A Canonical Author

Abstract

This chapter presents a case study of the Lexicon’s treatment of a single author, Hesiod. Early Greek poetry in general, and that of Hesiod in particular, presents certain difficulties for the historical approach which do not arise for texts of later periods. The main body of the chapter is divided into three sections, treating different respects in which Liddell and Scott (LSJ), and the historical principle it adopts, may seem problematic for the modern reader of Hesiod. The first section considers the ways in which LSJ conflicts with current beliefs concerning the text and dating of Hesiod. The second outlines some respects in which the historical principle may be inadequate for dealing with early Greek hexameter in general, given more recent scholarship on the nature and semantics of formulaic verse. The third treats more idiosyncratic features of Hesiod’s poetry that are particularly noteworthy for the lexicographer. Throughout, the main focus is on the Theogony and the Works and Days.