Human Suffering
Hesiod describes the various forms of suffering that humans experience and explains how they can live such bleak and painful lives. He says that the suffering of humankind is due to one man who stole from Zeus and angered him. Also, he explains that mankind was never a bad people. He informs his readers of the ages before the Iron Age, the era he is currently living in. Hesiod explains to readers through mythology and poetry why humanity suffers and what it means to him.
Hesiod defines human suffering in a variety of ways. He says humans are cursed with a life of toil, pain and illness. Gods will grant them the ability to grow, but their lot is a mix of both good and poor (Hesiod (193)). The men are cursed by the gods to spend their lives working on their farms and cultivating crops. It takes them their entire lives to make it. Then they will become old and weak. Eventually, they will die in pain. Why was humankind cursed by this? Prometheus stole the fire in early civilization. Fire is a symbol for knowledge. Prometheus stole Zeus’ fire, hidden it and punished mankind through the gift Pandora. Pandora was an earthen and wateren young woman who received gifts from each god. Athena taught Pandora to weave. Aphrodite bestowed her with beauty. Hermes gifted her with a treacherous and liarish nature. She was transformed into a beautiful, innocent girl. Prometheus had warned Epimetheus against accepting a Zeus’s gift because it might be evil. Epimetheus refused Prometheus’ warning and opened Pandora’s jar. All evil was released. The only thing that did not release to mankind was hope, which left the species without hope.
Not all mankind suffered. It was possible that there were earlier forms of mankind who suffered less or not at all. During Kronos’ reign, father to Zeus, humans enjoyed a golden age. They were happy and carefree, they ate whatever they liked and did not experience the pains associated with old age. The demigods were a divine, heroic race that existed after the Golden Age. They lived just prior to the Iron Age. All were wiped out by battles and evil, and so began the Iron Age.
Hesiod supposedly lived in an Iron Age. So, too, does the current human race. Zeus might have wished for the humans to suffer, be in pain, or work hard. There is no way around what Zeus intends (Hesiod 190).
