Online Work 1: HESIOD, THEOGONY (Ayman R.)

Here are the words the daughters of aegis-bearing  Zeus,

the Muses of Olympos, first spoke to me.

“Listen, you country bumpkins, you pot-bellied blockheads, we

know how to tell many lies that pass for  truth,

and when we wish, we know to tell the truth itself.”

In this text Hesiod, a shepherd a the foothills of Helikon where the Helikonian Muses reside, speaks on what he learned from these mythical beings and their songs. These lines, which are the first spoken words to Hesiod from the Daughters of Zeus (Helikonian Muses), blatantly be-little the mortal humans of the land. Starting off by calling the mortals of the country “bumpkins” and “pot-bellied blockheads” as to mock them for their appearance and intelligence. They make it known of their superior intelligence/knowledge over the humans, stating their lies can be truths at will, and when they wish/feel like it they can tell the actual truth. This is a contrast from the praise they sang/gave to all of the Olympian Gods/Goddesses. When referring to the “deathless gods” the daughters gives grandiose description of each of their skill sets/beauty/power. Though they do have this polarizing view of themselves and humans, Hesiod who is a human still speaks of them with the utmost respect and admiration. He seems submissive in the light of being talked down to, speaking of the daughters as angelic beings who he seems entranced by. This might give insight on how the people of that time would see themselves compared to all the great deities, as lower beings, even more by the fact the Gods reside in Mountains and areas unreachable by mere mortals.