And this thing that they have done vexes my heart
exceedingly: they have eaten holes in my sacred robe, which I wove
painfully spinning a fine woof on a fine warp, and made it full of
holes.
exceedingly: they have eaten holes in my sacred robe, which I wove
painfully spinning a fine woof on a fine warp, and made it full of
holes.
Hesiod
1-8) 'For their father the famous Earth-Shaker gave both of them
gifts, making each more glorious than the other. To the one he gave
hands more light to draw or cut out missiles from the flesh and to
heal all kinds of wounds; but in the heart of the other he put full and
perfect knowledge to tell hidden diseases and cure desperate sicknesses.
It was he who first noticed Aias' flashing eyes and clouded mind when he
was enraged. '
Fragment #6--Diomedes in Gramm. , Lat. i. 477: 'Iambus stood a little
while astride with foot advanced, that so his strained limbs might get
power and have a show of ready strength. '
THE RETURNS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: After the "Sack of Ilium"
follow the "Returns" in five books by Agias of Troezen. Their contents
are as follows. Athena causes a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus
about the voyage from Troy. Agamemnon then stays on to appease the anger
of Athena. Diomedes and Nestor put out to sea and get safely home.
After them Menelaus sets out and reaches Egypt with five ships, the rest
having been destroyed on the high seas. Those with Calchas, Leontes,
and Polypoetes go by land to Colophon and bury Teiresias who died
there. When Agamemnon and his followers were sailing away, the ghost of
Achilles appeared and tried to prevent them by foretelling what should
befall them. The storm at the rocks called Capherides is then described,
with the end of Locrian Aias. Neoptolemus, warned by Thetis, journeys
overland and, coming into Thrace, meets Odysseus at Maronea, and then
finishes the rest of his journey after burying Phoenix who dies on the
way. He himself is recognized by Peleus on reaching the Molossi.
Then comes the murder of Agamemnon by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra,
followed by the vengeance of Orestes and Pylades. Finally, Menelaus
returns home.
Fragment #2--Argument to Euripides Medea: 'Forthwith Medea made Aeson a
sweet young boy and stripped his old age from him by her cunning skill,
when she had made a brew of many herbs in her golden cauldrons. '
Fragment #3--Pausanias, i. 2: The story goes that Heracles was besieging
Themiscyra on the Thermodon and could not take it; but Antiope, being in
love with Theseus who was with Heracles on this expedition, betrayed the
place. Hegias gives this account in his poem.
Fragment #4--Eustathius, 1796. 45: The Colophonian author of the
"Returns" says that Telemachus afterwards married Circe, while Telegonus
the son of Circe correspondingly married Penelope.
Fragment #5--Clement of Alex. Strom. , vi. 2. 12. 8: 'For gifts beguile
men's minds and their deeds as well. ' [3301]
Fragment #6--Pausanias, x. 28. 7: The poetry of Homer and the
"Returns"--for here too there is an account of Hades and the terrors
there--know of no spirit named Eurynomus.
Athenaeus, 281 B: The writer of the "Return of the Atreidae" [3302] says
that Tantalus came and lived with the gods, and was permitted to ask for
whatever he desired. But the man was so immoderately given to pleasures
that he asked for these and for a life like that of the gods. At this
Zeus was annoyed, but fulfilled his prayer because of his own promise;
but to prevent him from enjoying any of the pleasures provided, and
to keep him continually harassed, he hung a stone over his head which
prevents him from ever reaching any of the pleasant things near by.
THE TELEGONY (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: After the "Returns" comes the
"Odyssey" of Homer, and then the "Telegony" in two books by Eugammon of
Cyrene, which contain the following matters. The suitors of Penelope are
buried by their kinsmen, and Odysseus, after sacrificing to the Nymphs,
sails to Elis to inspect his herds. He is entertained there by Polyxenus
and receives a mixing bowl as a gift; the story of Trophonius and
Agamedes and Augeas then follows. He next sails back to Ithaca
and performs the sacrifices ordered by Teiresias, and then goes to
Thesprotis where he marries Callidice, queen of the Thesprotians. A
war then breaks out between the Thesprotians, led by Odysseus, and the
Brygi. Ares routs the army of Odysseus and Athena engages with Ares,
until Apollo separates them. After the death of Callidice Polypoetes,
the son of Odysseus, succeeds to the kingdom, while Odysseus himself
returns to Ithaca. In the meantime Telegonus, while travelling in search
of his father, lands on Ithaca and ravages the island: Odysseus comes
out to defend his country, but is killed by his son unwittingly.
Telegonus, on learning his mistake, transports his father's body with
Penelope and Telemachus to his mother's island, where Circe makes them
immortal, and Telegonus marries Penelope, and Telemachus Circe.
Fragment #2--Eustathias, 1796. 35: The author of the "Telegony", a
Cyrenaean, relates that Odysseus had by Calypso a son Telegonus or
Teledamus, and by Penelope Telemachus and Acusilaus.
NON-CYCLIC POEMS ATTRIBUTED TO HOMER
THE EXPEDITION OF AMPHIARAUS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: Sitting there in the
tanner's yard, Homer recited his poetry to them, the "Expedition of
Amphiarus to Thebes" and the "Hymns to the Gods" composed by him.
THE TAKING OF OECHALIA (fragments)
Fragment #1--Eustathius, 330. 41: An account has there been given of
Eurytus and his daughter Iole, for whose sake Heracles sacked Oechalia.
Homer also seems to have written on this subject, as that historian
shows who relates that Creophylus of Samos once had Homer for his guest
and for a reward received the attribution of the poem which they call
the "Taking of Oechalia". Some, however, assert the opposite; that
Creophylus wrote the poem, and that Homer lent his name in return for
his entertainment. And so Callimachus writes: 'I am the work of that
Samian who once received divine Homer in his house. I sing of Eurytus
and all his woes and of golden-haired Ioleia, and am reputed one of
Homer's works. Dear Heaven! how great an honour this for Creophylus! '
Fragment #2--Cramer, Anec. Oxon. i. 327: 'Ragged garments, even those
which now you see. ' This verse ("Odyssey" xiv. 343) we shall also find
in the "Taking of Oechalia".
Fragment #3--Scholaist on Sophocles Trach. , 266: There is a disagreement
as to the number of the sons of Eurytus. For Hesiod says Eurytus and
Antioche had as many as four sons; but Creophylus says two.
Fragment #4--Scholiast on Euripides Medea, 273: Didymus contrasts the
following account given by Creophylus, which is as follows: while Medea
was living in Corinth, she poisoned Creon, who was ruler of the city
at that time, and because she feared his friends and kinsfolk, fled to
Athens. However, since her sons were too young to go along with her, she
left them at the altar of Hera Acraea, thinking that their father would
see to their safety. But the relatives of Creon killed them and spread
the story that Medea had killed her own children as well as Creon.
THE PHOCAIS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: While living with
Thestorides, Homer composed the "Lesser Iliad" and the "Phocais"; though
the Phocaeans say that he composed the latter among them.
THE MARGITES (fragments)
Fragment #1--Suidas, s. v. : Pigres. A Carian of Halicarnassus and brother
of Artemisia, wife of Mausolus, who distinguished herself in war. . .
[3401] He also wrote the "Margites" attributed to Homer and the "Battle
of the Frogs and Mice".
Fragment #2--Atilius Fortunatianus, p. 286, Keil: 'There came to
Colophon an old man and divine singer, a servant of the Muses and of
far-shooting Apollo. In his dear hands he held a sweet-toned lyre. '
Fragment #3--Plato, Alcib. ii. p. 147 A: 'He knew many things but knew
all badly. . . '
Aristotle, Nic. Eth. vi. 7, 1141: 'The gods had taught him neither to
dig nor to plough, nor any other skill; he failed in every craft. '
Fragment #4--Scholiast on Aeschines in Ctes. , sec. 160: He refers to
Margites, a man who, though well grown up, did not know whether it was
his father or his mother who gave him birth, and would not lie with his
wife, saying that he was afraid she might give a bad account of him to
her mother.
Fragment #5--Zenobius, v. 68: 'The fox knows many a wile; but the
hedge-hog's one trick [3402] can beat them all. ' [3403]
THE CERCOPES (fragments)
Fragment #1--Suidas, s. v. : Cercopes. These were two brothers living upon
the earth who practised every kind of knavery. They were called Cercopes
[3501] because of their cunning doings: one of them was named Passalus
and the other Acmon. Their mother, a daughter of Memnon, seeing their
tricks, told them to keep clear of Black-bottom, that is, of Heracles.
These Cercopes were sons of Theia and Ocean, and are said to have been
turned to stone for trying to deceive Zeus.
'Liars and cheats, skilled in deeds irremediable, accomplished
knaves. Far over the world they roamed deceiving men as they wandered
continually. '
THE BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE (303 lines)
(ll. 1-8) Here I begin: and first I pray the choir of the Muses to
come down from Helicon into my heart to aid the lay which I have newly
written in tablets upon my knee. Fain would I sound in all men's ears
that awful strife, that clamorous deed of war, and tell how the Mice
proved their valour on the Frogs and rivalled the exploits of the
Giants, those earth-born men, as the tale was told among mortals. Thus
did the war begin.
(ll. 9-12) One day a thirsty Mouse who had escaped the ferret, dangerous
foe, set his soft muzzle to the lake's brink and revelled in the sweet
water. There a loud-voiced pond-larker spied him: and uttered such words
as these.
(ll. 13-23) 'Stranger, who are you? Whence come you to this shore, and
who is he who begot you? Tell me all this truly and let me not find you
lying. For if I find you worthy to be my friend, I will take you to my
house and give you many noble gifts such as men give to their guests.
