Paul Mazon (1874–1955)

I appreciate Lattimore's style, but there is no saving this sad summation of Hellenic cosmogonic mythology by the wannabe Homer, Hesiod. His work in Theogony is to me the precursor of the genealogical fantastic storytelling that has come to plague the Fantasy genre, inundating it with an interminable deluge of minutiae to please people who seek bloated world-building at the expense of actual literary artistry.

I appreciate Lattimore's style, but there is no saving this sad summation of Hellenic cosmogonic mythology by the wannabe Homer, Hesiod. His work in Theogony is to me the precursor of the genealogical fantastic storytelling that has come to plague the Fantasy genre, inundating it with an interminable deluge of minutiae to please people who seek bloated world-building at the expense of actual literary artistry.

This is the real thing. A man (or the narrator) talking about Greek life 2500 years ago, with absolute authority, because he lives it. The Works and Days is down-to-earth advice to a younger brother about how to get on in life, the Theogony contains tales of the gods, tales of their origins, their relationships to each other and to the Ancient Greeks. Again, the real thing, not as retold by Hollywood, but straight from the mind of someone who lives there.

A partial guide to the gods is provided, which is somewhat helpful. Gaia is one of the original four gods (along with Chaos, Darkness, and Night), and she and her offspring made more and more offspring. Theogony outdoes the Bible in listing the names of all of these by the dozens upon dozens upon dozens. It must have been quite a feat to recite all of this by memory but that's what was done.

Works and Days is full of aphorisms, and Shield describes the imaginatively profuse artwork on the show more shield of Herakles, which includes all sorts of scenes of war, peace and strife.

Tbh, I found it all pretty dry compared to the works Xenophon, Sophocles, Homer or Virgil, but it was still worthwhile given its age, and relatively short. Well over half of this particular book was commentary on the texts. show less