赫西奥德和荷马都创作了重要而著名的史诗。这两位作家也被称为希腊文学史上第一位伟大的作家，他们都是在古希腊时期创作的。除了写作之外，它们也是古希腊历史的核心，因为“历史之父”希罗多德（第二卷）认为它们赋予了希腊人他们的神：

"For Hesiod and Homer I suppose were four hundred years before my time and not more, and these are they who made a theogony for the Hellenes and gave the titles to the gods and distributed to them honours and arts, and set forth their forms: but the poets who are said to have been before these men were really in my opinion after them. Of these things the first are said by the priestesses of Dodona, and the latter things, those namely which have regard to Hesiod and Homer, by myself."

我们也相信赫西奥德给了我们教诲（教育和说教）的诗歌。

赫西奥德很可能生活在公元前700年左右，荷马之后不久，在一个叫阿斯卡的博奥提亚村庄。这是赫西奥德在他的作品中揭示的为数不多的生活细节之一。

事业与工作

赫西奥德年轻时曾在山里当过牧羊人，父亲去世后，他又在一片贫瘠的土地上当过小农。缪斯女神们在赫利孔山照料他的羊群时，在雾中向赫西奥德显现。这种神秘的经历促使赫西奥德创作史诗。

赫西奥德的主要作品是《神权论》、《作品与日子》。《赫拉克勒斯之盾》是《伊利亚特》中阿喀琉斯之盾主题的一个变体，被认为是赫西奥德写的，但实际上可能不是他写的。

赫西奥德关于希腊诸神的“神权论”

作为希腊诸神进化的一个（经常令人困惑的）描述，神权论尤其重要。赫西奥德告诉我们，一开始是混乱，一个巨大的鸿沟。后来厄洛斯独立发展起来。这些人物是超能力，而不是像宙斯这样的拟人神（宙斯在与父亲的第三代斗争中获胜并成为众神之王）。

赫西奥德的“工作与日子”

赫西奥德创作《工作与日子》的时机是赫西奥德和他的兄弟珀西斯之间关于他父亲土地分配的争论：

"Perses, lay up these things in your heart, and do not let that Strife who delights in mischief hold your heart back from work, while you peep and peer and listen to the wrangles of the court-house. Little concern has he with quarrels and courts who has not a year's victuals laid up betimes, even that which the earth bears, Demeter's grain. When you have got plenty of that, you can raise disputes and strive to get another's goods. But you shall have no second chance to deal so again: nay, let us settle our dispute here with true judgement divided our inheritance, but you seized the greater share and carried it off, greatly swelling the glory of our bribe-swallowing lords who love to judge such a cause as this. Fools! They know not how much more the half is than the whole, nor what great advantage there is in mallow and asphodel."

作品和日子充满了道德戒律、神话和寓言（使之成为一首说教诗），因此，古人高度重视它，而不是它的文学价值。它是人类时代的源泉。

赫西奥德之死

赫西奥德在一场官司中败给了他的兄弟珀尔塞斯后，他离开了自己的祖国，搬到了纳帕库斯。根据关于他死亡的传说，他是在欧尼昂被主人的儿子谋杀的。在德尔菲神谕的命令下，赫西奥德的骨头被带到奥克霍梅努斯，在那里的市场上竖立着赫西奥德纪念碑。