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Homer And Hesiod: A Literary Analysis

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The difficulties that surround reproducing the traditions and customs from ancient Greece are well known. This is especially prominent when looking for information within fictional works from that time period. One is always burdened with uncovering truths without being distracted by false aspects. That is not to say that these fictional works are useless for those studying ancient history. Through the poetry written by Homer and Hesiod, people today are able to glimpse into the agricultural practices and interpersonal relations of one living in ancient Greece in a way that no other source of historical information allows. It must be mentioned that the theories of life that are mentioned are personal propositions based on the fictional prose …show more content…

The specific instructions spoken of in these works are most likely idealised versions of actual traditions, but the concepts described can be made into general theories that contain a chance of truth. From these writers, one can gather that the people within this time were farmers and raised livestock for their households (Homer 301) (Hesiod 23). This information is one of the certainties due to the details and frequent references of agricultural life. In Odyssey, one reads a description of a pig being roasted on a spit over a fire in their own home (Homer). While the specifics of how the people at this time would have slaughtered their livestock could vary slightly, one would be able to propose that livestock were raised for the purpose of consuming them, along with using the wool and hides to create clothes to protect against the elements (Hesiod). In order to protects one’s animals, Odyssey suggests that their were pens constructed and men that stood guard (Homer 301). Homer provided many specific details when describing the animal pens, but Homer was writing about a period of time several centuries before he was born. Thus, it would be apt to say that while people most likely had some system of containment for their herds, it is hard to say with any specificity how this would be set up. One could assume that they would most likely use either wood or stone to create the barriers as these were materials that could have been accessible and that people in ancient Greece might have known how to build

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