The Shield of Heracles

by Hesiod

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Genres: Poetry, Classics, Mythology, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Greece, Philosophy

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 701

About the author

Hesiod (Greek: Ησίοδος) was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.
Several of Hesiod's works have survived in their entirety. Among these are Theogony, which tells the origins of the gods, their lineages, and the events that led to Zeus's rise to power, and Works and Days, a poem that describes the five Ages of Man, offers advice and wisdom, and includes myths such as Pandora's box.
Hesiod is generally regarded by Western authors as 'the first written poet in the Western tradition to regard himself as an individual persona with an active role to play in his subject.' Ancient authors credited Hesiod and Homer with establishing Greek religious customs. Modern scholars refer to him as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, Archaic Greek astronomy, cosmology, and ancient time-keeping.

Reviews

[Sense of History]

Experts now agree that this third work attributed to the early Greek writer Hesiod (8th-7th century BCE), is certainly not by the same hand as the author of the Theogony and/or Works and Days, at least with the exception of the first 50 lines. There is a fairly broad consensus that the majority of this much shorter poem dates from the 6th century BCE (thus, at least a century after the others, and preserved only in fragments). It is also less powerful. The passage describing Heracles' shield is certainly interesting (although it will not appeal much to the layman), and the extended battle scene it includes is again very intense (referencing that from the Theogony), but overall, it is less impressive than the two larger books attributed to Hesiod. This does not prevent it from apparently being very popular in antiquity itself, as evidenced by its many adaptations (also afterwards in the Modern Period), and the inspiration it provided for classical Greek ceramics.
My reviews on other works by Hesiod
• Theogony: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
• Works and Days: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely battle scene with Herakles and Iolaus versus Ares and Cycnus. Brothers against father and son with the requisite god meddling ahead of time. Nicely done if brief. I wandered over to read it after The Seven Against Thebes because I was so enamored with the shields' descriptions in it and so totally worth it. The shield itself is a set of stories. But it ends with a nice bang:

Even so, the son of Amphitryon, unsated of battle, stood eagerly face to face with Ares, nursing courage in his heart. And Ares drew near him with grief in his heart; and they both sprang at one another with a cry.

[Simone Audi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poema épico narra o nascimento de Héracles (Hércules) e sua luta contra Cisne e Ares.
Héracles encontra Cisne ( Cicno) filho de Ares deus da guerra, por quem é desafiado e derrota-o.
Sendo depois atacado por Ares, Héracles o fere na coxa e ele foge para o Olimpo.

Mais um livro sem edição em português, mas vc pode ler este poema traduzido por Jaa Torrano (que traduziu a Teogonia de Hesíodo e outras obras gregas) em português e em grego , no site da revista hypnos que é uma excelente revista de filosofia greco-romana. Este texto específico encontra-se na revista n. 6 do ano 5 www.hypnos.org.br

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually rather engaging, especially the phrase "neat ankled".

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This work is thought to have been written after Hesiod’s death , perhaps by a a 3rd Century (BC) poet writing on Hesiod’s style. Nonetheless, it is been attributed to Hesiod and that’s the basis of this review. This is only important because the story at times bears strong resemblance to the Iliad by Homer.
The story is the tale of Heracles son of Zeus but raised by his mother: neat-ankled daughter of Electyron.
He has the Gods protection and is a strong warrior! With unequalled armour given to him by Apollo and Palas Athena! 🙂
In Battle against Cycnus - some very interesting speeches here. Similar in all to the Homeric description of The battle of troy! Still this is pure epic with an outstanding end! And you are well advised to read it. Fabulous! 5 stars.

[Beau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I just don’t really like Hesiod as a person lol. This epic was not so epic too.

[CivilWar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very nice piece of action by Hesiod (or, more likely, someone else writing in the style of Hesiod), detailing a fight between Herakles and his nephew Iolaus against the despot Cycnus and his father Ares.

