Works and Days

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Writing a Didactic Myth or Fable”

In this activity, students will use creative thinking and collaborative learning to produce their own didactic myth or fable.

Working in small groups, create a list of the 3-5 most significant lessons in Hesiod’s didactic text, Works and Days. Then, write your own didactic myth or fable. Your group can utilize a fresh perspective on an old story or invent a completely new story. Finally, create a list of the 3-5 most significant lessons a reader should take away from your myth or fable and draw comparisons to those lessons in Works and Days.

Some points to consider in planning the writing of your myth or fable:

• What lesson will your myth or fable teach?
• Is this myth or fable supposed to be understood as a true story, or is it fictional?
• Will the characters of your story be gods, humans, or animals? What will your characters represent or symbolize?

After your myth or fable is complete, share your project by narrating or performing the story for the class. Note important concepts as you listen to the myths and fables of others. At the conclusion of class presentations, participate in a Socratic seminar on the nature of didactic writing and why this kind of writing is so important in many cultures.

Teaching Suggestion: By this point in the unit, students should have a working understanding of didactic literature, but this might be a good opportunity to review the history and significance of didacticism. Additionally, students might explore some of the differences between myth and fable, both of which Hesiod uses in his poem. Before they write, group members might confer on and determine why one might frame some lessons with myths and others with fables.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with artistic abilities and those who would benefit from an opportunity for increased student agency might create a visual representation of one of the myths or fables from Hesiod’s Works and Days as an extension to their group activity or in replacement of it; these students may then present their artwork to the class and provide their descriptions aloud, explaining how their interpretation of the text influenced their artistic choices.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Many different gods feature in the poem, among them Zeus, the Muses, and Athena.

• How are gods characterized in Work and Days? (topic sentence)
• Discuss the gods’ traits and the way they are depicted in the poem, analyzing at least 3 examples from the text in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, determine what the gods signify and summarize how they relate to mortals.

2. Hesiod’s Works and Days is an example of didactic or wisdom literature, with many aphorisms throughout the text.

• What function do aphorisms serve in Works and Days? (topic sentence)
• Discuss several specific aphorisms in the text, exploring their meaning and explaining lessons they aim to teach Hesiod’s readers.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, reflect on how Hesiod’s aphorisms relate to the theme of The Interconnection of Gods, Humans, and the Natural World.

3. Hesiod is unique for his time in his inclusion of biographical information in his poem.

• Why might Hesiod tell us about himself and his family in his poem? (topic sentence)
• Discuss Hesiod’s inclusion of biographical information in the poem and analyze the way this biographical information relates to the key themes.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the extent to which the biographical information contained in the text seems credible and is effective.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. When Zeus learns that Prometheus has stolen fire from the gods so that he can give it to mortals, Zeus decides to punish mortals with “an affliction in which they will all delight as they embrace their own misfortune.” (Line 38) What does Zeus mean by an affliction that will cause delight as well as misfortune? What is the punishment he settles on? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, expound on the duality of the punishment Zeus chooses for mortals. Draw comparisons to other dualities that arise in the poem.

2. Hesiod’s poem contains many pieces of very specific advice on how to understand the natural world, as when he explains, “As soon as the size of the crow’s footprint is matched by the aspect of the leaves on the end of the fig-branch, then the sea is suitable for embarcation.” (Line 57) In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explain and evaluate the significance of this kind of advice. How does it relate to the key themes of the text?

3. Explore the way Hesiod uses fable in his poem, especially in the fable of the hawk and the nightingale. What is the purpose of fable? What do fables teach? What is the difference between fable and myth? Write a 3- or 5-paragraph essay on the effectiveness of the use of fable in the poem. Explore the intended effect of this literary choice and the likely purposes of the author.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Why is Hesiod upset with Perses?

A) Perses stole Hesiod’s share of their family estate.

B) Perses works too hard.

C) Perses is a judge who accepts bribes.

D) Perses tried to kill Hesiod.

2. What should we learn from the Prometheus myth, according to Hesiod?

A) That the Titans are the true gods

B) That mortals should never use fire

C) That the gods want humans to work hard

D) That the gods love humanity

3. Why does Prometheus warn Epimetheus not to accept gifts from the gods?

A) Because the gods are angry at Epimetheus’ wife

B) Because he is angry at Epimetheus

C) Because he wants these gifts for himself

D) Because he fears that such gifts will hurt mortals

4. Which of the races died peacefully?

A) The golden race

B) The silver race

C) The heroes

D) The bronze race

5. Why does Hesiod say people should not take bribes?

A) The gods will punish them.

B) The guilty may get caught.

C) People already get paid enough.

D) Money is the root of all evil.

6. How should a person earn property?

A) Through work or gifts from the gods

B) Through inheritance

C) Through theft of others’ possessions

D) Through donations and supplication

7. What is the correct attitude a man should have toward women, according to Hesiod?

A) He should always be kind to them.

B) He should not trust them.

C) He should not be involved with them in any way.

D) He should treat them as equals.

8. What is the name of Hesiod’s hometown?

A) Boeotia

B) Ascra

C) Mount Helicon

D) Olympus

9. Where does Pandora come from?

A) She is raised in Boeotia.

B) She is created by the gods.

C) She is born from the earth.

D) She is born from Zeus’s head.

10. Which of the following is a quality of a good friend, according to Hesiod?

A) Religious fanaticism

B) Ambition

C) A measured disposition

D) Aggressiveness

11. Who steals fire from Zeus?

A) Pandora

B) Epimetheus

C) Humanity

D) Prometheus

12. How does Pandora embody duality?

A) She is mortal but also divine.

B) She is a woman as well as a man.

C) She is a source of pleasure as well as pain.

D) She represents good as well as evil.

13. What does the name “Pandora” mean?

A) All-gifts

B) Bane of humanity

C) Woman

D) Hope

14. How did the race of heroes die out?

A) They were turned into gods.

B) They transformed into stars.

C) They vanished into thin air.

D) They destroyed themselves in wars.

15. What kind of story is the story of the hawk and the nightingale?

A) A myth

B) A parable

C) A simile

D) A fable

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. According to Hesiod, why is hard work so important to preserve one’s community?

2. What kind of specific advice does Hesiod give in the second part of his poem? Why is this advice important?