Zeus gave them
immortality
every other
day.
day.
Hesiod
Bright rays beam dazzlingly from him, and his bright locks
streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen
face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters in the
wind: and stallions carry him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked
chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest point of heaven,
until he marvellously drives them down again through heaven to Ocean.
(ll. 17-19) Hail to you, lord! Freely bestow on me substance that cheers
the heart. And now that I have begun with you, I will celebrate the race
of mortal men half-divine whose deeds the Muses have showed to mankind.
XXXII. TO SELENE (20 lines)
(ll. 1-13) And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus, well-skilled
in song, tell of the long-winged [2535] Moon. From her immortal head
a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the
beauty that ariseth from her shining light. The air, unlit before, glows
with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever
bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and
donned her far-gleaming, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses
at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is
full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a
sure token and a sign to mortal men.
(ll. 14-16) Once the Son of Cronos was joined with her in love; and
she conceived and bare a daughter Pandia, exceeding lovely amongst the
deathless gods.
(ll. 17-20) Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild,
bright-tressed queen! And now I will leave you and sing the glories
of men half-divine, whose deeds minstrels, the servants of the Muses,
celebrate with lovely lips.
XXXIII. TO THE DIOSCURI (19 lines)
(ll. 1-17) Bright-eyed Muses, tell of the Tyndaridae, the Sons of Zeus,
glorious children of neat-ankled Leda, Castor the tamer of horses, and
blameless Polydeuces. When Leda had lain with the dark-clouded Son
of Cronos, she bare them beneath the peak of the great hill
Taygetus,--children who are delivers of men on earth and of swift-going
ships when stormy gales rage over the ruthless sea. Then the shipmen
call upon the sons of great Zeus with vows of white lambs, going to the
forepart of the prow; but the strong wind and the waves of the sea lay
the ship under water, until suddenly these two are seen darting through
the air on tawny wings. Forthwith they allay the blasts of the cruel
winds and still the waves upon the surface of the white sea: fair signs
are they and deliverance from toil. And when the shipmen see them they
are glad and have rest from their pain and labour.
(ll. 18-19) Hail, Tyndaridae, riders upon swift horses! Now I will
remember you and another song also.
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS [2601]
I. (5 lines) (ll. 1-5) Have reverence for him who needs a home and
stranger's dole, all ye who dwell in the high city of Cyme, the lovely
maiden, hard by the foothills of lofty Sardene, ye who drink the
heavenly water of the divine stream, eddying Hermus, whom deathless Zeus
begot.
II. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Speedily may my feet bear me to some town of
righteous men; for their hearts are generous and their wit is best.
III. (6 lines) (ll. 1-6) I am a maiden of bronze and am set upon the
tomb of Midas. While the waters flow and tall trees flourish, and the
sun rises and shines and the bright moon also; while rivers run and the
sea breaks on the shore, ever remaining on this mournful tomb, I tell
the passer-by that Midas here lies buried.
IV. (17 lines) (ll. 1-17) To what a fate did Zeus the Father give me a
prey even while he made me to grow, a babe at my mother's knee! By the
will of Zeus who holds the aegis the people of Phricon, riders on wanton
horses, more active than raging fire in the test of war, once built
the towers of Aeolian Smyrna, wave-shaken neighbour to the sea, through
which glides the pleasant stream of sacred Meles; thence [2602] arose the
daughters of Zeus, glorious children, and would fain have made famous
that fair country and the city of its people. But in their folly those
men scorned the divine voice and renown of song, and in trouble shall
one of them remember this hereafter--he who with scornful words to them
[2603] contrived my fate. Yet I will endure the lot which heaven gave me
even at my birth, bearing my disappointment with a patient heart. My
dear limbs yearn not to stay in the sacred streets of Cyme, but rather
my great heart urges me to go unto another country, small though I am.
V. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Thestorides, full many things there are that
mortals cannot sound; but there is nothing more unfathomable than the
heart of man.
VI. (8 lines) (ll. 1-8) Hear me, Poseidon, strong shaker of the earth,
ruler of wide-spread, tawny Helicon! Give a fair wind and sight of safe
return to the shipmen who speed and govern this ship. And grant
that when I come to the nether slopes of towering Mimas I may find
honourable, god-fearing men. Also may I avenge me on the wretch who
deceived me and grieved Zeus the lord of guests and his own guest-table.
VII. (3 lines) (ll. 1-3) Queen Earth, all bounteous giver of
honey-hearted wealth, how kindly, it seems, you are to some, and how
intractable and rough for those with whom you are angry.
VIII. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Sailors, who rove the seas and whom a hateful
fate has made as the shy sea-fowl, living an unenviable life, observe
the reverence due to Zeus who rules on high, the god of strangers;
for terrible is the vengeance of this god afterwards for whosoever has
sinned.
IX. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Strangers, a contrary wind has caught you: but
even now take me aboard and you shall make your voyage.
X. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Another sort of pine shall bear a better fruit
[2604] than you upon the heights of furrowed, windy Ida. For there shall
mortal men get the iron that Ares loves so soon as the Cebrenians shall
hold the land.
XI. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Glaucus, watchman of flocks, a word will I put
in your heart. First give the dogs their dinner at the courtyard
gate, for this is well. The dog first hears a man approaching and the
wild-beast coming to the fence.
XII. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Goddess-nurse of the young [2605], give ear to my
prayer, and grant that this woman may reject the love-embraces of youth
and dote on grey-haired old men whose powers are dulled, but whose
hearts still desire.
XIII. (6 lines) (ll. 1-6) Children are a man's crown, towers of a city;
horses are the glory of a plain, and so are ships of the sea; wealth
will make a house great, and reverend princes seated in assembly are a
goodly sight for the folk to see. But a blazing fire makes a house look
more comely upon a winter's day, when the Son of Cronos sends down snow.
XIV. (23 lines) (ll. 1-23) Potters, if you will give me a reward, I will
sing for you. Come, then, Athena, with hand upraised [2606] over the kiln.
Let the pots and all the dishes turn out well and be well fired: let
them fetch good prices and be sold in plenty in the market, and plenty
in the streets. Grant that the potters may get great gain and grant me
so to sing to them. But if you turn shameless and make false promises,
then I call together the destroyers of kilns, Shatter and Smash and
Charr and Crash and Crudebake who can work this craft much mischief.
Come all of you and sack the kiln-yard and the buildings: let the whole
kiln be shaken up to the potter's loud lament. As a horse's jaw grinds,
so let the kiln grind to powder all the pots inside. And you, too,
daughter of the Sun, Circe the witch, come and cast cruel spells; hurt
both these men and their handiwork. Let Chiron also come and bring
many Centaurs--all that escaped the hands of Heracles and all that were
destroyed: let them make sad havoc of the pots and overthrow the kiln,
and let the potters see the mischief and be grieved; but I will gloat as
I behold their luckless craft. And if anyone of them stoops to peer in,
let all his face be burned up, that all men may learn to deal honestly.
XV. (13 lines) [2607] (ll. 1-7) Let us betake us to the house of some man
of great power,--one who bears great power and is greatly prosperous
always. Open of yourselves, you doors, for mighty Wealth will enter
in, and with Wealth comes jolly Mirth and gentle Peace. May all
the corn-bins be full and the mass of dough always overflow the
kneading-trough. Now (set before us) cheerful barley-pottage, full of
sesame. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 8-10) Your son's wife, driving to this house with strong-hoofed
mules, shall dismount from her carriage to greet you; may she be shod
with golden shoes as she stands weaving at the loom.
(ll. 11-13) I come, and I come yearly, like the swallow that perches
light-footed in the fore-part of your house. But quickly bring. . . .
XVI. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) If you will give us anything (well). But if
not, we will not wait, for we are not come here to dwell with you.
XVII. HOMER: Hunters of deep sea prey, have we caught anything?
FISHERMAN: All that we caught we left behind, and all that we did not
catch we carry home. [2608]
HOMER: Ay, for of such fathers you are sprung as neither hold rich lands
nor tend countless sheep.
FRAGMENTS OF THE EPIC CYCLE
THE WAR OF THE TITANS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Photius, Epitome of the Chrestomathy of Proclus: The Epic
Cycle begins with the fabled union of Heaven and Earth, by which they
make three hundred-handed sons and three Cyclopes to be born to him.
Fragment #2--Anecdota Oxon. (Cramer) i. 75: According to the writer of
the "War of the Titans" Heaven was the son of Aether.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 1165: Eumelus says
that Aegaeon was the son of Earth and Sea and, having his dwelling in
the sea, was an ally of the Titans.
Fragment #4--Athenaeus, vii. 277 D: The poet of the "War of the Titans",
whether Eumelus of Corinth or Arctinus, writes thus in his second book:
'Upon the shield were dumb fish afloat, with golden faces, swimming and
sporting through the heavenly water. '
Fragment #5--Athenaeus, i. 22 C: Eumelus somewhere introduces Zeus
dancing: he says--'In the midst of them danced the Father of men and
gods. '
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 554: The author of
the "War of the Giants" says that Cronos took the shape of a horse and
lay with Philyra, the daughter of Ocean. Through this cause Cheiron was
born a centaur: his wife was Chariclo.
Fragment #7--Athenaeus, xi. 470 B: Theolytus says that he (Heracles)
sailed across the sea in a cauldron [2701]; but the first to give this
story is the author of the "War of the Titans".
Fragment #8--Philodemus, On Piety: The author of the "War of the Titans"
says that the apples (of the Hesperides) were guarded.
THE STORY OF OEDIPUS (fragments)
Fragment #1--C. I. G. Ital. et Sic. 1292. ii. 11: . . . . the "Story of
Oedipus" by Cinaethon in six thousand six hundred verses.
