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The First Farmer’s Almanac: Hesiod, The Two Strifes, and the Truth About Pandora’s “Box” (Ad Navseam Ep. 11)

Meta Description: Join Dr. David Noe and Dr. Jeff Winkle in the Vomitorium as they explore Hesiod’s Works and Days. From the sibling rivalry that started it all to the mistranslation of Pandora’s Jar, discover the gritty reality of Archaic Greek life.

Introduction: November in the Vomitorium

Welcome back to the “Vomitorium,” listeners! In Episode 11 of the Ad Navseam Podcast, hosts Dr. Jeff Winkle and Dr. David Noe settle in for a “delectable discussion” of the classical world. It is November in Grand Rapids, Michigan—a month that Dr. Noe describes as “underrated,” while Dr. Winkle remains skeptical of its gray, damp charms.

But the gloomy weather is fitting, because today we are discussing a poet who knew a thing or two about hard work in a harsh climate: Hesiod.

While Homer is the poet of heroes, wars, and kings, Hesiod is the poet of the peasant. He is the voice of the 99%—the farmers, the shepherds, and the laborers who kept the ancient world fed. Specifically, we are diving into his didactic masterpiece, Works and Days (Erga kai Hemerai).

Who Was Hesiod? (The Anti-Homer?)

Hesiod lived around 700 BC, making him roughly contemporary with Homer (or perhaps slightly later). But while Homer sang of the plains of Troy, Hesiod sang of the rocky soil of Boeotia.

The Man from Ascra:

Hesiod’s father was an immigrant from Cyme (in modern-day Turkey) who moved to mainland Greece to escape poverty. He settled in Ascra, a village near Mount Helicon. Hesiod famously describes his hometown with zero affection:

“Ascra, bad in winter, sultry in summer, and good at no time.”

The Family Drama: The Works and Days is not just a poem; it is a lecture addressed to Hesiod’s brother, Perses. When their father died, the brothers divided the inheritance. But Perses, whom Hesiod describes as a lazy “ne’er-do-well,” squandered his share. He then bribed the local “gift-eating kings” (corrupt judges) to sue Hesiod for the rest of the estate. Hesiod wrote this poem to set his brother straight. His message? Stop suing, stop bribing, and get to work.

The Theology of Work: The Two Strifes (Eris)

Hesiod begins by correcting his own theology. In his earlier poem, the Theogony, he claimed there was only one goddess named Strife (Eris).

In Works and Days, he realizes he was wrong. There are actually two Eris goddesses:

  1. The Bad Strife: This is the one who causes war, battles, and lawsuits. She is cruel and destructive. This is the Strife that Perses loves.
  2. The Good Strife: This Strife is actually good for mortals. She represents Competition. When a lazy man sees his neighbor getting rich through hard work, he is inspired to work harder.

Dr. Noe notes that this is an early endorsement of the free market spirit. Competition drives progress. Good Strife wakes you up early to plow your field; Bad Strife sends you to court to steal your neighbor’s field.

The Myth of Pandora (It Wasn’t a Box!)

Why do we have to work so hard? Why is life so full of misery? Hesiod answers this with the myth of Pandora.

The Crime: The Titan Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mankind. Zeus, being the vindictive sky-father that he is, decided that men needed a punishment to balance out the gift of fire. He laughed out loud as he concocted a “beautiful evil”.

The Creation:

Zeus commissioned the other gods to build the first woman:

They named her Pandora (“All-Gifts”) because all the gods chipped in to create this “ruin for men.”

The Trap: Zeus sent Pandora as a gift to Prometheus’s brother, Epimetheus (“Afterthought”). Prometheus (“Forethought”) had warned his brother never to accept gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus took her in. Only after the damage was done did he realize his mistake.

The Jar (Pithos) vs. The Box (Pyxis): Here, the hosts correct an historical misconception. Pandora did not have a box. In the Greek text, Hesiod says she opened a Pithos. A pithos is a massive ceramic storage jar, often as tall as a man, used for storing grain, wine, or oil. So where did the “box” come from? The Renaissance scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam, when translating the story into Latin, mistook pithos for pyxis (a small box). The mistake stuck, and for 500 years, we’ve been talking about Pandora’s Box instead of Pandora’s Jar.

The Release: Pandora removed the heavy lid of the jar, and out flew all the evils of the world: hard work, sickness, old age, jealousy, and sorrow. She slammed the lid back on just in time to trap one thing inside: Hope (Elpis).

The Debate:

Is Hope remaining in the jar a good thing or a bad thing?

The Five Ages of Man

Hesiod then presents a pessimistic view of history. Unlike the modern idea of “Progress,” Hesiod believes humanity is in a downward spiral.

  1. The Golden Age: Under the rule of Cronos (Saturn). Men lived like gods. They didn’t work; the earth produced food automatically. They died as if falling asleep.
  2. The Silver Age: Men were big babies. They spent 100 years as children, then died quickly because they were foolish and refused to worship the gods. Zeus buried them.
  3. The Bronze Age: A race of terrible warriors. They made everything out of bronze (even their houses). They loved war and destroyed each other.
  4. The Age of Heroes: A slight improvement! This is the generation of the Trojan War and Oedipus. They were better and more just (“god-like race of hero-men”). When they died, they went to the Isles of the Blest.
  5. The Iron Age: This is Hesiod’s age (and ours).“Thereafter, would that I were not among the men of the fifth generation, but either had died before or been born afterwards.” In the Iron Age, men never rest from labor and sorrow. Children dishonor their parents; guest-friendship (Xenia) is forgotten; might makes right; and “Shame and Indignation” (Aidos and Nemesis) will eventually leave the earth, leaving no defense against evil.

The Hawk and the Nightingale

Hesiod concludes the mythic section with the first fable in Western literature: The Hawk and the Nightingale.

A hawk catches a nightingale and carries it high into the clouds. The nightingale cries for mercy.

The hawk replies:

“Miserable thing, why do you cry out? One far stronger than you holds you fast… He is a fool who tries to withstand the stronger, for he does not get the mastery and suffers pain besides his shame.”

This is the philosophy of the corrupt kings: Might makes Right. But Hesiod warns Perses: Don’t be the hawk. Zeus sees everything. Justice (Dike) is the daughter of Zeus, and eventually, the city that practices justice will flourish, while the unjust city will suffer famine, plague, and war.

Latin & Greek Language Spotlight

For our students of the classics, here are the key terms from this episode to furnish your mental lexicon:

Sponsors

This deep dive into Archaic Greek wisdom was brought to you by:

The Gustatory Parting Shot

We leave you with a nugget of wisdom from Mark Twain, reminding us that even the humblest vegetable can aspire to greatness with enough “Good Strife”:

“A cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”

Get to work, listeners. The Iron Age isn’t going to plow itself. Valete!

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