Hesiod and Aeschylus

239 Pages·1949·3.99 MB·English

by  Solmsen

CORNELL STUDIES IN CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY
EDITED BY
HARRY CAPLAN JAMES HUTTON * FRIEDRICH SOLMSEN
VOLUME XXX
Hcsiod and
Aeschylus
By FRIEDRICH SOLMSEN

Hesiod and
Aeschylus
By FRIEDRICH SOLMSEN
Professor of the Classics
in Cornell University

Cornell Press
University
ITHACA, NEW YORK: 1949
COPYRIGHT 1949 CORNELL UNIVERSITY
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON: GEOFFREY CUMBERLEGE
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
niNTBD IM THB UNITBD RATH O> AMZKICA UX
THE WAVBRLY PUSS, IMC, BALT1M0KB, MASTLAMD
TO HARRY CAPLAN AND JAMES HUTTON

Preface
book consists of two parts the connection between which
'"["'HIS
JL is less superficial than may appear at first glance. When I had come
to the conclusion that Aeschylus' debt to Hesiod goes deeper than is
commonly assumed, it became necessary to unravel the complex fabric
of the Theogony with the view of distinguishing therein between the
results of Hesiod's own speculations and the masses of traditional
myths and beliefs which the poem also incorporates. Only when we
know where we find Hesiod himself can we decide whether Aeschylus'
imagination was stirred by Hesiod's own conceptions or whether he
responded to something that happened to be recorded in the Theogony.
The method of both parts of the book is analytical; both aim at detach-
ing personal 'form' from traditional 'matter.'
I have done my best to see whatever books or articles bearing on my
subject have appeared in Europe during the last ten years, and I am
glad not to have missed certain important contributions that became
available to me in the last few weeks before the final draft of the manu-
script went to the press. I know, however, that there is much, especially
in the field of Homeric studies, that I have not been able to consider.
It would have been tempting to write more about Hesiod's influence
on later poets and thinkers and to give somewhat more substance to
the developments that are sketched - and indeed barely sketched -
in the Introduction to Part II. This, however, is a large subject which
cannot be treated by the way. Moreover, it is pleasant to see that after
long neglect the subject is now receiving a good deal of attention; not
only have I been able to refer to a number of very recent studies but I
also know that other books that may appear shortly before or after
mine will throw a welcome light upon these matters.
The book owes much to the never-failing interest, the kind help, and
the wise counsel of my friends. To associate their names with a work
including many adventurous hypotheses, disputable points, and prob-
ably also errors of judgment that they themselves would never have
committed, is, I fear, a dubious way of thanking them for all that they
have done for me in the course of many years.
vii
viii PREFACE
Dr. Abbie M. Copps of Olivet College, to whom I have expressed
thanks on an earlier occasion, has again endeavored to make the book
more readable. The typewritten copy has been prepared with admirable
care by Mrs. John H. Detmold. The editorial staff of Cornell University
Press, in particular Miss Catherine Sturtevant and Miss Jeannette
Frasier, have struggled patiently with my inaccuracies and incon-
sistencies.
For a research grant, to meet the cost of preparing the manuscript,
I am indebted to Dean G. Watts Cunningham of the Graduate School
and to the Trustee-Faculty Committee on Research of Cornell Uni-
versity.
My wife, Lieselotte Solmsen, has helped me greatly both with her
encouragement and with her criticism.
Friedrich Solmsen
Ithaca, New York
February 28, 1948
Contents
PART ONE: HESIOD
chapter i. The Theogony 3
Introduction, p. 3. The Origin of the World : Three Generations
of Gods, p. 5. Powers of Good and of Evil in the World of
Hesiod, p. 27. The Role of Zeus in the Theogony, p. 47.
Cosmology and Theogony, p. 58. The Synthesis of Old and
New Figures, Earlier and Later Generations, p. 66.
chapter . The Works and Days 76
PART TWO: SOLON AND AESCHYLUS
Introduction 103
chapter i. Solon 107
chapter ii. Aeschylus: The Prometheia 124
Zeus and Prometheus, p. 124. The Crisis of the Olympian Dy-
nasty, p. 157.
chapter . Aeschylus: The Eumenides 178
Index 225
ix
PART ONE
HESIOD