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 Hesiod,
the epic poet second only to Homer in importance, was born at Ascra in
Boeotia, near the mount Hellikon. The exact date of his birth is not
known, but it is estimated around 800 BC. Since this is a mere
estimation, it is probable that his poems are contemporary of Homer's.
Three poems of Hesiod have been preserved, though in the ancient times
many others bore his name.
The poems are: Work and days, highly valued by the
ancients for its ethical teaching, the Theogony, where a
lot of information about the local traditions of Gods and the origin of
the world is given and the Shield of Herakles, an epic
combat between the hero Herakles and his adversary Kyknos.
His works, though not on a par to Homer, kept teaching Greeks for
centuries and contain the sperms of lyric, iambic and elegiac poetry.
There are many stories about his death. His tomb was displayed at
Orchomenos.
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