Works and Days

by Hesiod

Also known as: Erga kai Hēmerai

"A vision of human life shaped by labor, justice, and respect for divine order, emphasizing how moral behavior and hard work align humanity with cosmic balance."
Works and Days cover
Type:Didactic Poem
Source:Ancient Greece
Original Date:Oral tradition with Near Eastern influences
Written Date:c. 700 BCE
Length:1 books, 828 lines (~1 hours)

Summary

Works and Days is a didactic poem by Hesiod that blends myth, moral instruction, and practical advice. Addressed to Hesiod’s brother Perses, it lays out a worldview in which hard work, justice, and reverence for the gods are necessary for survival and prosperity. It introduces the myths of Pandora and the Ages of Man, emphasizing humanity’s decline from a Golden Age to the present Iron Age of toil and strife. The poem also gives practical instructions on farming, seafaring, and seasonal rituals, making it both a moral guide and an almanac for ancient Greek life.

Themes

Justice and divine order (Dike)The value of laborMoral instructionDecline of humanity (Ages of Man)Human suffering and resilienceHarmony with nature and seasons

Major Characters

ZeusPandoraPrometheusThe Five Races of Man (Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic, Iron)Perses (Hesiod’s brother, addressee)Justice (Dike, personified)

Notable Quotes

"Before excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the path to it, and rough at first; but when you reach the top, then it becomes easy, though hard."

Line 289

"For the gods keep hidden from men the means of life; else you would easily work in a day enough to last you for a year without working."

Line 42

"First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a golden race of mortal men who lived in the time of Cronus… like gods they lived without sorrow of heart."

Line 109

Notable Translations

Hugh G. Evelyn-White(1914)

Loeb Classical Library edition, includes Theogony.

Dorothea Wender(1973)

Penguin Classics, poetic and accessible.

M. L. West(1978)

Critical and scholarly, includes commentary.

Apostolos N. Athanassakis(1983)

Readable, used in many classrooms.

Glenn Most(2006)

Loeb Classical Library, authoritative bilingual edition.