Satiric Elements in Hesiod’s Works and Days

The implicit challenge of Quintilian’s satura quidem tota nostra est (Inst. 10.1.93) has often spurred classicists to seek out satiric elements in Greek literature. ¹ Their investigations have typically centered around the Archilochean iambus, Aristophanic comedy, and the Cynic diatribe. The history of Greek satire, called for by Geffcken in 1911, remains unwritten to this day. ² Were such a history to be written, however, Hesiod’s Works and Days might well deserve significant treatment.