Pseudo-Senca AKA Hesiod

    Image 1 Caption: The Pseudo-Seneca is an ancient Roman bronze sculpure (late 1st century BCE) at the Naples National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy. The bust was originally thought to be of Seneca (c.4 BCE--65 CE). But nowadays it is considered to be possibly an imaginative portrait of Hesiod (circa late 8th century BCE) or Aristophanes (c.446--c.386 BCE).

    The Pseudo-Seneca is find from Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum in 1754 (see Wikipedia: Pseudo-Seneca and Wikipedia: Hesiod: Portrait bust). Herculaneum was buried by pyroclastic surges from the Vesuvius eruption in 79 CE which also buried Pompeii.

    Features:

    1. Hesiod is the poet author of the long poems Theogony and Works and Days. Or maybe just one of the two---the other being written by another ancient Greek of the same name. Hesiod is one of the earliest known persons of Classical Antiquity (c.800 BCE--c.500 CE) (see also Greco-Roman Antiquity (c.800 BCE--c.500 CE)).

      Hesiod as revealed in Works and Days---which may NOT be by Hesiod, but by another ancient Greek of the same name---is a rather gloomy, pessimistic farmer-poet---maybe a lot like Robert Frost (1874--1963). In the bronze sculpure, the ancient Greek artist (or ancient Roman artist) may have been trying to capture that gloomy, pessimistic farmer character: i.e., to portray the soul.

      Seneca (c.4 BCE--65 CE), on the other hand, was an ancient Roman stoic philospher, writer, and statesman.

    2. Hesiod, among other ancient lore, knew of the heliacal rising of Sirius.

      In historical times, the heliacal rising of Sirius in constellation Canis Major (which has the highest apparent brightness of all fixed stars) set the Dog Days of summer---the caniculares dies---the hottest time of the year (see Heliacal Rising & Setting of Sirius: 800 B.C. - 2000 A.D. by Peter J. Clark).

      Prometheus am Athenebrunnen Why Dog Days? Constellation Canis Major is the Big Dog.

      From Hesiod:

        O when thistle bursts and cicada,
        hid in his tree, shrill and timeless,
        sings his song---timeless,
        then summer swoons and goat is fat
        and wine is good, and maids are riggish,
        but burnt are streams and men---burnt dry
        by Sirius teaming with the Sun---but I
        in the Dog Days think a shady rock
        godlike with Biblos from the vine.

          ---Hesiod (circa late 8th century BCE) in Works and Days, free variation by yours truly based on the public domain translation of Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1874--1924) (see Translation Works and Days) starting from line 582. The Evelyn-White translation and that of Dorothea S. Wender (1935--2003) (Dorothea S. Wender, 1976, Hesiod and Theognis) were compared to elucidate the literal meanings of the terms and phrases. The expression "shady rock" is a quotation from the Evelyn-White translation. Wender uses "shady rock" too. See the video review Fiction Book Review: Hesiod and Theognis (Penguin Classics) with odd pronunciations---maybe He-side for Hesiod is legitimate, but NOT mandatory, but I can't believe Dorothea pronounced her surname Wendire.

      The heliacal rising of Sirius was also well known to the ancient Egyptians since it roughly corresponded to the beginning of the annual Nile flood that sustained their agriculture. (see Wikipedia: Heliacal rising: History). The flood's utility caused Herodotus (c.484--c.425 BCE) to call Egypt the gift of the Nile.

    3. Due to the axial precession, the heliacal rising of Sirius does NOT correspond well to the hottest time of year anymore.

      In the time of Hesiod (circa late 8th century BCE), it was in about mid-July at the latitude of ancient Greece. In our day, it's more like mid-August (Heliacal Rising & Setting of Sirius: 800 B.C. - 2000 A.D. by Peter J. Clark):

      Poet Robert Frost (1874--1963) (who's sort of a reincarnation of Hesiod) was also keen on Canis Major: see Canis Major.

    4. Hesiod videos (i.e., Hesiod videos):
      High cal:
      1. Ancient Greek: Reconstructed Pronunciation: Hesiod | 1:27: But is it in the Boeotian accent? Too long for the classroom.
      2. Hesiod | 14:22: Sounds reasonable, but too long for the classroom.
      3. Hesiod Theogony & Works and Days | 49:58: Too long for the classroom.
      4. Hesiod - Theogony | 1:06:30: Whole darn thing.
      5. Fiction Book Review: Hesiod and Theognis (Penguin Classics): Theogony, Works and Days, and Elegie... : A brief intro to the translations by Dorothea Wender (1935--2003). Apparently, "Hesiod" is pronounce Heseid. See also Forvo: Hesiod, where it's He-siod. But who really knows---maybe it was Hayseed. Too long for the classroom. Now a dead link
      Low cal:
      1. Greek Mythology- The creation | 5:42: Probably based mostly on Hesiod's (circa late 8th century BCE). Theogony (origin of the gods).
      2. Norse Mythology 1 Creation of the Universe | 7:49: The origins in Norse mythology for something completely different.

    5. Image 2 Caption: Prometheus, a shady rock at rest in a shady grove.

      Prometheus "is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods and steals fire to give to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization. Prometheus is known for his intelligence and as a champion of humankind." (Slightly edited.)

      Prometheus is one of the main characters of Theogony where he is the opponent of Zeus.

      The statue of Prometheus is in the Athenebrunnen (Athena fountain) on the Karlshoehe in Stutgart, Germany---Prometheus Unbound (c.500--c.450 BCE).

    Images:
    1. Credit/Permission: © Massimo Finizio (AKA User:Finizio), 2005 / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0.
      Image link: Wikipedia: File:Seneca.JPG.
    2. Credit/Permission: © Benutzer:SteFre, 2008 (uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by User:Akkakk, 2011) / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 2.0.
      Image link: Wikimedia Commons: File:Athenebrunnen-Stuttgart Prometheus.jpg.
    Local file: local link: hesiod.html.
    File: Ancient Astronomy file: hesiod.html.