I am the king Puff-jaw, and am honoured in all the pond, being ruler
of the Frogs continually. The father that brought me up was Mud-man who
mated with Waterlady by the banks of Eridanus. I see, indeed, that you
are well-looking and stouter than the ordinary, a sceptred king and a
warrior in fight; but, come, make haste and tell me your descent. '
(ll. 24-55) Then Crumb-snatcher answered him and said: 'Why do you ask
my race, which is well-known amongst all, both men and gods and the
birds of heaven? Crumb-snatcher am I called, and I am the son of
Bread-nibbler--he was my stout-hearted father--and my mother was
Quern-licker, the daughter of Ham-gnawer the king: she bare me in the
mouse-hole and nourished me with food, figs and nuts and dainties of
all kinds. But how are you to make me your friend, who am altogether
different in nature? For you get your living in the water, but I am used
to each such foods as men have: I never miss the thrice-kneaded loaf
in its neat, round basket, or the thin-wrapped cake full of sesame and
cheese, or the slice of ham, or liver vested in white fat, or cheese
just curdled from sweet milk, or delicious honey-cake which even the
blessed gods long for, or any of all those cates which cooks make for
the feasts of mortal men, larding their pots and pans with spices of all
kinds. In battle I have never flinched from the cruel onset, but plunged
straight into the fray and fought among the foremost. I fear not man
though he has a big body, but run along his bed and bite the tip of
his toe and nibble at his heel; and the man feels no hurt and his sweet
sleep is not broken by my biting. But there are two things I fear above
all else the whole world over, the hawk and the ferret--for these bring
great grief on me--and the piteous trap wherein is treacherous death.
Most of all I fear the ferret of the keener sort which follows you still
even when you dive down your hole. [3601] I gnaw no radishes and cabbages
and pumpkins, nor feed on green leeks and parsley; for these are food
for you who live in the lake. '
(ll. 56-64) Then Puff-jaw answered him with a smile: 'Stranger you boast
too much of belly-matters: we too have many marvels to be seen both in
the lake and on the shore. For the Son of Chronos has given us Frogs the
power to lead a double life, dwelling at will in two separate elements;
and so we both leap on land and plunge beneath the water. If you would
learn of all these things, 'tis easy done: just mount upon my back and
hold me tight lest you be lost, and so you shall come rejoicing to my
house. '
(ll. 65-81) So said he, and offered his back. And the Mouse mounted at
once, putting his paws upon the other's sleek neck and vaulting nimbly.
Now at first, while he still saw the land near by, he was pleased, and
was delighted with Puff-jaw's swimming; but when dark waves began to
wash over him, he wept loudly and blamed his unlucky change of mind: he
tore his fur and tucked his paws in against his belly, while within him
his heart quaked by reason of the strangeness: and he longed to get to
land, groaning terribly through the stress of chilling fear. He put out
his tail upon the water and worked it like a steering oar, and prayed
to heaven that he might get to land. But when the dark waves washed over
him he cried aloud and said: 'Not in such wise did the bull bear on his
back the beloved load, when he brought Europa across the sea to Crete,
as this Frog carries me over the water to his house, raising his yellow
back in the pale water. '
(ll. 82-92) Then suddenly a water-snake appeared, a horrid sight for
both alike, and held his neck upright above the water. And when he saw
it, Puff-jaw dived at once, and never thought how helpless a friend he
would leave perishing; but down to the bottom of the lake he went, and
escaped black death. But the Mouse, so deserted, at once fell on his
back, in the water. He wrung his paws and squeaked in agony of death:
many times he sank beneath the water and many times he rose up again
kicking. But he could not escape his doom, for his wet fur weighed him
down heavily. Then at the last, as he was dying, he uttered these words.
(ll. 93-98) 'Ah, Puff-jaw, you shall not go unpunished for this
treachery! You threw me, a castaway, off your body as from a rock.
Vile coward! On land you would not have been the better man, boxing, or
wrestling, or running; but now you have tricked me and cast me in the
water. Heaven has an avenging eye, and surely the host of Mice will
punish you and not let you escape. '
(ll. 99-109) With these words he breathed out his soul upon the water.
But Lick-platter as he sat upon the soft bank saw him die and, raising
a dreadful cry, ran and told the Mice. And when they heard of his fate,
all the Mice were seized with fierce anger, and bade their
heralds summon the people to assemble towards dawn at the house of
Bread-nibbler, the father of hapless Crumb-snatcher who lay outstretched
on the water face up, a lifeless corpse, and no longer near the bank,
poor wretch, but floating in the midst of the deep. And when the Mice
came in haste at dawn, Bread-nibbler stood up first, enraged at his
son's death, and thus he spoke.
(ll. 110-121) 'Friends, even if I alone had suffered great wrong from
the Frogs, assuredly this is a first essay at mischief for you all. And
now I am pitiable, for I have lost three sons. First the abhorred ferret
seized and killed one of them, catching him outside the hole; then
ruthless men dragged another to his doom when by unheard-of arts they
had contrived a wooden snare, a destroyer of Mice, which they call a
trap. There was a third whom I and his dear mother loved well, and him
Puff-jaw has carried out into the deep and drowned. Come, then, and let
us arm ourselves and go out against them when we have arrayed ourselves
in rich-wrought arms. '
(ll. 122-131) With such words he persuaded them all to gird themselves.
And Ares who has charge of war equipped them. First they fastened on
greaves and covered their shins with green bean-pods broken into two
parts which they had gnawed out, standing over them all night. Their
breast plates were of skin stretched on reeds, skilfully made from a
ferret they had flayed. For shields each had the centre-piece of a lamp,
and their spears were long needles all of bronze, the work of Ares, and
the helmets upon their temples were pea-nut shells.
(ll. 132-138) So the Mice armed themselves. But when the Frogs were
aware of it, they rose up out of the water and coming together to one
place gathered a council of grievous war. And while they were asking
whence the quarrel arose, and what the cause of this anger, a
herald drew near bearing a wand in his paws, Pot-visitor the son
of great-hearted Cheese-carver. He brought the grim message of war,
speaking thus:
(ll. 139-143) 'Frogs, the Mice have sent me with their threats against
you, and bid you arm yourselves for war and battle; for they have seen
Crumb-snatcher in the water whom your king Puff-jaw slew. Fight, then,
as many of you as are warriors among the Frogs. '
(ll. 144-146) With these words he explained the matter. So when this
blameless speech came to their ears, the proud Frogs were disturbed in
their hearts and began to blame Puff-jaw. But he rose up and said:
(ll. 147-159) 'Friends, I killed no Mouse, nor did I see one perishing.
Surely he was drowned while playing by the lake and imitating the
swimming of the Frogs, and now these wretches blame me who am guiltless.
Come then; let us take counsel how we may utterly destroy the wily Mice.
Moreover, I will tell you what I think to be the best. Let us all gird
on our armour and take our stand on the very brink of the lake, where
the ground breaks down sheer: then when they come out and charge upon
us, let each seize by the crest the Mouse who attacks him, and cast them
with their helmets into the lake; for so we shall drown these dry-hobs
[3602] in the water, and merrily set up here a trophy of victory over the
slaughtered Mice. '
(ll. 160-167) By this speech he persuaded them to arm themselves.
They covered their shins with leaves of mallows, and had breastplates
made of fine green beet-leaves, and cabbage-leaves, skilfully fashioned,
for shields. Each one was equipped with a long, pointed rush for a
spear, and smooth snail-shells to cover their heads. Then they stood
in close-locked ranks upon the high bank, waving their spears, and were
filled, each of them, with courage.
(ll. 168-173) Now Zeus called the gods to starry heaven and showed them
the martial throng and the stout warriors so many and so great, all
bearing long spears; for they were as the host of the Centaurs and the
Giants. Then he asked with a sly smile; 'Who of the deathless gods will
help the Frogs and who the Mice? '
And he said to Athena;
(ll. 174-176) 'My daughter, will you go aid the Mice? For they all
frolic about your temple continually, delighting in the fat of sacrifice
and in all kinds of food. '
(ll. 177-196) So then said the son of Cronos. But Athena answered him:
'I would never go to help the Mice when they are hard pressed, for they
have done me much mischief, spoiling my garlands and my lamps too,
to get the oil.
And this thing that they have done vexes my heart
exceedingly: they have eaten holes in my sacred robe, which I wove
painfully spinning a fine woof on a fine warp, and made it full of
holes. And now the money-lender is at me and charges me interest which
is a bitter thing for immortals. For I borrowed to do my weaving, and
have nothing with which to repay. Yet even so I will not help the Frogs;
for they also are not considerable: once, when I was returning early
from war, I was very tired, and though I wanted to sleep, they would not
let me even doze a little for their outcry; and so I lay sleepless with
a headache until cock-crow. No, gods, let us refrain from helping these
hosts, or one of us may get wounded with a sharp spear; for they fight
hand to hand, even if a god comes against them. Let us rather all amuse
ourselves watching the fight from heaven. '
(ll. 197-198) So said Athena. And the other gods agreed with her, and
all went in a body to one place.
(ll. 199-201) Then gnats with great trumpets sounded the fell note
of war, and Zeus the son of Cronos thundered from heaven, a sign of
grievous battle.
(ll. 202-223) First Loud-croaker wounded Lickman in the belly, right
through the midriff. Down fell he on his face and soiled his soft fur
in the dust: he fell with a thud and his armour clashed about him. Next
Troglodyte shot at the son of Mudman, and drove the strong spear deep
into his breast; so he fell, and black death seized him and his spirit
flitted forth from his mouth. Then Beety struck Pot-visitor to the heart
and killed him, and Bread-nibbler hit Loud-crier in the belly, so that
he fell on his face and his spirit flitted forth from his limbs. Now
when Pond-larker saw Loud-crier perishing, he struck in quickly and
wounded Troglodyte in his soft neck with a rock like a mill-stone, so
that darkness veiled his eyes. Thereat Ocimides was seized with grief,
and struck out with his sharp reed and did not draw his spear back to
him again, but felled his enemy there and then. And Lickman shot at him
with a bright spear and hit him unerringly in the midriff. And as he
marked Cabbage-eater running away, he fell on the steep bank, yet even
so did not cease fighting but smote that other so that he fell and
did not rise again; and the lake was dyed with red blood as he lay
outstretched along the shore, pierced through the guts and shining
flanks. Also he slew Cheese-eater on the very brink. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 224-251) But Reedy took to flight when he saw Ham-nibbler,
and fled, plunging into the lake and throwing away his shield. Then
blameless Pot-visitor killed Brewer and Water-larked killed the lord
Ham-nibbler, striking him on the head with a pebble, so that his brains
flowed out at his nostrils and the earth was bespattered with blood.
