DOI: 10.53084/22209050_2023_28_26

I.P. Rushkin
When Did Hesiod Plow His Field? The "Triple-Plowed" Illusion

Abstract: We propose an alternative interpretation of a line in Hesiod's "Works and Days", which better aligns with the poem's context and challenges the common belief that Hesiod advocated for plowing three times a year: in the fall, spring, and summer. According to our analysis, Hesiod only mentions fall plowing, done simultaneously with sowing. Possible reasons for this are provided by Virgil's "Georgics". The existence of the epithet τρίπολος does not contradict this conclusion. We generally agree with the scholars who have long called into question the correctness of translating this epithet as "triple-plowed," but we propose a new interpretation for it, based on the concept of inclusive counting: this epithet is in direct correspondence with the ritual depicted by Homer on Achilles's shield in the Iliad. With this epithet and Hesiod out of the way, there is no basis for the widespread assumption that three plowings a year were a common
practice in archaic Greece. In fact, it becomes an improbable hypothesis, as Xenophon's "Economics" discusses only two plowings (spring and summer), with no mention of fall plowing.

Keywords: Archaic Greek agriculture, Hesiod, triple-plowed, thrice-plowed, triple-ploughed, thrice-ploughed, inclusive counting

To cite this article: Rushkin I. When Did Hesiod Plow His Field? The "Triple-Plowed" Illusion. Aristeas XXVIII (2023): 26–32.

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Author:

I.P. Rushin