chapter 1: ancient greece
4: Hesiod: poet of the muses
I am Hesiod, shepherd of Boeotia, standing on Mount Helicon as the Muses gift me a laurel staff and divine purpose. In Theogony I sing the birth of gods from Chaos and the triumph of cosmic order. In Works and Days I teach mortals virtue, labor, and justice through the turning seasons. My poetry binds heaven’s law to the toil of humankind.