Home › Glossary › Letter H

Hesiod

Historical Figure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Early Greek poet who wrote "Works and Days" and "Theogony," codifying myth and rural life

Detailed Definition
Hesiod offered practical wisdom and cosmogony, rivaling Homer in influence. He represents didactic and agrarian poetry. Poets reference him to evoke the dignity of labor, the origins of gods, and the moral order underlying human toil and divine hierarchy.
Example
Example in poetry:
Hesiod appears in didactic poetry as the farmer-poet of “Works and Days”; Poets reference his myth of the Ages of Man to explore moral decline; In Hellenistic verse, Hesiod symbolizes rustic wisdom versus Homeric glory; Modern poets use Hesiod to advocate for agrarian values; His invocation of the Muses becomes a model for poetic inspiration; Hesiod’s advice on justice inspires ethical verse.
Additional Notes
Hesiod (c. 700 BCE), Greek poet of “Works and Days” and “Theogony”; in poetry, Hesiod symbolizes didactic tradition, agrarian wisdom, or the genealogy of gods—contrasted with Homer’s heroic focus; his account of the Ages of Man and Pandora’s jar are foundational myths frequently revisited in later verse exploring labor, justice, or cosmic order.
Also Known As
Hesiod of Boeotia
Skip to main content