromit,itisnaturaltoplacethe\"GreatEoiae\"。
This,again,asweknowfromfragments,wasalistofheroineswhobarechildrentothegods:fromthetitlewemustsupposeittohavebeenmuchlongerthatthesimple\"Eoiae\",butitsextentisunknown。Lehmann,remarkingthattheheroinesareallBoeotianandThessalian（whiletheheroinesofthe\"Catalogues\"
belongtoallpartsoftheGreekworld）,believestheauthortohavebeeneitheraBoeotianorThessalian。
TwootherpoemsareascribedtoHesiod。Ofthesethe\"Aegimius\"
（alsoascribedbyAthenaeustoCercopsofMiletus）,isthoughtbyValckenaertodealwiththewarofAegimusagainsttheLapithaeandtheaidfurnishedtohimbyHeracles,andwiththehistoryofAegimiusandhissons。OttoMullersuggeststhattheintroductionofThetisandofPhrixus（frags。1—2）istobeconnectedwithnoticesofthealliesoftheLapithaefromPhthiotisandIolchus,andthatthestoryofIowasincidentaltoanarrativeofHeracles\'expeditionagainstEuboea。Theremainingpoem,the\"Melampodia\",wasaworkinthreebooks,whoseplanitisimpossibletorecover。Itssubject,however,seemstohavebeenthehistoriesoffamousseerslikeMopsus,Calchas,andTeiresias,anditprobablytookitsnamefromMelampus,themostfamousofthemall。
DateoftheHesiodicPoemsThereisnodoubtthatthe\"WorksandDays\"istheoldest,asitisthemostoriginal,oftheHesiodicpoems。Itseemstobedistinctlyearlierthanthe\"Theogony\",whichreferstoit,apparently,asapoemalreadyrenowned。Twoconsiderationshelpustofixarelativedateforthe\"Works\"。1）Indiction,dialectandstyleitisobviouslydependentuponHomer,andisthereforeconsiderablylaterthanthe\"Iliad\"and\"Odyssey\":
moreover,aswehaveseen,itisinrevoltagainsttheromanticschool,alreadygrowndecadent,andwhilethedigammaisstillliving,itisobviouslygrowingweak,andisbynomeansuniformlyeffective。
2）OntheotherhandwhiletraditionsteadilyputstheCyclicpoetsatvariousdatesfrom776B。C。downwards,itisequallyconsistentinregardingHomerandHesiodas`prehistoric\'。
Herodotusindeedputsbothpoets400yearsbeforehisowntime;