The description of Herackles shield, no doubt influenced by Book 18 of the Iliad (to the point of using the description of Achilles' shield almost verbatim), is long, telling not necessarily of the shield's military usefulness in a fight, but rather, is a collection of stories meant to illustrate several facets of the human condition: From war to festivities.

The action, the final fight between Herakles and Iolaus and Ares and his son Cycnus, are where the poem truly shines and I'd go as far as saying they're some of Hesiod's (or, at least, of Hesiod's style) best written verses. It's intensely written, with detailed descriptions of spears failing to pierce the mighty shield of Herakles and spears piercing Cycnus' sinews. Upon seeing his son killed in battle, Ares becomes enraged and goes berserk to where the goddess Athena has to tell him to stop, and we as readers feel sorry for Ares, who, despite being one of the antagonists of the poem, has just watched his son being killed with a spear thrust through the throat. His rage, though brutal, is entirely sympathetic to us. Ultimately, Ares, going against fate itself, loses and his wounded in his thigh by Heracles' spear.

At the end, after the king buries Cycnus, Achilles floods the river causing the river the wash away the grave. A powerful moment, as one cannot help but think "What a senseless waste of human life" at seeing both Cycnus be honoured despite his evil deeds and the river washing away the hard work of everyone who worked on that monument, who were surely innocent.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heracles is born of Zeus, gets a shield, fights Cycnus.

[· · Rating 5 out of 5]

(23 August, 2021)

A supreme example of truly great poetry - and this is a translation!

With a fine introduction and an unassuming start, there is nothing to prepare one for the emotional impact of reading this amazing poem. It starts with a family portrait of sorts then jumps to state Herakles slays Kyknos, son of Ares. The magic shifts into high gear with the description of the titular shield, almost like a punch to the gut. It reaches its apogee here:

Depicted on it was also Zeus’s daughter
Athena Tritogeneia, the looter,
as if she wished to arm for battle.
Spear in hand,
golden helmet cresting her head,
shield slung over her shoulders,
she charged into the dread clash.

... imagining Athena charging in full battle armour, what a rush, I had chills running down my spine, tingling goosebumps and my heart was racing, whoooo! From there it could only really go one way, downhill - but what a gentle slope. The description continues with images of mythical heroes and gods. After that, the poem shifts back to the action with a battle between war-god Ares and Herakles (with some help from grey-eyed Athena) and ends with Kyknos' grave ravaged by a river god, at the behest of Apollo, for past offences at Delphi.

Amazing to read and to imagine, my lone complaint: it is too short, wayyyyyyyy too short.

[Buck Wilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generic protagonist Heracles, god-like son of Zeus, and his best bud, the goddess/his half-sister* Athena roam around Greece, fucking up everybody's day and high-fiving.

Nice.

*It may be that they are full-blooded siblings. Although Heracles is the offspring of Zeus and some mortal bimbo, Athena was born full-grown, fully armored, and whooping war cries out of Zeus' forehead, technically by C-section via Hephaestus' battle ax. Half-siblinghood by definition requires one shared parent and one different parent per sibling; since there are only three parents present here, and two of them are Zeus, it may be more accurate to call them 3/4-siblings at least.

[Dmk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what to think about it. While in the begging conciseness of this amazed me, and Hesiod is really a good poet, it soon felt like too dry story. Long description of shield, dense description of action.

Not bad, but yet, not epic enough to be great epic, and not something else enough to be something else.

[Ginger Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not actually written by Hesiod because it's too exciting and interesting. Heracles wins (as he always does), even against the god Ares himself (with the help of Athena). Shameless ripoff of _The Iliad_, but fun. Lots of blood and thunder. I'm betting this one was a hit with the 12-year-old boys of ancient Athens.

[Atticus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Ares...I suppose it is only fitting that within a text named for a protective element, the God of ¨swift anger and matchless hands¨ ought be silent, and defeated. Indeed - but what metaphor to the glory of a shield can be more fitting than Pallas Athena turning away from it the spears of Enyalios? A shield to defend against War itself is worth the world depicted on it, undoubtedly, and the depictions on it are where the true beauties of this poem lie. Short but not sparse, interesting but not enthralling, the Shield is a good contextual piece in the larger mythological context. A worthy read, but not essential to one´s understanding.

read here: https://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodShie...