Faultless Muck-coucher sprang upon Lick-platter and killed him with his
spear and brought darkness upon his eyes: and Leeky saw it, and dragged
Lick-platter by the foot, though he was dead, and choked him in the
lake. But Crumb-snatcher was fighting to avenge his dead comrades, and
hit Leeky before he reached the land; and he fell forward at the blow
and his soul went down to Hades. And seeing this, the Cabbage-climber
took a clod of mud and hurled it at the Mouse, plastering all his
forehead and nearly blinding him. Thereat Crumb-snatcher was enraged and
caught up in his strong hand a huge stone that lay upon the ground, a
heavy burden for the soil: with that he hit Cabbage-climber below the
knee and splintered his whole right shin, hurling him on his back in the
dust. But Croakperson kept him off, and rushing at the Mouse in turn,
hit him in the middle of the belly and drove the whole reed-spear into
him, and as he drew the spear back to him with his strong hand, all his
foe's bowels gushed out upon the ground. And when Troglodyte saw the
deed, as he was limping away from the fight on the river bank, he shrank
back sorely moved, and leaped into a trench to escape sheer death. Then
Bread-nibbler hit Puff-jaw on the toes--he came up at the last from the
lake and was greatly distressed. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 252-259) And when Leeky saw him fallen forward, but still half
alive, he pressed through those who fought in front and hurled a sharp
reed at him; but the point of the spear was stayed and did not break
his shield. Then noble Rueful, like Ares himself, struck his flawless
head-piece made of four pots--he only among the Frogs showed prowess in
the throng. But when he saw the other rush at him, he did not stay to
meet the stout-hearted hero but dived down to the depths of the lake.
(ll. 260-271) Now there was one among the Mice, Slice-snatcher,
who excelled the rest, dear son of Gnawer the son of blameless
Bread-stealer. He went to his house and bade his son take part in the
war. This warrior threatened to destroy the race of Frogs utterly [3603],
and splitting a chestnut-husk into two parts along the joint, put the
two hollow pieces as armour on his paws: then straightway the Frogs were
dismayed and all rushed down to the lake, and he would have made good
his boast--for he had great strength--had not the Son of Cronos, the
Father of men and gods, been quick to mark the thing and pitied the
Frogs as they were perishing. He shook his head, and uttered this word:
(ll. 272-276) 'Dear, dear, how fearful a deed do my eyes behold!
Slice-snatcher makes no small panic rushing to and fro among the Frogs
by the lake. Let us then make all haste and send warlike Pallas or even
Ares, for they will stop his fighting, strong though he is. '
(ll. 277-284) So said the Son of Cronos; but Hera answered him: 'Son of
Cronos, neither the might of Athena nor of Ares can avail to deliver
the Frogs from utter destruction. Rather, come and let us all go to
help them, or else let loose your weapon, the great and formidable
Titan-killer with which you killed Capaneus, that doughty man, and great
Enceladus and the wild tribes of Giants; ay, let it loose, for so the
most valiant will be slain. '
(ll. 285-293) So said Hera: and the Son of Cronos cast a lurid
thunderbolt: first he thundered and made great Olympus shake, and the
cast the thunderbolt, the awful weapon of Zeus, tossing it lightly
forth. Thus he frightened them all, Frogs and Mice alike, hurling his
bolt upon them. Yet even so the army of the Mice did not relax, but
hoped still more to destroy the brood of warrior Frogs. Only, the Son
of Cronos, on Olympus, pitied the Frogs and then straightway sent them
helpers.
(ll. 294-303) So there came suddenly warriors with mailed backs and
curving claws, crooked beasts that walked sideways, nut-cracker-jawed,
shell-hided: bony they were, flat-backed, with glistening shoulders and
bandy legs and stretching arms and eyes that looked behind them. They
had also eight legs and two feelers--persistent creatures who are called
crabs. These nipped off the tails and paws and feet of the Mice with
their jaws, while spears only beat on them. Of these the Mice were all
afraid and no longer stood up to them, but turned and fled. Already the
sun was set, and so came the end of the one-day war.
OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST
(aka "The Contest of Homer and Hesiod")
Everyone boasts that the most divine of poets, Homer and Hesiod, are
said to be his particular countrymen. Hesiod, indeed, has put a name
to his native place and so prevented any rivalry, for he said that
his father 'settled near Helicon in a wretched hamlet, Ascra, which is
miserable in winter, sultry in summer, and good at no season. ' But, as
for Homer, you might almost say that every city with its inhabitants
claims him as her son. Foremost are the men of Smyrna who say that he
was the Son of Meles, the river of their town, by a nymph Cretheis, and
that he was at first called Melesigenes. He was named Homer later, when
he became blind, this being their usual epithet for such people. The
Chians, on the other hand, bring forward evidence to show that he
was their countryman, saying that there actually remain some of his
descendants among them who are called Homeridae. The Colophonians
even show the place where they declare that he began to compose when a
schoolmaster, and say that his first work was the "Margites".
As to his parents also, there is on all hands great disagreement.
Hellanicus and Cleanthes say his father was Maeon, but Eugaeon says
Meles; Callicles is for Mnesagoras, Democritus of Troezen for Daemon,
a merchant-trader. Some, again, say he was the son of Thamyras, but the
Egyptians say of Menemachus, a priest-scribe, and there are even those
who father him on Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. As for his mother,
she is variously called Metis, Cretheis, Themista, and Eugnetho. Others
say she was an Ithacan woman sold as a slave by the Phoenicians; other,
Calliope the Muse; others again Polycasta, the daughter of Nestor.
Homer himself was called Meles or, according to different accounts,
Melesigenes or Altes. Some authorities say he was called Homer, because
his father was given as a hostage to the Persians by the men of Cyprus;
others, because of his blindness; for amongst the Aeolians the blind are
so called. We will set down, however, what we have heard to have been
said by the Pythia concerning Homer in the time of the most sacred
Emperor Hadrian. When the monarch inquired from what city Homer came,
and whose son he was, the priestess delivered a response in hexameters
after this fashion:
'Do you ask me of the obscure race and country of the heavenly siren?
Ithaca is his country, Telemachus his father, and Epicasta, Nestor's
daughter, the mother that bare him, a man by far the wisest of mortal
kind. ' This we must most implicitly believe, the inquirer and the
answerer being who they are--especially since the poet has so greatly
glorified his grandfather in his works.
Now some say that he was earlier than Hesiod, others that he was
younger and akin to him. They give his descent thus: Apollo and Aethusa,
daughter of Poseidon, had a son Linus, to whom was born Pierus. From
Pierus and the nymph Methone sprang Oeager; and from Oeager and Calliope
Orpheus; from Orpheus, Dres; and from him, Eucles. The descent is
continued through Iadmonides, Philoterpes, Euphemus, Epiphrades and
Melanopus who had sons Dius and Apelles. Dius by Pycimede, the daughter
of Apollo had two sons Hesiod and Perses; while Apelles begot Maeon who
was the father of Homer by a daughter of the River Meles.
According to one account they flourished at the same time and even had
a contest of skill at Chalcis in Euboea. For, they say, after Homer had
composed the "Margites", he went about from city to city as a minstrel,
and coming to Delphi, inquired who he was and of what country? The
Pythia answered:
'The Isle of Ios is your mother's country and it shall receive you dead;
but beware of the riddle of the young children. ' [3701]
Hearing this, it is said, he hesitated to go to Ios, and remained in the
region where he was. Now about the same time Ganyctor was celebrating
the funeral rites of his father Amphidamas, king of Euboea, and invited
to the gathering not only all those who were famous for bodily strength
and fleetness of foot, but also those who excelled in wit, promising
them great rewards. And so, as the story goes, the two went to Chalcis
and met by chance. The leading Chalcidians were judges together with
Paneides, the brother of the dead king; and it is said that after a
wonderful contest between the two poets, Hesiod won in the following
manner: he came forward into the midst and put Homer one question after
another, which Homer answered. Hesiod, then, began:
'Homer, son of Meles, inspired with wisdom from heaven, come, tell me
first what is best for mortal man? '
HOMER: 'For men on earth 'tis best never to be born at all; or being
born, to pass through the gates of Hades with all speed. '
Hesiod then asked again:
'Come, tell me now this also, godlike Homer: what think you in your
heart is most delightsome to men? '
Homer answered:
'When mirth reigns throughout the town, and feasters about the house,
sitting in order, listen to a minstrel; when the tables beside them are
laden with bread and meat, and a wine-bearer draws sweet drink from
the mixing-bowl and fills the cups: this I think in my heart to be most
delightsome. '
It is said that when Homer had recited these verses, they were so
admired by the Greeks as to be called golden by them, and that even now
at public sacrifices all the guests solemnly recite them before feasts
and libations. Hesiod, however, was annoyed by Homer's felicity and
hurried on to pose him with hard questions. He therefore began with the
following lines:
'Come, Muse; sing not to me of things that are, or that shall be, or
that were of old; but think of another song. '
Then Homer, wishing to escape from the impasse by an apt answer,
replied:--
'Never shall horses with clattering hoofs break chariots, striving for
victory about the tomb of Zeus. '
Here again Homer had fairly met Hesiod, and so the latter turned to
sentences of doubtful meaning [3702]: he recited many lines and required
Homer to complete the sense of each appropriately. The first of the
following verses is Hesiod's and the next Homer's: but sometimes Hesiod
puts his question in two lines.
HESIOD: 'Then they dined on the flesh of oxen and their horses' necks--'
HOMER: 'They unyoked dripping with sweat, when they had had enough of
war. '
HESIOD: 'And the Phrygians, who of all men are handiest at ships--'
HOMER: 'To filch their dinner from pirates on the beach. '
HESIOD: 'To shoot forth arrows against the tribes of cursed giants with
his hands--'
HOMER: 'Heracles unslung his curved bow from his shoulders. '
HESIOD: 'This man is the son of a brave father and a weakling--'
HOMER: 'Mother; for war is too stern for any woman. '
HESIOD: 'But for you, your father and lady mother lay in love--'
HOMER: 'When they begot you by the aid of golden Aphrodite. '
HESIOD: 'But when she had been made subject in love, Artemis, who
delights in arrows--'
HOMER: 'Slew Callisto with a shot of her silver bow. '
HESIOD: 'So they feasted all day long, taking nothing--'
HOMER: 'From their own houses; for Agamemnon, king of men, supplied
them. '
HESIOD: 'When they had feasted, they gathered among the glowing ashes
the bones of the dead Zeus--'
HOMER: 'Born Sarpedon, that bold and godlike man. '
HESIOD: 'Now we have lingered thus about the plain of Simois, forth from
the ships let us go our way, upon our shoulders--'
HOMER: 'Having our hilted swords and long-helved spears. '
HESIOD: 'Then the young heroes with their hands from the sea--'
HOMER: 'Gladly and swiftly hauled out their fleet ship. '
HESIOD: 'Then they came to Colchis and king Aeetes--'
HOMER: 'They avoided; for they knew he was inhospitable and lawless. '
HESIOD: 'Now when they had poured libations and deeply drunk, the
surging sea--'
HOMER: 'They were minded to traverse on well-built ships. '
HESIOD: 'The Son of Atreus prayed greatly for them that they all might
perish--'
HOMER: 'At no time in the sea: and he opened his mouth said:'
HESIOD: 'Eat, my guests, and drink, and may no one of you return home to
his dear country--'
HOMER: 'Distressed; but may you all reach home again unscathed. '
When Homer had met him fairly on every point Hesiod said:
'Only tell me this thing that I ask: How many Achaeans went to Ilium
with the sons of Atreus? '
Homer answered in a mathematical problem, thus:
'There were fifty hearths, and at each hearth were fifty spits, and
on each spit were fifty carcases, and there were thrice three hundred
Achaeans to each joint. '
This is found to be an incredible number; for as there were fifty
hearths, the number of spits is two thousand five hundred; and of
carcasses, one hundred and twenty thousand. . .
