Hesiod’s Simple Manual for Living Well

For the ancient Greek poet, resilience, diligence, and integrity formed the foundations of a good life.

The first pages of Hesiod's "Works and Days" in Greek and Latin. Public Domain

Ancient Greece made its first mark on the world through poetry. The epic battles of the “Iliad” and Odysseus’s adventures continue to fascinate readers, not least because they vividly depict love, strife, homecoming, and other universal themes.

Among the most influential ancient Greek poets was Hesiod, a farmer-turned-lyricist whose works are the earliest written versions of such popular Greek myths as “Pandora’s Box” and “Prometheus and the Stolen Fire.”