Human Suffering In The Works and Days of Hesiod, he identifies human suffering in its many forms and explains why humans seem to experience dark and painful lives. He suggests that a man stealing from Zeus, and thus angering him, was the main cause of humanity's suffering. He also points out that humanity has not always been a bad race. He tells readers about the times before the time he was currently in: the Iron Age. Hesiod explains to readers why humanity suffers and what it means to him through poetry and mythology. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Hesiod identifies human suffering as a mixture of many things. He says that humans are cursed to work hard all their lives, to fall ill, to live in pain, and to live in a mixture of good and evil: "Neither day nor night will give them rest while they waste away from toil and pain. Increasing care will be entrusted to them by the gods, and their fate will be a mixture of good and evil” (Hesiod 193). Men are condemned to waste away while working their land and cultivating their crops. They have to work all their lives to be able to survive. They will grow old and weak and eventually die a painful death. But why has humanity been cursed to live this way? At the beginning of civilization, a powerful and devious mortal named Prometheus decided to steal fire for humans. Fire is of course a symbol of knowledge. Prometheus stole fire and hid it from Zeus, and as punishment, the king of the gods punished humanity with the gift of Pandora. Pandora was a beautiful young woman made from earth and water and to whom each of the gods had given a gift of some kind. Athena taught him to weave, Aphrodite gave him beauty, Hermes gave him a treacherous nature and the ability to lie. She was made to be beautiful and innocent. She was given as a gift to Epimetheus, who was warned by Prometheus never to accept a gift from Zeus, as it could be bad. Epimetheus accepted the gift, despite Prometheus's warning, and Pandora opened a jar, releasing all evil: "Hope was the only spirit that remained there in the unbreakable closure of the jar, beneath its rim, and could not escape." fly abroad, because the lid of the big pot closed first and contained her; it was by the will of Zeus of the Aegis, the gatherer of clouds; » (Hesiod 190). Hope was all that was not released for humanity, leaving the species in despair. Humanity's suffering has not always been widespread. Before the Iron Age, there existed a superior human species that suffered little or no suffering. The golden age existed during the reign of Cronus, father of Zeus, and these humans led happy, carefree lives, feasted as much as they wanted, were free from the pains of old age and died a painless death and asleep. After the Golden Age, there also lived a divine race of heroes, called demigods, just before the Iron Age. They were all wiped out in battle and by evil and thus began the Age of Iron. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Hesiod lived in the Iron Age and, supposedly, just like humanity today. Humans live in a time of suffering, pain and hard work, perhaps because of the will of Zeus. “There is therefore no way of avoiding what Zeus has planned” (Hesiod 191).