Primary Source Document Analysis
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In the Greek world, daily life bears sharp differences with life during the contemporary times. In political, religious, and economic circles, much is portrayed in the Odyssey and Days and Works. Generally, a lot of scholarly work is ongoing. During the time these two poems are written, every Greek is interested in learning philosophy and other liberal arts. Some people who become self-proclaimed teachers are educating others on Greek culture and philosophy. When everybody else engages in economic activities deeply, the scholars, who form the majority population, are busy generating new knowledge and teaching others. Notably there is no duplication of knowledge at this time; everyone is yearning to discover a new thing or develop existing knowledge using his or her own ideas. People have travelled all over in Odyssey in a bid to seek knowledge. This is also the case in Homer’s works and days where there are agrarian crises, making people crave for knowledge in agricultural arts. Perses, get instructions from his brother Hesiod to focus on agricultural literature.
Religion is portrayed widely in both works. In Homer’s Odyssey, a number of gods are worshipped and revered by the people. Sacrifices are offered to appease these gods, and every effort is made to reconcile with the gods in cases where problems face the community. The goddess Athena is the protectress of Odyssey. At one point, he is seen discussing Odyssey’s fate with the king of all gods, who is popularly referred to as Zeus. This clearly portrays the role of the gods in protecting the living. At this time, Poseidon, who is the god of the sea, has bad blood with Odyssey and is absent when the discussion takes place. In Hesiod’s works and days, Zeus is also mentioned. He is the father to Pierian Muses, whom the poet invokes to sing in praise of his father. This is a display of a god worshipping a god more superior to it. As portrayed in both books, the gods may choose to punish the living at times. Therefore, these two works discuss religion in a similar way; the gods mentioned in both works bear the same names. In addition, the role of religion is looked at using the same dimension in both texts. For instance, protection of society and punishment of wrongdoers bear much resemblance in both poems.
The economy is based on agriculture. Hesiod is seen training his brother Perses in agricultural economics. This economic activity has become the main one because of the influence of scholars, who view the agrarian crisis in Greece as having been caused by lack of sufficient knowledge in agriculture. In Homer’s The Odyssey, there is mention of arrows, bows, and axes in a scene where young men are competing for girls. Though there lacks blatant mention of hunting as an economic activity, one is bound to believe that hunting was one of the economic activities in Greece at this period. In addition, the suggestion that there were increased yields from the farms when gods were happy further provides evidence Greeks practiced arable farming at this point in civilization. Unlike Hesiod, Odyssey does not suggest gods played any role as far as controlling the seasons were concerned (Verdenius, 2005).
The Greek society values courage and hard work in men who propose to their daughters. Before young suitors are allowed to marry girls, they engage in some form of competition using axes, bows, and arrows. Only those who emerge victorious several times are granted permission to marry. The rest have to wait until society considers them ready for this rite of passage. In Odyssey, he comes from captivity and falls in love with Calypso. However, he is not able to win her, as society requires him to take some time to adapt to normal life. Gender roles are also considered hand in hand with societal values. As implied in both texts, while men toil to look for basic needs the women protect the children as they raise them (Hesiod, 1996).
Morals are emphasized deeply in both poems. The Greek society rewards good morals and punishes wrongdoers. Hesiod offers his sibling moralizing advice on several occasions on the way he ought to live. Unlike Odyssey, Works and Days have mythological etiologies for the pain and toil, which define humanity and its condition. In this poem, the story of Pandora and Prometheus is mentioned briefly while that of the Myth of Five Ages also features in the Odyssey (Homer, 2010).
Homer apparently has a sense of living in a changed world from an earlier time. There are things in Greek society that he sees changed. For example, the idea of competing for suitors and slaying one another in the wooing process now appears gone. During the time he writes Odyssey, such practices are still taking place, but nobody seems very interested in them. For instance, on coming from captivity, Odyssey hopes he will find a fiancée soon, because of his strength and likelihood of winning the competitions. However, to his surprise, this is no longer valued much and fathers do not allow their girls away just based on physical strength. He believes the reason for such a change is increasing numbers of Greeks that engage in scholarly work.