< Page:Hesiod, and Theognis.djvu
This page needs to be proofread.

92 HESIOD.

tion ; nothing of the casket of evils, from which in the 'Works,' Pandora, by lifting the lid, lets mischief and disease loose upon the world. The key to the difference "between the two accounts is to be found in the fact that in the ' Works ' Hesiod narrates the consequences of the sin of Prometheus ; in the ' The- ogony,' the story of the sin itself. In the order of events that story would run thus : Prometheus enrages Zeus by scoffing at sacrifices, and by tricking the sage ruler of Olympus into a wrong choice touching the most savoury part of the ox. In his office of arbitrator, he divides two portions, the flesh and entrails covered with the belly on one hand, the bones under a cover of white fat on the other. Zeus chooses after the outward appearance, but, as Hesiod seems to imply, chooses wittingly, for the sake of having a grievance. Thenceforth in sacrifice it was customary to offer the whitening bones at his altars. But the god neither forgot nor forgave the cheat "And still the fraud remembering from that hour, The strength of unexhausted fire denied To all the dwellers upon earth. But him Benevolent Prometheus did beguile : The far-seen splendour in a hollow reed He stole of inexhaustible flame. But then Resentment stung the Thunderer's inmost soul, And his heart chafed with anger when he saw The fire far-gleaming in the midst of men. Straight for the flame bestowed devised he ill To man." E. 749-759. Outwitted twice, he roused himself to take vengeance

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.