To judge from these , his poetry criticized and satirized a wide range of ideas . This included Homer and Hesiod , the belief in the pantheon of anthropomorphic gods and the Greeks ' veneration of athleticism . To judge from these , his elegiac and iambic poetry criticized and satirized a wide range of ideas , including Homer and Hesiod , the belief in the pantheon of anthropomorphic gods and the Greeks ' veneration of athleticism .