Hesiod Quotes


Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by, But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.


Citations

Hesiod. Works and Days. Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Harvard University Press, 1914, lines 287-290.

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Hesiod
Hesiod
  • Born:
  • Nationality: Greek
  • Profession: Poet Philosopher

Hesiod (/ˈhiːsiəd, ˈhɛsiəd/; Greek: Ἡσίοδος Hēsíodos, 'he who emits the voice') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded as the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as an individual persona with an active role to play in his subject. Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs. Modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, archaic Greek astronomy and ancient time-keeping.