Customer Reviews

Works of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review is for the Hine translation of Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns by University of Chicago Press. I've read multiple translations of each and enjoy Hine's as much as any, although to be honest there's a fairly low ceiling on my enjoyment of Hesiod.

The selling point of this edition for me is the combination of Theogony, Works and Days, and the Hymns in one volume; unlike many, I'm laboring to have fewer books in my library, which occasionally threatens to go fungal and take over my home. I consider both Hesiod and the Hymns mandatory inclusions in the canon and revisit them occasionally, but I'm not so enamored of either that I need separate volumes or a nice vintage edition (as opposed to, say, Homer). If you're looking for verse versions of these works but similarly have no pressing need for separate volumes or extensive critical apparatus, or a fancy old hardback from the secondary market, this is a fine workhorse solution.

It's also worth noting that the later Batrachomyomachia, The Battle of the Frogs and the Mice, is included in this volume. It's an inessential but entertaining burlesque on epic conventions and foibles. I have trouble not imagining it with Muppets, which I consider a significant point in its favor.

I've given the volume a 4-star rating not because of any deficiencies in its presentation, but because I simply don't think of Hesiod or the Hymns as 5-star material in the same vein as truly great achievements such as the Iliad, the Divine Comedy, or Paradise Lost. However, I do think they're required reading, and this edition is just fine.