The Greek Gods Hesiod Analysis

Imaging a world without turmoil, suffering, war, famine, etc. isn’t a new concept for humanity, but instead one that has been contemplated for centuries, perhaps even millennia. Ever since the first human suffered through hardships, would it not have been natural for them to have desired a world in which such struggles wouldn’t have occurred? Due to the human nature, we as a group tend to desire more fulfilling and satisfying lives, so why not simply construct the perfect society: a world in which everyone is contempt, free of suffering, in which we live in harmony. Implementing such a solution is where the problem lies, as the entirety of humanity would have to agree on the boundaries of the new world, a task that’s been troubling world leaders …show more content…
An 8th century Greek poet, Hesiod, wrote about utopia in his literary work, The Five Ages. In the poem, the time of the Greek Gods is described, going so far to say that the beings that existed then were of a “Golden Race”, living in a land barren of sorrow or toil (Learning). An idealized time during which humanities good graces with the gods resulted in a utopian life under the protection of their deities. Skimming the rest of the poem would leave the reader facing a massive change in tone, as Hesiod changes his focus to the modern human for whom “toil and sorrow by day are theirs, and by night the anguish of death” (Learning). Moreover, he continues by mentioning that the gods are now punishers of humanity, bringing death and affliction upon them. His dreadful comparison of times could be interpreted in two ways. The first, serving as a warning that humanities inability to please the gods has brought about the loss of utopia, implying that humanity is solely responsible for bringing about its own suffering. On the other hand, his contemplative thought could be viewed as a statement declaring that utopia is a concept only achievable in the lands beyond time and death, a land only heard of in