Der Abschluss der Werke und Tage Hesiods -(II) Die Struktur des Versflusses in der Tage-Partie-

Abstract

This study concentrates on the structure of the flux of verses in a small piece of Greek epic poetry, namely in the Days-section placed at the end of Hesiod’s Works and Days. The seemingly unbroken series of hexameters in Greek epic is normally thought of as an even flux of verses, lacking any features of regular composition as found in Greek lyrical poetry or in old epic poetry of non-Greek derivation. Yet four decades ago H. Schwabl has published an analysis of the structure of the Theogony, Hesiod’s first epic, in which he shows that this work of Hesiod is covered by a network of symmetrical structures which cannot have originated by mere chance. H. Schwabl’s analysis ─ being an act of "Gestaltwahrnehmung", which might have opened the access to a new area of research ─ did not lead to the discovery of a set of special rules, which may have enabled the Greek epic poet to produce the structures brought to light by H. Schwabl. In the present study the search for special rules reigning the composition of epic verse is resumed. The structure of the flux of verses in the Days-section is easy to analyse and the Days-section contains various evident examples of special features of composition recurring in many places of Hesiodic epic. A better understanding of the formal composition of Hesiodic epic leads to a better understanding of the often seemingly erratic structure and presentation of its contents.