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Homer And Hesiod Analysis

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Homer, Hesiod and the Epistemological Tradition Homer’s and Hesiod’s epic poems do not contain a philosophical system. Epic narrators are no critical thinkers whose purpose is to compare and analyse conflicting views on the origins of the world as well as on human nature, ethics and religion, searching for most adequate answers. Still, Homer and Hesiod have a philosophical value and can be integrated into a philosophical debate. Even if we limit our analysis to their role in the tradition of Greek philosophy, we have to admit their importance for several authors, starting with Xenophanes and Heraclites. These points certainly apply to the epistemic perspective: although epic poems do not contain epistemological theories or concepts, they touch on several epistemic subjects, such as verification of knowledge, its (in)completeness, sources of knowledge and ways of obtaining it. The main goals of my analysis are to point out the most important examples and to evaluate the influence of Homer and Hesiod on epistemological theories of Xenophanes, Plato and Stoic authors. 1. Knowledge in Homer and Hesiod Philosophical approach to classical epic poems was a commonplace in the Antiquity. In the 20th century, many …show more content…

From the human point of view, gods possess an absolute knowledge, i.e. they know “all things” without exception. Gods, however, can be deceived, which means that they cannot know all things, even though the amount of their knowledge greatly surpasses the one of human beings. Prometheus can steal the secret of fire from Zeus, Ares can deceive Hephaesthus, starting an affair with his wife Aphrodite, while Odysseus – a mortal man – can successfully outwit the goddess Circe (though with some help from Hermes). This kind of vulnerability, along with the influence of emotions (e.g. wrath, grief or love) on their actions, makes Homeric and Hesiodic gods very

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