Ponos Explained
Ponos or Ponus (Ancient Greek: Πόνος Pónos; 'Toil', 'Labor', 'Hardship')[1] is the personification of toil and stress.[2] According to Hesiod's Theogony, "painful" Ponos was the child of Eris (Strife), with no father mentioned.[3] Cicero has the equivalent personification of the Latin word labor as the offspring of Erebus and Night (Erebo et Nocte).[4]
References
- The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, edited by J. Diggle et al, Cambridge University Press, 2021 .
- Cartledge, Paul, s.v. industry, Greek and Roman, published online 07 March 2016, in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Tim Whitmarsh, digital ed, New York, Oxford University Press. .
- Cicero, Marcus Tullius, De Natura Deorum in Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics, translated by H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library No. 268, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, first published 1933, revised 1951. . Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive.
- Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2).
- Hard, Robin (2004), The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004, . Google Books.
- Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Millett, Paul C., s.v. labour, published online 30 July 2015, in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Tim Whitmarsh, digital ed, New York, Oxford University Press. .
- Most, G.W. (2018a), Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia, Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most, Loeb Classical Library No. 57, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2018. . Online version at Harvard University Press.
- Thurmann, Stephanie, s.v. Ponos, in Brill’s New Pauly Online, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and, Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry, published online: 2006.
Notes and References
- 'Ponos' is variously translated as 'Toil' (The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, s.v. πόνος 6; Most, p. 21; Hard, p. 31), 'Labor' (Gantz, p. 10), or 'Hardship' (Caldwell, p. 40 on 212–232). In ancient Greek the word ponos which meant 'hard work' could also mean 'hardship, 'suffering', 'distress' or 'trouble', see The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, s.v. πόνος 1, 3; compare LSJ, s.v. πόνος. For the ancient Greeks' negative associations regarding ponos, see Millett, s.v. labour; Cartledge, s.v. industry, Greek and Roman.
- Thurmann, s.v. Ponos.
- [Hesiod]
- [Cicero]