Homer, then, having the advantage on every point, Hesiod was jealous and
began again:
'Homer, son of Meles, if indeed the Muses, daughters of great Zeus the
most high, honour you as it is said, tell me a standard that is both
best and worst for mortal-men; for I long to know it. ' Homer replied:
'Hesiod, son of Dius, I am willing to tell you what you command, and
very readily will I answer you. For each man to be a standard will I
answer you. For each man to be a standard to himself is most excellent
for the good, but for the bad it is the worst of all things. And now ask
me whatever else your heart desires. '
HESIOD: 'How would men best dwell in cities, and with what observances? '
HOMER: 'By scorning to get unclean gain and if the good were honoured,
but justice fell upon the unjust. '
HESIOD: 'What is the best thing of all for a man to ask of the gods in
prayer? '
HOMER: 'That he may be always at peace with himself continually. '
HESIOD: 'Can you tell me in briefest space what is best of all? '
HOMER: 'A sound mind in a manly body, as I believe. '
HESIOD: 'Of what effect are righteousness and courage? '
HOMER: 'To advance the common good by private pains. '
HESIOD: 'What is the mark of wisdom among men? '
HOMER: 'To read aright the present, and to march with the occasion. '
HESIOD: 'In what kind of matter is it right to trust in men? '
HOMER: 'Where danger itself follows the action close. '
HESIOD: 'What do men mean by happiness? '
HOMER: 'Death after a life of least pain and greatest pleasure. '
After these verses had been spoken, all the Hellenes called for Homer
to be crowned. But King Paneides bade each of them recite the finest
passage from his own poems. Hesiod, therefore, began as follows:
'When the Pleiads, the daughters of Atlas, begin to rise begin the
harvest, and begin ploughing ere they set. For forty nights and days
they are hidden, but appear again as the year wears round, when first
the sickle is sharpened. This is the law of the plains and for those
who dwell near the sea or live in the rich-soiled valleys, far from the
wave-tossed deep: strip to sow, and strip to plough, and strip to reap
when all things are in season. ' [3703]
Then Homer:
'The ranks stood firm about the two Aiantes, such that not even Ares
would have scorned them had he met them, nor yet Athena who saves
armies. For there the chosen best awaited the charge of the Trojans
and noble Hector, making a fence of spears and serried shields. Shield
closed with shield, and helm with helm, and each man with his fellow,
and the peaks of their head-pieces with crests of horse-hair touched
as they bent their heads: so close they stood together. The murderous
battle bristled with the long, flesh-rending spears they held, and the
flash of bronze from polished helms and new-burnished breast-plates
and gleaming shields blinded the eyes. Very hard of heart would he have
been, who could then have seen that strife with joy and felt no pang. '
[3704]
Here, again, the Hellenes applauded Homer admiringly, so far did
the verses exceed the ordinary level; and demanded that he should be
adjudged the winner. But the king gave the crown to Hesiod, declaring
that it was right that he who called upon men to follow peace and
husbandry should have the prize rather than one who dwelt on war and
slaughter. In this way, then, we are told, Hesiod gained the victory
and received a brazen tripod which he dedicated to the Muses with this
inscription:
'Hesiod dedicated this tripod to the Muses of Helicon after he had
conquered divine Homer at Chalcis in a contest of song. '
After the gathering was dispersed, Hesiod crossed to the mainland and
went to Delphi to consult the oracle and to dedicate the first fruits of
his victory to the god. They say that as he was approaching the temple,
the prophetess became inspired and said:
'Blessed is this man who serves my house,--Hesiod, who is honoured by
the deathless Muses: surely his renown shall be as wide as the light
of dawn is spread. But beware of the pleasant grove of Nemean Zeus; for
there death's end is destined to befall you. '
When Hesiod heard this oracle, he kept away from the Peloponnesus,
supposing that the god meant the Nemea there; and coming to Oenoe in
Locris, he stayed with Amphiphanes and Ganyetor the sons of Phegeus,
thus unconsciously fulfilling the oracle; for all that region was called
the sacred place of Nemean Zeus. He continued to stay a somewhat long
time at Oenoe, until the young men, suspecting Hesiod of seducing their
sister, killed him and cast his body into the sea which separates Achaea
and Locris. On the third day, however, his body was brought to land by
dolphins while some local feast of Ariadne was being held. Thereupon,
all the people hurried to the shore, and recognized the body, lamented
over it and buried it, and then began to look for the assassins. But
these, fearing the anger of their countrymen, launched a fishing boat,
and put out to sea for Crete: they had finished half their voyage when
Zeus sank them with a thunderbolt, as Alcidamas states in his "Museum".
Eratosthenes, however, says in his "Hesiod" that Ctimenus and Antiphus,
sons of Ganyetor, killed him for the reason already stated, and were
sacrificed by Eurycles the seer to the gods of hospitality. He adds that
the girl, sister of the above-named, hanged herself after she had been
seduced, and that she was seduced by some stranger, Demodes by name, who
was travelling with Hesiod, and who was also killed by the brothers.
At a later time the men of Orchomenus removed his body as they were
directed by an oracle, and buried him in their own country where they
placed this inscription on his tomb:
'Ascra with its many cornfields was his native land; but in death the
land of the horse-driving Minyans holds the bones of Hesiod, whose
renown is greatest among men of all who are judged by the test of wit. '
So much for Hesiod. But Homer, after losing the victory, went from place
to place reciting his poems, and first of all the "Thebais" in seven
thousand verses which begins: 'Goddess, sing of parched Argos whence
kings. . . ', and then the "Epigoni" in seven thousand verses beginning:
'And now, Muses, let us begin to sing of men of later days'; for some
say that these poems also are by Homer. Now Xanthus and Gorgus, son of
Midas the king, heard his epics and invited him to compose a epitaph
for the tomb of their father on which was a bronze figure of a maiden
bewailing the death of Midas. He wrote the following lines:--
'I am a maiden of bronze and sit upon the tomb of Midas. While water
flows, and tall trees put forth leaves, and rivers swell, and the sea
breaks on the shore; while the sun rises and shines and the bright moon
also, ever remaining on this mournful tomb I tell the passer-by that
Midas here lies buried. '
For these verses they gave him a silver bowl which he dedicated to
Apollo at Delphi with this inscription: 'Lord Phoebus, I, Homer, have
given you a noble gift for the wisdom I have of you: do you ever grant
me renown. '
After this he composed the "Odyssey" in twelve thousand verses, having
previously written the "Iliad" in fifteen thousand five hundred
verses [3705]. From Delphi, as we are told, he went to Athens and was
entertained by Medon, king of the Athenians. And being one day in the
council hall when it was cold and a fire was burning there, he drew off
the following lines:
'Children are a man's crown, and towers of a city, horses are the
ornament of a plain, and ships of the sea; and good it is to see
a people seated in assembly. But with a blazing fire a house looks
worthier upon a wintry day when the Son of Cronos sends down snow. '
From Athens he went on to Corinth, where he sang snatches of his poems
and was received with distinction. Next he went to Argos and there
recited these verses from the "Iliad":
'The sons of the Achaeans who held Argos and walled Tiryns, and Hermione
and Asine which lie along a deep bay, and Troezen, and Eiones, and
vine-clad Epidaurus, and the island of Aegina, and Mases,--these
followed strong-voiced Diomedes, son of Tydeus, who had the spirit
of his father the son of Oeneus, and Sthenelus, dear son of famous
Capaneus. And with these two there went a third leader, Eurypylus,
a godlike man, son of the lord Mecisteus, sprung of Talaus; but
strong-voiced Diomedes was their chief leader. These men had eighty
dark ships wherein were ranged men skilled in war, Argives with linen
jerkins, very goads of war. ' [3706]
This praise of their race by the most famous of all poets so exceedingly
delighted the leading Argives, that they rewarded him with costly gifts
and set up a brazen statue to him, decreeing that sacrifice should be
offered to Homer daily, monthly, and yearly; and that another sacrifice
should be sent to Chios every five years. This is the inscription they
cut upon his statue:
'This is divine Homer who by his sweet-voiced art honoured all proud
Hellas, but especially the Argives who threw down the god-built walls of
Troy to avenge rich-haired Helen. For this cause the people of a great
city set his statue here and serve him with the honours of the deathless
gods. '
After he had stayed for some time in Argos, he crossed over to Delos,
to the great assembly, and there, standing on the altar of horns, he
recited the "Hymn to Apollo" [3707] which begins: 'I will remember and
not forget Apollo the far-shooter. ' When the hymn was ended, the Ionians
made him a citizen of each one of their states, and the Delians wrote
the poem on a whitened tablet and dedicated it in the temple of Artemis.
The poet sailed to Ios, after the assembly was broken up, to join
Creophylus, and stayed there some time, being now an old man. And, it is
said, as he was sitting by the sea he asked some boys who were returning
from fishing:
'Sirs, hunters of deep-sea prey, have we caught anything? '
To this replied:
'All that we caught, we left behind, and carry away all that we did not
catch. '
Homer did not understand this reply and asked what they meant. They then
explained that they had caught nothing in fishing, but had been catching
their lice, and those of the lice which they caught, they left behind;
but carried away in their clothes those which they did not catch.
