Poetry, Prosperity and the gods in Hesiod's Works and Days

Poetry, Prosperity and the gods in Hesiod's Works and Days

Audio recording of a lecture given by Steven Forde on September 4, 2020 as part of the Dean's Lecture & Concert Series with student panelists Alejandro Ross, George Stengren, Bridget Lynch, and Seungyoun Bang. The Dean's Office has provided this description of the event: "The ancient poet Hesiod was roughly contemporary with Homer, but his Works and Days seems decidedly un-Homeric. It is playful, mocking, not afraid to get its hands dirty—the 'works' here are plowing, sowing and reaping. This lecture will focus on the first section of the work, which seems to be a disjointed series of rather murky episodes. Here we find the famous account of the 'ages of man,' the gold, silver, bronze and iron races that Plato and other authors made use of; the parable of the hawk and the nightingale; and the story of Prometheus and Pandora. The lecture will trace a few threads through these passages. Themes that emerge include the merits of work and the best way of life, and the character and adequacy of Zeus’s providence."

Santa Fe, NM

2020-09-04

Meem Library has been given permission to make this item available.

sound

mp3

English

SF_FordeS_Poetry_Prosperity_and_the_gods_in_Hesiod's_Works_and_Days_2020-09-04

wav

1:56:46