Heat and Lust

J.C.B. Petropoulos examines the description of midsummer in Hesiod's Works and Days , explores modern Greek agrarian practices and relevant folk beliefs, proverbs, symbols, and songs, and cautiously attempts a "backward extrapolation". With the help of comparative ethnographic models, readers will not only better appreciate the seasonal settings of Hesiod's harvest and its midsummer aftermath, but also will obtain a provocative sidelight into the local song traditions and general lore that underlie the famous passage and Alcaeus's poem.