Works and Days was written by Hesiod. It was written as an ethical and a farming guide for his brother, Perses. He wrote it to persuade his brother to relinquish the inheritance that Hesiod felt Perses had stolen. There is much emphasis on the gods of Greek religion. The hierarchy is very linear as far as authority goes, with Zeus at the top and other gods and goddesses lower and lower. Then came demi-gods then man. However, the gods of Hesiod’s Works and Days were somewhat unpredictable and subject to mood swings and fights with each other. The sanctions, which consisted of curses and other forms of punishments, were, therefore, unreliable.
Hesiod wrote in Works and Days that the court system was unreliable and should not be trusted. Note that this court system was the very one that ruled in Perses’ favor to award him Hesiod’s portion of the inheritance. Hesiod thought that the gods had more authority than the court system did.
Contrast Works and Days with the final third of Aeschylus’ tragic trilogy “The Orestia”, and you can see some major differences and a few similarities.
The trilogy of The Orestia is comprised of three parts: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides. This was written as a form of entertainment to the Athenian citizens. This is the first major difference from Works and Days, as they were both written for different reasons.
There is still a hierarchy in place in The Eumenides, but it is more blurred. Zeus is still at the top, but it seems to be more of a title than of authority. As you look at the other “lower” gods, things become more muddled as authorities and titles overlap and seniority becomes more prevalent.
All the gods seemed to have firm opinions on everything and were more active in either preventing something to happen or allowing something else to happen. All of this made any sanctions very unpredictable; more so than in Works and Days.
Perhaps the most obvious inconsistency between Works and Days and The Eumenides is their stances on courts. Works and Days was very adamant that courts should not be trusted, but The Eumenides took an opposing view. In The Eumenides, Athena was to rule over the case between Orestes and his mother’s furies (vengeful demon-like goddesses who wanted to avenge her murder). Apollo was on Oreste’s side while the furies claimed that their old age and the fact that Orestes committed matricide was enough to punish him (negative sanctions). Athena, supposedly one of the most powerful goddesses, found that it was too hard for her to rule the case. So, she assembled a court from human citizens of Athens. Then the goddesses (both Athena and the furies) obeyed and accepted the ruling (the furies had to be bribed by Athena to relent).
As you can see, there were many differences between Works and Days and The Eumenides. The only major similarities between the two were the fact that they were both set in Greece and that there were the same major gods and goddesses in each.
Inquisitive Brianna 