Hereupon Homer remembered the oracle and, perceiving that the end of his
life had come composed his own epitaph. And while he was retiring from
that place, he slipped in a clayey place and fell upon his side, and
died, it is said, the third day after. He was buried in Ios, and this is
his epitaph:
'Here the earth covers the sacred head of divine Homer, the glorifier of
hero-men.
gifts, making each more glorious than the other. To the one he gave
hands more light to draw or cut out missiles from the flesh and to
heal all kinds of wounds; but in the heart of the other he put full and
perfect knowledge to tell hidden diseases and cure desperate sicknesses.
It was he who first noticed Aias' flashing eyes and clouded mind when he
was enraged. '
Fragment #6--Diomedes in Gramm. , Lat. i. 477: 'Iambus stood a little
while astride with foot advanced, that so his strained limbs might get
power and have a show of ready strength. '
THE RETURNS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: After the "Sack of Ilium"
follow the "Returns" in five books by Agias of Troezen. Their contents
are as follows. Athena causes a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus
about the voyage from Troy. Agamemnon then stays on to appease the anger
of Athena. Diomedes and Nestor put out to sea and get safely home.
After them Menelaus sets out and reaches Egypt with five ships, the rest
having been destroyed on the high seas. Those with Calchas, Leontes,
and Polypoetes go by land to Colophon and bury Teiresias who died
there. When Agamemnon and his followers were sailing away, the ghost of
Achilles appeared and tried to prevent them by foretelling what should
befall them. The storm at the rocks called Capherides is then described,
with the end of Locrian Aias. Neoptolemus, warned by Thetis, journeys
overland and, coming into Thrace, meets Odysseus at Maronea, and then
finishes the rest of his journey after burying Phoenix who dies on the
way. He himself is recognized by Peleus on reaching the Molossi.
Then comes the murder of Agamemnon by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra,
followed by the vengeance of Orestes and Pylades. Finally, Menelaus
returns home.
Fragment #2--Argument to Euripides Medea: 'Forthwith Medea made Aeson a
sweet young boy and stripped his old age from him by her cunning skill,
when she had made a brew of many herbs in her golden cauldrons. '
Fragment #3--Pausanias, i. 2: The story goes that Heracles was besieging
Themiscyra on the Thermodon and could not take it; but Antiope, being in
love with Theseus who was with Heracles on this expedition, betrayed the
place. Hegias gives this account in his poem.
Fragment #4--Eustathius, 1796. 45: The Colophonian author of the
"Returns" says that Telemachus afterwards married Circe, while Telegonus
the son of Circe correspondingly married Penelope.
Fragment #5--Clement of Alex. Strom. , vi. 2. 12. 8: 'For gifts beguile
men's minds and their deeds as well. ' [3301]
Fragment #6--Pausanias, x. 28. 7: The poetry of Homer and the
"Returns"--for here too there is an account of Hades and the terrors
there--know of no spirit named Eurynomus.
Athenaeus, 281 B: The writer of the "Return of the Atreidae" [3302] says
that Tantalus came and lived with the gods, and was permitted to ask for
whatever he desired. But the man was so immoderately given to pleasures
that he asked for these and for a life like that of the gods. At this
Zeus was annoyed, but fulfilled his prayer because of his own promise;
but to prevent him from enjoying any of the pleasures provided, and
to keep him continually harassed, he hung a stone over his head which
prevents him from ever reaching any of the pleasant things near by.
THE TELEGONY (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: After the "Returns" comes the
"Odyssey" of Homer, and then the "Telegony" in two books by Eugammon of
Cyrene, which contain the following matters. The suitors of Penelope are
buried by their kinsmen, and Odysseus, after sacrificing to the Nymphs,
sails to Elis to inspect his herds. He is entertained there by Polyxenus
and receives a mixing bowl as a gift; the story of Trophonius and
Agamedes and Augeas then follows. He next sails back to Ithaca
and performs the sacrifices ordered by Teiresias, and then goes to
Thesprotis where he marries Callidice, queen of the Thesprotians. A
war then breaks out between the Thesprotians, led by Odysseus, and the
Brygi. Ares routs the army of Odysseus and Athena engages with Ares,
until Apollo separates them. After the death of Callidice Polypoetes,
the son of Odysseus, succeeds to the kingdom, while Odysseus himself
returns to Ithaca. In the meantime Telegonus, while travelling in search
of his father, lands on Ithaca and ravages the island: Odysseus comes
out to defend his country, but is killed by his son unwittingly.
Telegonus, on learning his mistake, transports his father's body with
Penelope and Telemachus to his mother's island, where Circe makes them
immortal, and Telegonus marries Penelope, and Telemachus Circe.
Fragment #2--Eustathias, 1796. 35: The author of the "Telegony", a
Cyrenaean, relates that Odysseus had by Calypso a son Telegonus or
Teledamus, and by Penelope Telemachus and Acusilaus.
NON-CYCLIC POEMS ATTRIBUTED TO HOMER
THE EXPEDITION OF AMPHIARAUS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: Sitting there in the
tanner's yard, Homer recited his poetry to them, the "Expedition of
Amphiarus to Thebes" and the "Hymns to the Gods" composed by him.
THE TAKING OF OECHALIA (fragments)
Fragment #1--Eustathius, 330. 41: An account has there been given of
Eurytus and his daughter Iole, for whose sake Heracles sacked Oechalia.
Homer also seems to have written on this subject, as that historian
shows who relates that Creophylus of Samos once had Homer for his guest
and for a reward received the attribution of the poem which they call
the "Taking of Oechalia". Some, however, assert the opposite; that
Creophylus wrote the poem, and that Homer lent his name in return for
his entertainment. And so Callimachus writes: 'I am the work of that
Samian who once received divine Homer in his house. I sing of Eurytus
and all his woes and of golden-haired Ioleia, and am reputed one of
Homer's works. Dear Heaven! how great an honour this for Creophylus! '
Fragment #2--Cramer, Anec. Oxon. i. 327: 'Ragged garments, even those
which now you see. ' This verse ("Odyssey" xiv. 343) we shall also find
in the "Taking of Oechalia".
Fragment #3--Scholaist on Sophocles Trach. , 266: There is a disagreement
as to the number of the sons of Eurytus. For Hesiod says Eurytus and
Antioche had as many as four sons; but Creophylus says two.
Fragment #4--Scholiast on Euripides Medea, 273: Didymus contrasts the
following account given by Creophylus, which is as follows: while Medea
was living in Corinth, she poisoned Creon, who was ruler of the city
at that time, and because she feared his friends and kinsfolk, fled to
Athens. However, since her sons were too young to go along with her, she
left them at the altar of Hera Acraea, thinking that their father would
see to their safety. But the relatives of Creon killed them and spread
the story that Medea had killed her own children as well as Creon.
THE PHOCAIS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: While living with
Thestorides, Homer composed the "Lesser Iliad" and the "Phocais"; though
the Phocaeans say that he composed the latter among them.
THE MARGITES (fragments)
Fragment #1--Suidas, s. v. : Pigres. A Carian of Halicarnassus and brother
of Artemisia, wife of Mausolus, who distinguished herself in war. . .
[3401] He also wrote the "Margites" attributed to Homer and the "Battle
of the Frogs and Mice".
Fragment #2--Atilius Fortunatianus, p. 286, Keil: 'There came to
Colophon an old man and divine singer, a servant of the Muses and of
far-shooting Apollo. In his dear hands he held a sweet-toned lyre. '
Fragment #3--Plato, Alcib. ii. p. 147 A: 'He knew many things but knew
all badly. . . '
Aristotle, Nic. Eth. vi. 7, 1141: 'The gods had taught him neither to
dig nor to plough, nor any other skill; he failed in every craft. '
Fragment #4--Scholiast on Aeschines in Ctes. , sec. 160: He refers to
Margites, a man who, though well grown up, did not know whether it was
his father or his mother who gave him birth, and would not lie with his
wife, saying that he was afraid she might give a bad account of him to
her mother.
Fragment #5--Zenobius, v. 68: 'The fox knows many a wile; but the
hedge-hog's one trick [3402] can beat them all. ' [3403]
THE CERCOPES (fragments)
Fragment #1--Suidas, s. v. : Cercopes. These were two brothers living upon
the earth who practised every kind of knavery. They were called Cercopes
[3501] because of their cunning doings: one of them was named Passalus
and the other Acmon. Their mother, a daughter of Memnon, seeing their
tricks, told them to keep clear of Black-bottom, that is, of Heracles.
These Cercopes were sons of Theia and Ocean, and are said to have been
turned to stone for trying to deceive Zeus.
'Liars and cheats, skilled in deeds irremediable, accomplished
knaves. Far over the world they roamed deceiving men as they wandered
continually. '
THE BATTLE OF FROGS AND MICE (303 lines)
(ll. 1-8) Here I begin: and first I pray the choir of the Muses to
come down from Helicon into my heart to aid the lay which I have newly
written in tablets upon my knee. Fain would I sound in all men's ears
that awful strife, that clamorous deed of war, and tell how the Mice
proved their valour on the Frogs and rivalled the exploits of the
Giants, those earth-born men, as the tale was told among mortals. Thus
did the war begin.
(ll. 9-12) One day a thirsty Mouse who had escaped the ferret, dangerous
foe, set his soft muzzle to the lake's brink and revelled in the sweet
water. There a loud-voiced pond-larker spied him: and uttered such words
as these.
(ll. 13-23) 'Stranger, who are you? Whence come you to this shore, and
who is he who begot you? Tell me all this truly and let me not find you
lying. For if I find you worthy to be my friend, I will take you to my
house and give you many noble gifts such as men give to their guests.
I am the king Puff-jaw, and am honoured in all the pond, being ruler
of the Frogs continually. The father that brought me up was Mud-man who
mated with Waterlady by the banks of Eridanus. I see, indeed, that you
are well-looking and stouter than the ordinary, a sceptred king and a
warrior in fight; but, come, make haste and tell me your descent. '
(ll. 24-55) Then Crumb-snatcher answered him and said: 'Why do you ask
my race, which is well-known amongst all, both men and gods and the
birds of heaven? Crumb-snatcher am I called, and I am the son of
Bread-nibbler--he was my stout-hearted father--and my mother was
Quern-licker, the daughter of Ham-gnawer the king: she bare me in the
mouse-hole and nourished me with food, figs and nuts and dainties of
all kinds. But how are you to make me your friend, who am altogether
different in nature? For you get your living in the water, but I am used
to each such foods as men have: I never miss the thrice-kneaded loaf
in its neat, round basket, or the thin-wrapped cake full of sesame and
cheese, or the slice of ham, or liver vested in white fat, or cheese
just curdled from sweet milk, or delicious honey-cake which even the
blessed gods long for, or any of all those cates which cooks make for
the feasts of mortal men, larding their pots and pans with spices of all
kinds. In battle I have never flinched from the cruel onset, but plunged
straight into the fray and fought among the foremost. I fear not man
though he has a big body, but run along his bed and bite the tip of
his toe and nibble at his heel; and the man feels no hurt and his sweet
sleep is not broken by my biting. But there are two things I fear above
all else the whole world over, the hawk and the ferret--for these bring
great grief on me--and the piteous trap wherein is treacherous death.
