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Works and Days (Penguin Classics) Paperback – March 13, 2018

by Hesiod (Author), A. E. Stallings (Editor, Translator, Introduction)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 100 ratings
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A new verse translation by award-winning poet Alicia Stallings of one of the foundational works of ancient Greece

TLS BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2018, selected by Rachel Hadas and Emily Wilson
 
The ancient Greeks revered Hesiod, believing he had beaten Homer in a singing contest and that after his dead body was thrown to sea, it was brought back by dolphins. His Works and Days is one of the most important early works of Greek poetry. Ostensibly written by the poet to chide his lazy brother, it recounts the story of Pandora’s box and humanity’s decline since the Golden Age, and can be read as a celebration of rural life and a hymn to work. Alicia Stallings’s new translation breathes new life into Hesiod’s work, rendering its vivid poetry for a new generation of classics readers.
 
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,800 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    112 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    March 13, 2018
  5. Dimensions
    0.4 x 5 x 7.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0141197528
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0141197524
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Stallings's new translation of Hesiod's Works and Days - witty, gritty, and unsettlingly relevant - is not to be missed. Toil; corruption in high places; injustice; the prevailing sense that things are getting worse - none of these prevents the Muses' chosen poets from doing their indispensable and soul-refreshing work.”
—Rachel Hadas, Times Literary Supplement
 
“Hesiod was the first self-declared poet of Ancient Greece, who boasted of having won a three-legged cauldron for his verses. A. E. Stallings brings him back to life in her rhyming translation of Works and Days, which mingles farming tips, myths and evocation of the seasons: 'when first the cuckoo cuckoos in the oak.' Stallings’s lively  and learned notes make it a treat.”
—The Times
 
“A. E. Stallings new verse translation of Works and Days for Penguin is a splendid development upon a recent flurry of Hesiod translation and poetic response ... Brilliantly sensitive ... Stallings's translation triumphs.”
—The Oxonian Review

“Mixing rhyme and assonance, this is a Works and Days for the age of rap. By translating Hesiod as poetry, Stallings encourages us to realize that the poem should not just be the object of scholarly study, but can be read aloud for fun.”
—Armand D'Angour, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Hesiod, a contemporary of Homer, probably lived in the eighth century in Boeotia on the Greek mainland. He is often considered to be the author of both the Theogony and Works and Days, although this has been debated.
 
Alicia Stallings is an American poet and translator. She has published three books of original verse, Archaic Smile, Hapax, and Olives, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her verse translation of Lucretius’s The Nature of Things is published by Penguin Classics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (March 13, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 112 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141197528
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141197524
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.4 x 5 x 7.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 100 ratings

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Hesiod

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
100 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

G. R. Barrow
5.0 out of 5 stars WORK DAY WISDOM
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Astonishing advice to an idle brothers.

As good today as when it was created around three thousand years ago, memorized and passed along from generation to generation for a couple of hundred years before finally being written down.

Still in print today! Here is the best modern translation. Some catchy lines, a fine introduction, short and memorable.

In the same vein as the American Poor Richard's Almanac..."early to bed, early to rise..."

Best Greek or Latin translation I've read in ages. By golly, best book I've read in decades.
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Gail N.
5.0 out of 5 stars Alicia Stallings' translation is pure joy to read
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
Alicia Stallings translation of Hesiod's "Works and Days" is a treasure, worth reading again and again. She has brought this ancient poem back to life in a delightfully rhyming version full of vivid imagery and intelligent insights which makes it so relatable to a modern reader. The host of the podcast "Ancient Greece Declassified" has an fascinating and informative episode devoted to Hesiod in which he and Ms. Stallings discuss her translation and the light it shines on life during this time in ancient Greece. I have read other translations and none compare to the style and wit found here in this version by Alicia Stallings. I only wish Ms. Stallings would translate more of the ancient Greek classics.
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Mao Dom
4.0 out of 5 stars NOTE THE DATES of earlier reviews
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
This review is for the A.E. Stallings translation published March of 2018. Amazon, bizarrely, has all the ratings for previous editions on this page too. I read the kindle edition and found it great for jumping back and forth to notes (which, btw, are fun and informative; not stodgy or academic). The translation reads so smoothly in English one might think it an English original, something some translators think is wrong but is very much right. And the preface was fascinating for someone who's not at all a classicist to read. The only drawback is Hesiod's work. I would not be surprised if his brother (to whom this lecture on all things correct is addressed) stopped speaking to his brother for good.
20 people found this helpful
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Patricia A. Peirson
3.0 out of 5 stars Very useful content; Terrible book quality
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2019
Verified Purchase
I bought this book for research and found its content very helpful. The translation is interesting. However, the book itself fell apart very quickly (and I don't handle books roughly). The cover has fallen off and pages are coming loose. That aspect is very disappointing and does not reflect well on the publishers of Penguin Classics.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars really enjoyable poetic translation
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2022
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I can't judge how good of a translation this is, but it flows as poetry and it is a great way to enjoy Hesiod.
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jl
5.0 out of 5 stars Hesiod the Poet
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good translation. This extraordinarily beautiful poem shows that the people who lived 2500 years ago were no different than us. Hesiod' commonsense, clearheaded, heartfelt, eloquence is true poetry as oppossed to the obscurantist scribble that passes for poetry in the 21st century. 'Works and Days' is a treasure of human civilization and we are blessed that it has been preserved for us.
3 people found this helpful
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M. Potter
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun way to experience Hesiod
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2019
Verified Purchase
The exposure I got to Hesiod in college was both too much and too little at the same time. There was a lot that I encountered in translation, but so little of it was absorbed. Old translations really made Hesiod an archaic poet. Stalling makes Hesiod a singer and lets some personality out of these old texts.

I also highly recommend readers dig into the introduction and notes—where Stallings also lets her own personality and judgments and scholarship slip in. Being able to place Hesiod in a historical context helped me make sense of these poems.
8 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2023
Verified Purchase
The introduction is longer than the poem, and the translation is awful.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amer
4.0 out of 5 stars Hesiod's wise words.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
Fascinating verses written by Hesiod, one of the earliest Greek writers we know of. I really liked the varied subjects of the book and Hesiod's good advice on how to live a fruitful life.

Some lines in the book are rather obscure but the notes and translation by A.E. STALLINGS make things much clearer.
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Amer
4.0 out of 5 stars Hesiod's wise words.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2022
Fascinating verses written by Hesiod, one of the earliest Greek writers we know of. I really liked the varied subjects of the book and Hesiod's good advice on how to live a fruitful life.

Some lines in the book are rather obscure but the notes and translation by A.E. STALLINGS make things much clearer.
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