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:
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.
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).
From Hesiod:
O when thistle bursts and cicada,
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.
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).
Why Dog Days?
Constellation
Canis Major is the
Big Dog.
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.
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 online
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.
Images:
Local file: local link: hesiod.html.
Image link: Wikipedia:
File:Seneca.JPG.
Image link:
Wikimedia Commons:
File:Athenebrunnen-Stuttgart Prometheus.jpg.
File: Ancient Astronomy file:
hesiod.html.