Most of all I fear the ferret of the keener sort which follows you still
even when you dive down your hole. [3601] I gnaw no radishes and cabbages
and pumpkins, nor feed on green leeks and parsley; for these are food
for you who live in the lake. '
(ll. 56-64) Then Puff-jaw answered him with a smile: 'Stranger you boast
too much of belly-matters: we too have many marvels to be seen both in
the lake and on the shore. For the Son of Chronos has given us Frogs the
power to lead a double life, dwelling at will in two separate elements;
and so we both leap on land and plunge beneath the water. If you would
learn of all these things, 'tis easy done: just mount upon my back and
hold me tight lest you be lost, and so you shall come rejoicing to my
house. '
(ll. 65-81) So said he, and offered his back. And the Mouse mounted at
once, putting his paws upon the other's sleek neck and vaulting nimbly.
Now at first, while he still saw the land near by, he was pleased, and
was delighted with Puff-jaw's swimming; but when dark waves began to
wash over him, he wept loudly and blamed his unlucky change of mind: he
tore his fur and tucked his paws in against his belly, while within him
his heart quaked by reason of the strangeness: and he longed to get to
land, groaning terribly through the stress of chilling fear. He put out
his tail upon the water and worked it like a steering oar, and prayed
to heaven that he might get to land. But when the dark waves washed over
him he cried aloud and said: 'Not in such wise did the bull bear on his
back the beloved load, when he brought Europa across the sea to Crete,
as this Frog carries me over the water to his house, raising his yellow
back in the pale water. '
(ll. 82-92) Then suddenly a water-snake appeared, a horrid sight for
both alike, and held his neck upright above the water. And when he saw
it, Puff-jaw dived at once, and never thought how helpless a friend he
would leave perishing; but down to the bottom of the lake he went, and
escaped black death. But the Mouse, so deserted, at once fell on his
back, in the water. He wrung his paws and squeaked in agony of death:
many times he sank beneath the water and many times he rose up again
kicking. But he could not escape his doom, for his wet fur weighed him
down heavily. Then at the last, as he was dying, he uttered these words.
(ll. 93-98) 'Ah, Puff-jaw, you shall not go unpunished for this
treachery! You threw me, a castaway, off your body as from a rock.
Vile coward! On land you would not have been the better man, boxing, or
wrestling, or running; but now you have tricked me and cast me in the
water. Heaven has an avenging eye, and surely the host of Mice will
punish you and not let you escape. '
(ll. 99-109) With these words he breathed out his soul upon the water.
But Lick-platter as he sat upon the soft bank saw him die and, raising
a dreadful cry, ran and told the Mice. And when they heard of his fate,
all the Mice were seized with fierce anger, and bade their
heralds summon the people to assemble towards dawn at the house of
Bread-nibbler, the father of hapless Crumb-snatcher who lay outstretched
on the water face up, a lifeless corpse, and no longer near the bank,
poor wretch, but floating in the midst of the deep. And when the Mice
came in haste at dawn, Bread-nibbler stood up first, enraged at his
son's death, and thus he spoke.
(ll. 110-121) 'Friends, even if I alone had suffered great wrong from
the Frogs, assuredly this is a first essay at mischief for you all. And
now I am pitiable, for I have lost three sons. First the abhorred ferret
seized and killed one of them, catching him outside the hole; then
ruthless men dragged another to his doom when by unheard-of arts they
had contrived a wooden snare, a destroyer of Mice, which they call a
trap. There was a third whom I and his dear mother loved well, and him
Puff-jaw has carried out into the deep and drowned. Come, then, and let
us arm ourselves and go out against them when we have arrayed ourselves
in rich-wrought arms. '
(ll. 122-131) With such words he persuaded them all to gird themselves.
And Ares who has charge of war equipped them. First they fastened on
greaves and covered their shins with green bean-pods broken into two
parts which they had gnawed out, standing over them all night. Their
breast plates were of skin stretched on reeds, skilfully made from a
ferret they had flayed. For shields each had the centre-piece of a lamp,
and their spears were long needles all of bronze, the work of Ares, and
the helmets upon their temples were pea-nut shells.
(ll. 132-138) So the Mice armed themselves. But when the Frogs were
aware of it, they rose up out of the water and coming together to one
place gathered a council of grievous war. And while they were asking
whence the quarrel arose, and what the cause of this anger, a
herald drew near bearing a wand in his paws, Pot-visitor the son
of great-hearted Cheese-carver. He brought the grim message of war,
speaking thus:
(ll. 139-143) 'Frogs, the Mice have sent me with their threats against
you, and bid you arm yourselves for war and battle; for they have seen
Crumb-snatcher in the water whom your king Puff-jaw slew. Fight, then,
as many of you as are warriors among the Frogs. '
(ll. 144-146) With these words he explained the matter. So when this
blameless speech came to their ears, the proud Frogs were disturbed in
their hearts and began to blame Puff-jaw. But he rose up and said:
(ll. 147-159) 'Friends, I killed no Mouse, nor did I see one perishing.
Surely he was drowned while playing by the lake and imitating the
swimming of the Frogs, and now these wretches blame me who am guiltless.
Come then; let us take counsel how we may utterly destroy the wily Mice.
Moreover, I will tell you what I think to be the best. Let us all gird
on our armour and take our stand on the very brink of the lake, where
the ground breaks down sheer: then when they come out and charge upon
us, let each seize by the crest the Mouse who attacks him, and cast them
with their helmets into the lake; for so we shall drown these dry-hobs
[3602] in the water, and merrily set up here a trophy of victory over the
slaughtered Mice. '
(ll. 160-167) By this speech he persuaded them to arm themselves.
They covered their shins with leaves of mallows, and had breastplates
made of fine green beet-leaves, and cabbage-leaves, skilfully fashioned,
for shields. Each one was equipped with a long, pointed rush for a
spear, and smooth snail-shells to cover their heads. Then they stood
in close-locked ranks upon the high bank, waving their spears, and were
filled, each of them, with courage.
(ll. 168-173) Now Zeus called the gods to starry heaven and showed them
the martial throng and the stout warriors so many and so great, all
bearing long spears; for they were as the host of the Centaurs and the
Giants. Then he asked with a sly smile; 'Who of the deathless gods will
help the Frogs and who the Mice? '
And he said to Athena;
(ll. 174-176) 'My daughter, will you go aid the Mice? For they all
frolic about your temple continually, delighting in the fat of sacrifice
and in all kinds of food. '
(ll. 177-196) So then said the son of Cronos. But Athena answered him:
'I would never go to help the Mice when they are hard pressed, for they
have done me much mischief, spoiling my garlands and my lamps too,
to get the oil.
And this thing that they have done vexes my heart
exceedingly: they have eaten holes in my sacred robe, which I wove
painfully spinning a fine woof on a fine warp, and made it full of
holes. And now the money-lender is at me and charges me interest which
is a bitter thing for immortals. For I borrowed to do my weaving, and
have nothing with which to repay. Yet even so I will not help the Frogs;
for they also are not considerable: once, when I was returning early
from war, I was very tired, and though I wanted to sleep, they would not
let me even doze a little for their outcry; and so I lay sleepless with
a headache until cock-crow. No, gods, let us refrain from helping these
hosts, or one of us may get wounded with a sharp spear; for they fight
hand to hand, even if a god comes against them. Let us rather all amuse
ourselves watching the fight from heaven. '
(ll. 197-198) So said Athena. And the other gods agreed with her, and
all went in a body to one place.
(ll. 199-201) Then gnats with great trumpets sounded the fell note
of war, and Zeus the son of Cronos thundered from heaven, a sign of
grievous battle.
(ll. 202-223) First Loud-croaker wounded Lickman in the belly, right
through the midriff. Down fell he on his face and soiled his soft fur
in the dust: he fell with a thud and his armour clashed about him. Next
Troglodyte shot at the son of Mudman, and drove the strong spear deep
into his breast; so he fell, and black death seized him and his spirit
flitted forth from his mouth. Then Beety struck Pot-visitor to the heart
and killed him, and Bread-nibbler hit Loud-crier in the belly, so that
he fell on his face and his spirit flitted forth from his limbs. Now
when Pond-larker saw Loud-crier perishing, he struck in quickly and
wounded Troglodyte in his soft neck with a rock like a mill-stone, so
that darkness veiled his eyes. Thereat Ocimides was seized with grief,
and struck out with his sharp reed and did not draw his spear back to
him again, but felled his enemy there and then. And Lickman shot at him
with a bright spear and hit him unerringly in the midriff. And as he
marked Cabbage-eater running away, he fell on the steep bank, yet even
so did not cease fighting but smote that other so that he fell and
did not rise again; and the lake was dyed with red blood as he lay
outstretched along the shore, pierced through the guts and shining
flanks. Also he slew Cheese-eater on the very brink. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 224-251) But Reedy took to flight when he saw Ham-nibbler,
and fled, plunging into the lake and throwing away his shield. Then
blameless Pot-visitor killed Brewer and Water-larked killed the lord
Ham-nibbler, striking him on the head with a pebble, so that his brains
flowed out at his nostrils and the earth was bespattered with blood.