[Linniegayl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a class I’m taking in Greek and Roman mythology. There were some interesting parts and phrases, such as this passage: “So in one night Zeus shared the bed and love of the neat-ankled daughter of Electyron.” Yes, Zeus has sex with another woman, and as a result, his son Herakles comes about. Other than that, Herakles gets into a fight with Ares and his son Cycnus and kills Cycnus, which makes Ares really mad and he tries to kill Herakles, but Herakles defeats Ares (so much for the god of war). Athena also appears to be on Herakles side in this and comes in near the end to try and discourage Ares.

This is a really short piece, and not one of my favorites. I might give it another read at some point.

[Mitch Dubeau · Rating 2 out of 5]

A poet in ancient Greece, pretending to be Hesiod, was a massive nerd—and he proved it by writing an entire poem just to describe Heracles' shield in painstaking detail. The shield itself is a meditation on life, death, and the brutality of war, but at its core, this poem feels like ancient fan fiction. A pseudo-Hesiod geeking out over a legendary hero isn’t necessarily a bad thing—in fact, this might be one of the earliest fanfictions ever written, making it a genre-defining work in its own way.

That said, The Shield of Heracles is a niche read. It’s not bad, but it’s hard to recommend outside of a select group of mythology or epic poetry enthusiasts.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

stumbled upon this chasing phantoms and citations for another project. despite the fact that it didn't really have what i was looking for (translation issue of amber vs electrum), this was pretty cool. the shield must have had a radius of like 10 feet to fit all the elaborate metalwork, but i dont know what would be more appropriate for heracles

[Marko Vasić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovo izdanje je pravi biser. Fantastično je što, posle toliko vremena, ponovo imamo prepeve antičkih dela koji su dostojni originala (za razliku od Gatalicinih koji ih je prevodio u savremenom duhu, uništivšti tako ono što antiku čini lepom).

Ne samo da je prevod odličan, nego su i komentari i predgovor jedna sveopšta erudicijska poslastica.

[Nathaniel Schmoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the framing device and I think it’s a cool story fragment - a cool snapshot of Heracles. It’s really quite referential so maybe not super accessible, but I enjoyed it. I don’t like it as much as Works and Days, but it’s not super long and it’s a nice read. Don’t expect anything life changing though

[Giuliano Verardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vou anotar isso não.
Se precisar, consulta as marcações.

Só para que eu possa lembrar sobre o que é esse livro:
Conta o nascimento de Heracles e seu irmão de outro pai; descreve sua vestimenta e as batalhas que venceu contra Cisne e Ares. Por algum motivo fala da história de Perseu também.

[Michael A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lattimore translation

[Joshua Dew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most dramatic of Hesiod's works, reminded me of epic tragedy. Less impressive than Theogony and Works and Days, though.

[Matei Tanasă · Rating 3 out of 5]

Captain America would blush if he saw the shield of Heracles, son of Zeus, slayer of Cynicus, son of the Lord of war.

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just didn't like it lmao

[OSCAR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posiblemente por el formato del opúsculo es que me dio la impresión "el escudo de Heracles" la sensación de que terminó, lejos de ser una narración de la pelea entre Hércules contra Ares y su hijo, por constituirse en una descripción molesta del escudo del hijo de Zeus, casi tan molesta como ese capítulo de la Ilíada dedicado al escudo de Aquiles. Para colmo, me molestó que la batalla entre dioses y semidioses no fuera del todo justa sino un juego amañado donde uno de los contrincantes se perdería definitivamente. No supe donde se retomó el hilo y se habló finalmente del triste destinado de Ares que no pudo vengar la muerte de su hijo. ¡Absurda historia!

[Eddie Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful.

[Rabab Boulaich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond the historical boundaries of any simple perceptions...!

[keenban · Rating 2 out of 5]

just not that interesting to me

[Ethan McGuire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Version read:
- Hugh Gerard Evelyn-White’s