Hesiod’s Theogony is worth your time. Often overlooked, this short, simple work has a lot of depth for those who understand how to see it. Along with the videos below, Ascend has a couple resources to help:
Why should you read the Theogony? Well, check out this opening letter from Dcn. Garlick’s written guide.
Friends,
Hesiod’s Theogony provides us with a beautiful, pre-philosophical account of both the divine and the cosmos. Hesiod is a younger contemporary of Homer and offers us a vital contrast to the Homeric presentation of gods and men. Like Homer, he too writes about Zeus, mankind, the cosmos, and justice – but does so arguably with a different emphasis than Homer. It is an emphasis that illuminates Zeus as the bringer of order and civilization. Zeus is a caretaker of fate, and he labors to keep chaos at bay.
In addition to exploring Hesiod’s own intent, these musings often look at the foundations Hesiod is laying for the later Greek playwrights and philosophers. Furthermore, reflections will also draw from the Catholic intellectual tradition, Holy Scripture, and Neoplatonic thought to provide a gloss on themes such as divinity, eros, order, beauty, and anthropology.
I am in debted to Dr. Frank Grabowski and Mr. Thomas Lackey, friends of the podcast, whose conversation on this text with me was deeply illuminative.
These musings are a gloss upon Hesiod’s wisdom, and a gloss that very much appreciates what Hesiod the teacher has to share with us.
In Christ,
Dcn. Harrison Garlick
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Intro to Hesiod and the Greek Plays
Hesiod’s Theogony is not a Greek play; however, we introduced the text along with the Greek plays as part of our reading schedule after finishing our 2024 Year with Homer. The following introduces Hesiod, the Greek playwrights, and our reading schedule.
A Discussion on Hesiod’s Theogony
Dr. Grabowski and Mr. Lackey join Dcn. Garlick to discuss Hesiod’s Theogony. The guests help Deacon mine the depths of this text and show how even simple statements can lead to profound insights. Be sure to have recourse to our written guide on the Theogony. Overall, Hesiod serves as a very beneficial contrast to Homer—a contrast that serves you well going into the Greek plays.
Good work! Wondering what to read next? Check out the Greek plays—they serve as an intellectual bridge between Homer and Plato. Their capacity to express the human condition through their dramas is incredibly impressive and helps till the soil for the civilization that gave rise to a Socrates and Plato.
You can read the great books with Ascend.
Keep it up.
Dcn. Harrison Garlick lives in rural Oklahoma with his wife and five children. He serves as a deacon at Holy Family Cathedral and as Chancellor & General Counsel for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. Follow him on X at Dcn. Garlick or Ascend.