Faultless Muck-coucher sprang upon Lick-platter and killed him with his
spear and brought darkness upon his eyes: and Leeky saw it, and dragged
Lick-platter by the foot, though he was dead, and choked him in the
lake. But Crumb-snatcher was fighting to avenge his dead comrades, and
hit Leeky before he reached the land; and he fell forward at the blow
and his soul went down to Hades. And seeing this, the Cabbage-climber
took a clod of mud and hurled it at the Mouse, plastering all his
forehead and nearly blinding him. Thereat Crumb-snatcher was enraged and
caught up in his strong hand a huge stone that lay upon the ground, a
heavy burden for the soil: with that he hit Cabbage-climber below the
knee and splintered his whole right shin, hurling him on his back in the
dust. But Croakperson kept him off, and rushing at the Mouse in turn,
hit him in the middle of the belly and drove the whole reed-spear into
him, and as he drew the spear back to him with his strong hand, all his
foe's bowels gushed out upon the ground. And when Troglodyte saw the
deed, as he was limping away from the fight on the river bank, he shrank
back sorely moved, and leaped into a trench to escape sheer death. Then
Bread-nibbler hit Puff-jaw on the toes--he came up at the last from the
lake and was greatly distressed. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 252-259) And when Leeky saw him fallen forward, but still half
alive, he pressed through those who fought in front and hurled a sharp
reed at him; but the point of the spear was stayed and did not break
his shield. Then noble Rueful, like Ares himself, struck his flawless
head-piece made of four pots--he only among the Frogs showed prowess in
the throng. But when he saw the other rush at him, he did not stay to
meet the stout-hearted hero but dived down to the depths of the lake.
(ll. 260-271) Now there was one among the Mice, Slice-snatcher,
who excelled the rest, dear son of Gnawer the son of blameless
Bread-stealer. He went to his house and bade his son take part in the
war. This warrior threatened to destroy the race of Frogs utterly [3603],
and splitting a chestnut-husk into two parts along the joint, put the
two hollow pieces as armour on his paws: then straightway the Frogs were
dismayed and all rushed down to the lake, and he would have made good
his boast--for he had great strength--had not the Son of Cronos, the
Father of men and gods, been quick to mark the thing and pitied the
Frogs as they were perishing. He shook his head, and uttered this word:
(ll. 272-276) 'Dear, dear, how fearful a deed do my eyes behold!
Slice-snatcher makes no small panic rushing to and fro among the Frogs
by the lake. Let us then make all haste and send warlike Pallas or even
Ares, for they will stop his fighting, strong though he is. '
(ll. 277-284) So said the Son of Cronos; but Hera answered him: 'Son of
Cronos, neither the might of Athena nor of Ares can avail to deliver
the Frogs from utter destruction. Rather, come and let us all go to
help them, or else let loose your weapon, the great and formidable
Titan-killer with which you killed Capaneus, that doughty man, and great
Enceladus and the wild tribes of Giants; ay, let it loose, for so the
most valiant will be slain. '
(ll. 285-293) So said Hera: and the Son of Cronos cast a lurid
thunderbolt: first he thundered and made great Olympus shake, and the
cast the thunderbolt, the awful weapon of Zeus, tossing it lightly
forth. Thus he frightened them all, Frogs and Mice alike, hurling his
bolt upon them. Yet even so the army of the Mice did not relax, but
hoped still more to destroy the brood of warrior Frogs. Only, the Son
of Cronos, on Olympus, pitied the Frogs and then straightway sent them
helpers.
(ll. 294-303) So there came suddenly warriors with mailed backs and
curving claws, crooked beasts that walked sideways, nut-cracker-jawed,
shell-hided: bony they were, flat-backed, with glistening shoulders and
bandy legs and stretching arms and eyes that looked behind them. They
had also eight legs and two feelers--persistent creatures who are called
crabs. These nipped off the tails and paws and feet of the Mice with
their jaws, while spears only beat on them. Of these the Mice were all
afraid and no longer stood up to them, but turned and fled. Already the
sun was set, and so came the end of the one-day war.
OF THE ORIGIN OF HOMER AND HESIOD, AND OF THEIR CONTEST
(aka "The Contest of Homer and Hesiod")
Everyone boasts that the most divine of poets, Homer and Hesiod, are
said to be his particular countrymen. Hesiod, indeed, has put a name
to his native place and so prevented any rivalry, for he said that
his father 'settled near Helicon in a wretched hamlet, Ascra, which is
miserable in winter, sultry in summer, and good at no season. ' But, as
for Homer, you might almost say that every city with its inhabitants
claims him as her son. Foremost are the men of Smyrna who say that he
was the Son of Meles, the river of their town, by a nymph Cretheis, and
that he was at first called Melesigenes. He was named Homer later, when
he became blind, this being their usual epithet for such people. The
Chians, on the other hand, bring forward evidence to show that he
was their countryman, saying that there actually remain some of his
descendants among them who are called Homeridae. The Colophonians
even show the place where they declare that he began to compose when a
schoolmaster, and say that his first work was the "Margites".
As to his parents also, there is on all hands great disagreement.
Hellanicus and Cleanthes say his father was Maeon, but Eugaeon says
Meles; Callicles is for Mnesagoras, Democritus of Troezen for Daemon,
a merchant-trader. Some, again, say he was the son of Thamyras, but the
Egyptians say of Menemachus, a priest-scribe, and there are even those
who father him on Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. As for his mother,
she is variously called Metis, Cretheis, Themista, and Eugnetho. Others
say she was an Ithacan woman sold as a slave by the Phoenicians; other,
Calliope the Muse; others again Polycasta, the daughter of Nestor.
Homer himself was called Meles or, according to different accounts,
Melesigenes or Altes. Some authorities say he was called Homer, because
his father was given as a hostage to the Persians by the men of Cyprus;
others, because of his blindness; for amongst the Aeolians the blind are
so called. We will set down, however, what we have heard to have been
said by the Pythia concerning Homer in the time of the most sacred
Emperor Hadrian. When the monarch inquired from what city Homer came,
and whose son he was, the priestess delivered a response in hexameters
after this fashion:
'Do you ask me of the obscure race and country of the heavenly siren?
Ithaca is his country, Telemachus his father, and Epicasta, Nestor's
daughter, the mother that bare him, a man by far the wisest of mortal
kind. ' This we must most implicitly believe, the inquirer and the
answerer being who they are--especially since the poet has so greatly
glorified his grandfather in his works.
Now some say that he was earlier than Hesiod, others that he was
younger and akin to him. They give his descent thus: Apollo and Aethusa,
daughter of Poseidon, had a son Linus, to whom was born Pierus. From
Pierus and the nymph Methone sprang Oeager; and from Oeager and Calliope
Orpheus; from Orpheus, Dres; and from him, Eucles. The descent is
continued through Iadmonides, Philoterpes, Euphemus, Epiphrades and
Melanopus who had sons Dius and Apelles. Dius by Pycimede, the daughter
of Apollo had two sons Hesiod and Perses; while Apelles begot Maeon who
was the father of Homer by a daughter of the River Meles.
According to one account they flourished at the same time and even had
a contest of skill at Chalcis in Euboea. For, they say, after Homer had
composed the "Margites", he went about from city to city as a minstrel,
and coming to Delphi, inquired who he was and of what country? The
Pythia answered:
'The Isle of Ios is your mother's country and it shall receive you dead;
but beware of the riddle of the young children. ' [3701]
Hearing this, it is said, he hesitated to go to Ios, and remained in the
region where he was. Now about the same time Ganyctor was celebrating
the funeral rites of his father Amphidamas, king of Euboea, and invited
to the gathering not only all those who were famous for bodily strength
and fleetness of foot, but also those who excelled in wit, promising
them great rewards. And so, as the story goes, the two went to Chalcis
and met by chance. The leading Chalcidians were judges together with
Paneides, the brother of the dead king; and it is said that after a
wonderful contest between the two poets, Hesiod won in the following
manner: he came forward into the midst and put Homer one question after
another, which Homer answered. Hesiod, then, began:
'Homer, son of Meles, inspired with wisdom from heaven, come, tell me
first what is best for mortal man? '
HOMER: 'For men on earth 'tis best never to be born at all; or being
born, to pass through the gates of Hades with all speed. '
Hesiod then asked again:
'Come, tell me now this also, godlike Homer: what think you in your
heart is most delightsome to men? '
Homer answered:
'When mirth reigns throughout the town, and feasters about the house,
sitting in order, listen to a minstrel; when the tables beside them are
laden with bread and meat, and a wine-bearer draws sweet drink from
the mixing-bowl and fills the cups: this I think in my heart to be most
delightsome. '
It is said that when Homer had recited these verses, they were so
admired by the Greeks as to be called golden by them, and that even now
at public sacrifices all the guests solemnly recite them before feasts
and libations. Hesiod, however, was annoyed by Homer's felicity and
hurried on to pose him with hard questions. He therefore began with the
following lines:
'Come, Muse; sing not to me of things that are, or that shall be, or
that were of old; but think of another song. '
Then Homer, wishing to escape from the impasse by an apt answer,
replied:--
'Never shall horses with clattering hoofs break chariots, striving for
victory about the tomb of Zeus. '
Here again Homer had fairly met Hesiod, and so the latter turned to
sentences of doubtful meaning [3702]: he recited many lines and required
Homer to complete the sense of each appropriately. The first of the
following verses is Hesiod's and the next Homer's: but sometimes Hesiod
puts his question in two lines.
HESIOD: 'Then they dined on the flesh of oxen and their horses' necks--'
HOMER: 'They unyoked dripping with sweat, when they had had enough of
war. '
HESIOD: 'And the Phrygians, who of all men are handiest at ships--'
HOMER: 'To filch their dinner from pirates on the beach. '
HESIOD: 'To shoot forth arrows against the tribes of cursed giants with
his hands--'
HOMER: 'Heracles unslung his curved bow from his shoulders. '
HESIOD: 'This man is the son of a brave father and a weakling--'
HOMER: 'Mother; for war is too stern for any woman. '
HESIOD: 'But for you, your father and lady mother lay in love--'
HOMER: 'When they begot you by the aid of golden Aphrodite. '
HESIOD: 'But when she had been made subject in love, Artemis, who
delights in arrows--'
HOMER: 'Slew Callisto with a shot of her silver bow. '
HESIOD: 'So they feasted all day long, taking nothing--'
HOMER: 'From their own houses; for Agamemnon, king of men, supplied
them. '
HESIOD: 'When they had feasted, they gathered among the glowing ashes
the bones of the dead Zeus--'
HOMER: 'Born Sarpedon, that bold and godlike man. '
HESIOD: 'Now we have lingered thus about the plain of Simois, forth from
the ships let us go our way, upon our shoulders--'
HOMER: 'Having our hilted swords and long-helved spears. '
HESIOD: 'Then the young heroes with their hands from the sea--'
HOMER: 'Gladly and swiftly hauled out their fleet ship. '
HESIOD: 'Then they came to Colchis and king Aeetes--'
HOMER: 'They avoided; for they knew he was inhospitable and lawless. '
HESIOD: 'Now when they had poured libations and deeply drunk, the
surging sea--'
HOMER: 'They were minded to traverse on well-built ships. '
HESIOD: 'The Son of Atreus prayed greatly for them that they all might
perish--'
HOMER: 'At no time in the sea: and he opened his mouth said:'
HESIOD: 'Eat, my guests, and drink, and may no one of you return home to
his dear country--'
HOMER: 'Distressed; but may you all reach home again unscathed. '
When Homer had met him fairly on every point Hesiod said:
'Only tell me this thing that I ask: How many Achaeans went to Ilium
with the sons of Atreus? '
Homer answered in a mathematical problem, thus:
'There were fifty hearths, and at each hearth were fifty spits, and
on each spit were fifty carcases, and there were thrice three hundred
Achaeans to each joint. '
This is found to be an incredible number; for as there were fifty
hearths, the number of spits is two thousand five hundred; and of
carcasses, one hundred and twenty thousand. . .
