The Big Contest: Homer Vs Hesiod
Homer and Hesiod were
both foundational ancient Greek poets but they had a very different focus to
their works. For Homer, the Iliad and
the Odyssey provided him with a
framework for narrating the heroic deeds of men as they engaged in brutal
warfare and contended with the intervention of the gods in their daily lives.
Hesiod, on the other hand, in his Works
and Days and Theogony, focused on
rural life, agriculture, the moral order and the genealogies of the gods. Homer
sought to inspire his listeners with the gallant deeds of heroes and the
actions of the gods, whereas Hesiod attempted to provide practical and instructional
advice to his audience. Homer was a story-teller and Hesiod was a teacher.
Most
scholars see Homer and Hesiod as being almost contemporaries, with Homer
perhaps preceding Hesiod by a few years or decades, but with both living in the
late 7th or early 8th centuries BCE. We know very little
if anything about Homer as a person, if indeed such a person actually existed
at all. Legend has it that he came from the Island of Chios and that he was
blind. He makes no reference to himself in his works and there are those who
believe that the name Homer was simply applied to a collective body of authors
and bards responsible for the creation of these two important epics from a
centuries old oral tradition. But we do know some facts about Hesiod and learn
from him personally that he was the son of an impoverished merchant and that he
led the life of a farmer in Boeotia. A bitter argument over inheritance
developed with his brother when his father died and the authorities were bribed
to rule in his brother’s favour. Plutarch tells us that Hesiod was murdered in
Locris by the brothers of a woman who had been seduced, perhaps by Hesiod.
Homer was a shadowy person from the past who may or may not have actually
existed, whereas Hesiod was a living and breathing author. For my own part, I
believe that the scores of references to an actual Homer in the writings of
ancient authors in the Greek and Roman traditions, offer good enough evidence
to assert that Homer was indeed an historical figure.
Homer’s
works were grand and dramatic in nature and portrayed larger-than-life heroes.
Hesiod’s works were didactic and instructional and dealt with human labour and
divine structure. Homer’s Iliad
featured stories of heroic battles, honour (Kleos) and fate and the mighty
deeds of gods and men, with Achilles and his wrath being the focal point. The Odyssey told the story of epic journeys and
the homecoming (Nostos) of the hero Odysseus and how he was tossed and turned in
his travels by the spiteful actions of vengeful gods. Hesiod’s Works and Days placed a focus on
farming, justice and the moral order, whereas his Theogony dealt with creation myths and the lineage of the gods. Sometimes
the two varied slightly in their details of mythological stories, for example
in their different telling of the birth of Aphrodite. Homer presents women as
powerful figures who play critical roles in his narratives. In Hesiod, women
are seen as a plague against mankind, as exemplified in his telling of the Pandora
story. Both authors composed their works in dactylic hexameter verse and we can
tell from Hesiod’s use of the language that he was somewhat later in time than
Homer, but not by much.
In
Hesiod’s Works and Days, he tells us
that he won a tripod at a literary contest in Chalcis, but does not mention
that his opponent was Homer. However, this inspired The Contest of Homer and Hesiod, known in literature as Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi. This was an
ancient Greek narrative that described a legendary poetical competition between
the two most famous epic poets of antiquity. The extant work dates to the 2nd
century CE and is based on an earlier tradition including the 4th
century BCE work Mouseion by Alcidamas.
The legendary competition was said to have been held in Chalcis during the
funeral games of King Amphidamas who died about 730 BCE after the Lelantine War
between Chalcis and Eretria in Euboea and later described by Thucydides. The
date of the war and the death of the king are seen as contemporary to the time
of Homer and Hesiod and therefore there could possibly be some truth to the
competition actually having happened.
The
competition featured a dialogue between the two poets where each presented
verses that often involved riddles or the completion of each other’s lines.
Homer focused his entries on war and heroic glory and Hesiod concentrated on
peace, agriculture and ethical living. The two different approaches highlighted
the ancient debate over the true value of epic poetry. It is said that the
Greek audience overwhelmingly acclaimed Homer as the superior poet because of
the brilliance of his verses. However the judge, King Paneides, ultimately
awarded the prize of a bronze tripod to Hesiod, on the grounds that a poet who
encouraged agriculture and peace was more valuable to the community than one
who sang of war and brutal slaughter. The most complete version of the text is
preserved in a manuscript from Florence, but its ancient origins are confirmed
in papyrus fragments dating to the 3rd century BCE.
When
we think of a contest between Homer and Hesiod, the obvious approach is to try
and determine which one was ‘better’. However, this is a concept that is
meaningless because each epic poet excelled in a different area. Homer composed
heroic epics that were rich in adventure and drama and told of compelling heroes
performing stellar acts of daring and bravery, all the time contending with the
interference of the gods. Hesiod, on the other hand, provided us with didactic
works on the fundamental questions of the universe and the origins of the gods,
as well as the practical elements of agriculture, life, ethics and morality.
Homer was a thrilling story-teller and Hesiod was a practical instructor. Both
were foundational epic ancient Greek poets and they were both crucial to
Western literature for different reasons. There can be no contest between them.
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