Hesiod σίοδος， Hesiod, born in the 8th century BC at an unknown age, was an ancient Greek poet. Born in Ascra Village, located in Biocia, Greece, in the southern European region of Asia Minor. He relied on self cultivation for a living since childhood, and may have lived in the 8th century BC.
Since the 5th century BC, literary historians have been debating who lived earlier between Hesiod and Homer, with most historians believing that Hesiod lived earlier than Homer. Known for his long poems "Work and Time" and "Theology" in later generations, he is known as the "Father of Greek Exemplary Poetry".

Hesiod lived in Boethia and often went to Mount Helicon, which according to Greek mythology is the residence of the Muse. Hesiod himself said that one day while he was herding sheep, the Muse gave him the ability to write poetry.
He knows very little about the details of his life, most of which come from his poetry. In his poem "Work and Time", he said that he and his brothers went to court for inheritance, but he lost (although some scholars believe that this story was fabricated). Afterwards, he lived a stable and moderately prosperous life. He never traveled far in his life and was a person who lived his own life. The lawsuit became a metaphor for the moral description in his long poem.
In addition, he said that he participated in a poet competition at Calcis and won a tripod. Plutarch realized that here he connected his actual life with his creations: around 705 BC, a war broke out between Calyx and Eretria, and Hesiod played a hero of Calyx in this competition. Later poets fabricated the story of his competition with Homer in this story.
Regarding the death of Hesiod, there are detailed descriptions in "Life" and "Competition". He went to Delphi after participating in the competition, and Apollo prophesied that he would die in the beautiful forest of Zeus in Nicolia. He thought it was referring to Nicolia in Nicolis, so he fled to Oloae in Locris, hoping to escape. As a result, he was there, where he was entertained and suspected of seducing his sister by Fefanis and Ganucto, so he killed her and threw her into the sea. Three days later, the body was carried by dolphins to the shore and buried in Onoe. (Unexpectedly, there is also a temple of Zeus in Nimia there).
Another theory is passed down from a short poem from the 7th century BC, which states that he was buried in Boethia. Later writers attempted to combine these two statements together. So there have been two different theories about where his tomb is from a very early time.

One widely recognized long poem he wrote is "Work and Time". The Divine Genealogy, even if not written by Hesiod, is very similar in style to his works. The epic "Work and Time" details the poet's lawsuit with his brother Perseus. The bribed judge awarded Hesiod all of his sheep to Perseus, but the diligent Hesiod also accumulated a fortune. Perseus lost all of his possessions and was forced to seek help from the poet. Hesiod generously offered him assistance and wrote his advice in an 828 line poem. The title of the poem precisely summarizes its theme: how humans can live happily or joyfully, and luck is favored according to the rules of work and time. In fact, "Work and Time" is a collection of moral maxims and agricultural almanac related to admonition. The poet advocates justice as the highest moral standard of society and labor as the foundation of life in the poem, with a fresh and simple style, concise and vivid. [1]
The Divine Genealogy is a very interesting work for genealogy. It is the earliest and most systematic work in ancient Greece to describe the origin of the universe and the genealogy of gods. It is a unity of the complex early Greek mythology, with the Olympic theology as its home, incorporating the gods into a single system. [2]
Some classical writers believe that "The Women" is also Hesiod's late work. Most of this long poem has been lost, with only a few chapters remaining. Its content is the genealogy of legendary kings and heroes of the era. Generally, scholars classify it as a work of late poetry from the Hesiod era.
Another long poem classified as his work is "The Shield of Heracles", which is clearly a sequel to the aforementioned work. In recent years, there has been some controversy over whether this work belongs to Hesiod.

Hesiod's works are important documents for studying Greek mythology, ancient Greek agricultural technology, astronomy, and chronology. It also has an impact on the Chinese naming of Greece. The term "Greece" comes from Hellas. Hellas was originally a city name in the Thessaly region (a country mentioned in the legend of Hercules), and their people were Hellenes. Their language was Hellenike glossa, which means "Greek".
Later on, Hellenes became a collective term for all Greek speakers to distinguish them from other ethnic groups, and Hellas was also used to refer to the entire Greek region. As a collective term for Greece, Hellas first appeared in Hesiod's poetry in the 8th century BC.