Homer, then, having the advantage on every point, Hesiod was jealous and
began again:
'Homer, son of Meles, if indeed the Muses, daughters of great Zeus the
most high, honour you as it is said, tell me a standard that is both
best and worst for mortal-men; for I long to know it. ' Homer replied:
'Hesiod, son of Dius, I am willing to tell you what you command, and
very readily will I answer you. For each man to be a standard will I
answer you. For each man to be a standard to himself is most excellent
for the good, but for the bad it is the worst of all things. And now ask
me whatever else your heart desires. '
HESIOD: 'How would men best dwell in cities, and with what observances? '
HOMER: 'By scorning to get unclean gain and if the good were honoured,
but justice fell upon the unjust. '
HESIOD: 'What is the best thing of all for a man to ask of the gods in
prayer? '
HOMER: 'That he may be always at peace with himself continually. '
HESIOD: 'Can you tell me in briefest space what is best of all? '
HOMER: 'A sound mind in a manly body, as I believe. '
HESIOD: 'Of what effect are righteousness and courage? '
HOMER: 'To advance the common good by private pains. '
HESIOD: 'What is the mark of wisdom among men? '
HOMER: 'To read aright the present, and to march with the occasion. '
HESIOD: 'In what kind of matter is it right to trust in men? '
HOMER: 'Where danger itself follows the action close. '
HESIOD: 'What do men mean by happiness? '
HOMER: 'Death after a life of least pain and greatest pleasure. '
After these verses had been spoken, all the Hellenes called for Homer
to be crowned. But King Paneides bade each of them recite the finest
passage from his own poems. Hesiod, therefore, began as follows:
'When the Pleiads, the daughters of Atlas, begin to rise begin the
harvest, and begin ploughing ere they set. For forty nights and days
they are hidden, but appear again as the year wears round, when first
the sickle is sharpened. This is the law of the plains and for those
who dwell near the sea or live in the rich-soiled valleys, far from the
wave-tossed deep: strip to sow, and strip to plough, and strip to reap
when all things are in season. ' [3703]
Then Homer:
'The ranks stood firm about the two Aiantes, such that not even Ares
would have scorned them had he met them, nor yet Athena who saves
armies. For there the chosen best awaited the charge of the Trojans
and noble Hector, making a fence of spears and serried shields. Shield
closed with shield, and helm with helm, and each man with his fellow,
and the peaks of their head-pieces with crests of horse-hair touched
as they bent their heads: so close they stood together. The murderous
battle bristled with the long, flesh-rending spears they held, and the
flash of bronze from polished helms and new-burnished breast-plates
and gleaming shields blinded the eyes. Very hard of heart would he have
been, who could then have seen that strife with joy and felt no pang. '
[3704]
Here, again, the Hellenes applauded Homer admiringly, so far did
the verses exceed the ordinary level; and demanded that he should be
adjudged the winner. But the king gave the crown to Hesiod, declaring
that it was right that he who called upon men to follow peace and
husbandry should have the prize rather than one who dwelt on war and
slaughter. In this way, then, we are told, Hesiod gained the victory
and received a brazen tripod which he dedicated to the Muses with this
inscription:
'Hesiod dedicated this tripod to the Muses of Helicon after he had
conquered divine Homer at Chalcis in a contest of song. '
After the gathering was dispersed, Hesiod crossed to the mainland and
went to Delphi to consult the oracle and to dedicate the first fruits of
his victory to the god. They say that as he was approaching the temple,
the prophetess became inspired and said:
'Blessed is this man who serves my house,--Hesiod, who is honoured by
the deathless Muses: surely his renown shall be as wide as the light
of dawn is spread. But beware of the pleasant grove of Nemean Zeus; for
there death's end is destined to befall you. '
When Hesiod heard this oracle, he kept away from the Peloponnesus,
supposing that the god meant the Nemea there; and coming to Oenoe in
Locris, he stayed with Amphiphanes and Ganyetor the sons of Phegeus,
thus unconsciously fulfilling the oracle; for all that region was called
the sacred place of Nemean Zeus. He continued to stay a somewhat long
time at Oenoe, until the young men, suspecting Hesiod of seducing their
sister, killed him and cast his body into the sea which separates Achaea
and Locris. On the third day, however, his body was brought to land by
dolphins while some local feast of Ariadne was being held. Thereupon,
all the people hurried to the shore, and recognized the body, lamented
over it and buried it, and then began to look for the assassins. But
these, fearing the anger of their countrymen, launched a fishing boat,
and put out to sea for Crete: they had finished half their voyage when
Zeus sank them with a thunderbolt, as Alcidamas states in his "Museum".
Eratosthenes, however, says in his "Hesiod" that Ctimenus and Antiphus,
sons of Ganyetor, killed him for the reason already stated, and were
sacrificed by Eurycles the seer to the gods of hospitality. He adds that
the girl, sister of the above-named, hanged herself after she had been
seduced, and that she was seduced by some stranger, Demodes by name, who
was travelling with Hesiod, and who was also killed by the brothers.
At a later time the men of Orchomenus removed his body as they were
directed by an oracle, and buried him in their own country where they
placed this inscription on his tomb:
'Ascra with its many cornfields was his native land; but in death the
land of the horse-driving Minyans holds the bones of Hesiod, whose
renown is greatest among men of all who are judged by the test of wit. '
So much for Hesiod. But Homer, after losing the victory, went from place
to place reciting his poems, and first of all the "Thebais" in seven
thousand verses which begins: 'Goddess, sing of parched Argos whence
kings. . . ', and then the "Epigoni" in seven thousand verses beginning:
'And now, Muses, let us begin to sing of men of later days'; for some
say that these poems also are by Homer. Now Xanthus and Gorgus, son of
Midas the king, heard his epics and invited him to compose a epitaph
for the tomb of their father on which was a bronze figure of a maiden
bewailing the death of Midas. He wrote the following lines:--
'I am a maiden of bronze and sit upon the tomb of Midas. While water
flows, and tall trees put forth leaves, and rivers swell, and the sea
breaks on the shore; while the sun rises and shines and the bright moon
also, ever remaining on this mournful tomb I tell the passer-by that
Midas here lies buried. '
For these verses they gave him a silver bowl which he dedicated to
Apollo at Delphi with this inscription: 'Lord Phoebus, I, Homer, have
given you a noble gift for the wisdom I have of you: do you ever grant
me renown. '
After this he composed the "Odyssey" in twelve thousand verses, having
previously written the "Iliad" in fifteen thousand five hundred
verses [3705]. From Delphi, as we are told, he went to Athens and was
entertained by Medon, king of the Athenians. And being one day in the
council hall when it was cold and a fire was burning there, he drew off
the following lines:
'Children are a man's crown, and towers of a city, horses are the
ornament of a plain, and ships of the sea; and good it is to see
a people seated in assembly. But with a blazing fire a house looks
worthier upon a wintry day when the Son of Cronos sends down snow. '
From Athens he went on to Corinth, where he sang snatches of his poems
and was received with distinction. Next he went to Argos and there
recited these verses from the "Iliad":
'The sons of the Achaeans who held Argos and walled Tiryns, and Hermione
and Asine which lie along a deep bay, and Troezen, and Eiones, and
vine-clad Epidaurus, and the island of Aegina, and Mases,--these
followed strong-voiced Diomedes, son of Tydeus, who had the spirit
of his father the son of Oeneus, and Sthenelus, dear son of famous
Capaneus. And with these two there went a third leader, Eurypylus,
a godlike man, son of the lord Mecisteus, sprung of Talaus; but
strong-voiced Diomedes was their chief leader. These men had eighty
dark ships wherein were ranged men skilled in war, Argives with linen
jerkins, very goads of war. ' [3706]
This praise of their race by the most famous of all poets so exceedingly
delighted the leading Argives, that they rewarded him with costly gifts
and set up a brazen statue to him, decreeing that sacrifice should be
offered to Homer daily, monthly, and yearly; and that another sacrifice
should be sent to Chios every five years. This is the inscription they
cut upon his statue:
'This is divine Homer who by his sweet-voiced art honoured all proud
Hellas, but especially the Argives who threw down the god-built walls of
Troy to avenge rich-haired Helen. For this cause the people of a great
city set his statue here and serve him with the honours of the deathless
gods. '
After he had stayed for some time in Argos, he crossed over to Delos,
to the great assembly, and there, standing on the altar of horns, he
recited the "Hymn to Apollo" [3707] which begins: 'I will remember and
not forget Apollo the far-shooter. ' When the hymn was ended, the Ionians
made him a citizen of each one of their states, and the Delians wrote
the poem on a whitened tablet and dedicated it in the temple of Artemis.
The poet sailed to Ios, after the assembly was broken up, to join
Creophylus, and stayed there some time, being now an old man. And, it is
said, as he was sitting by the sea he asked some boys who were returning
from fishing:
'Sirs, hunters of deep-sea prey, have we caught anything? '
To this replied:
'All that we caught, we left behind, and carry away all that we did not
catch. '
Homer did not understand this reply and asked what they meant. They then
explained that they had caught nothing in fishing, but had been catching
their lice, and those of the lice which they caught, they left behind;
but carried away in their clothes those which they did not catch.
Hereupon Homer remembered the oracle and, perceiving that the end of his
life had come composed his own epitaph. And while he was retiring from
that place, he slipped in a clayey place and fell upon his side, and
died, it is said, the third day after. He was buried in Ios, and this is
his epitaph:
'Here the earth covers the sacred head of divine Homer, the glorifier of
hero-men.