Fragment #2--Pausanias, ix. 5. 10: Judging by Homer I do not believe that
Oedipus had children by Iocasta: his sons were born of Euryganeia as the
writer of the Epic called the "Story of Oedipus" clearly shows.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Euripides Phoen. , 1750: The authors of the
"Story of Oedipus" (say) of the Sphinx: 'But furthermore (she killed)
noble Haemon, the dear son of blameless Creon, the comeliest and
loveliest of boys. '
THE THEBAID (fragments)
Fragment #1--Contest of Homer and Hesiod: Homer travelled about reciting
his epics, first the "Thebaid", in seven thousand verses, which begins:
'Sing, goddess, of parched Argos, whence lords. . . '
Fragment #2--Athenaeus, xi. 465 E: 'Then the heaven-born hero,
golden-haired Polyneices, first set beside Oedipus a rich table of
silver which once belonged to Cadmus the divinely wise: next he filled
a fine golden cup with sweet wine. But when Oedipus perceived these
treasures of his father, great misery fell on his heart, and he
straight-way called down bitter curses there in the presence of both
his sons. And the avenging Fury of the gods failed not to hear him as
he prayed that they might never divide their father's goods in loving
brotherhood, but that war and fighting might be ever the portion of them
both. '
Fragment #3--Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles, O. C. 1375: 'And when
Oedipus noticed the haunch [2801] he threw it on the ground and said:
"Oh! Oh! my sons have sent this mocking me. . . " So he prayed to Zeus the
king and the other deathless gods that each might fall by his brother's
hand and go down into the house of Hades. '
Fragment #4--Pausanias, viii. 25. 8: Adrastus fled from Thebes 'wearing
miserable garments, and took black-maned Areion [2802] with him. '
Fragment #5--Pindar, Ol. vi. 15: [2803] 'But when the seven dead had
received their last rites in Thebes, the Son of Talaus lamented and
spoke thus among them: "Woe is me, for I miss the bright eye of my host,
a good seer and a stout spearman alike. "'
Fragment #6--Apollodorus, i. 74: Oeneus married Periboea the daughter
of Hipponous. The author of the "Thebais" says that when Olenus had been
stormed, Oeneus received her as a prize.
Fragment #7--Pausanias, ix. 18. 6: Near the spring is the tomb of
Asphodicus. This Asphodicus killed Parthenopaeus the son of Talaus in
the battle against the Argives, as the Thebans say; though that part of
the "Thebais" which tells of the death of Parthenopaeus says that it was
Periclymenus who killed him.
THE EPIGONI (fragments)
Fragment #1--Contest of Homer and Hesiod: Next (Homer composed) the
"Epigoni" in seven thousand verses, beginning, 'And now, Muses, let us
begin to sing of younger men. '
Fragment #2--Photius, Lexicon: Teumesia. Those who have written on
Theban affairs have given a full account of the Teumesian fox. [2901]
They relate that the creature was sent by the gods to punish the
descendants of Cadmus, and that the Thebans therefore excluded those of
the house of Cadmus from kingship. But (they say) a certain Cephalus,
the son of Deion, an Athenian, who owned a hound which no beast ever
escaped, had accidentally killed his wife Procris, and being purified
of the homicide by the Cadmeans, hunted the fox with his hound, and when
they had overtaken it both hound and fox were turned into stones near
Teumessus. These writers have taken the story from the Epic Cycle.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 308: The authors
of the "Thebais" say that Manto the daughter of Teiresias was sent
to Delphi by the Epigoni as a first fruit of their spoil, and that in
accordance with an oracle of Apollo she went out and met Rhacius, the
son of Lebes, a Mycenaean by race. This man she married--for the oracle
also contained the command that she should marry whomsoever she might
meet--and coming to Colophon, was there much cast down and wept over the
destruction of her country.
THE CYPRIA (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, i: This [3001] is continued by the
epic called "Cypria" which is current is eleven books. Its contents are
as follows.
Zeus plans with Themis to bring about the Trojan war. Strife arrives
while the gods are feasting at the marriage of Peleus and starts a
dispute between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to which of them
is fairest. The three are led by Hermes at the command of Zeus to
Alexandrus [3002] on Mount Ida for his decision, and Alexandrus, lured
by his promised marriage with Helen, decides in favour of Aphrodite.
Then Alexandrus builds his ships at Aphrodite's suggestion, and Helenus
foretells the future to him, and Aphrodite order Aeneas to sail with
him, while Cassandra prophesies as to what will happen afterwards.
Alexandrus next lands in Lacedaemon and is entertained by the sons of
Tyndareus, and afterwards by Menelaus in Sparta, where in the course of
a feast he gives gifts to Helen.
After this, Menelaus sets sail for Crete, ordering Helen to furnish the
guests with all they require until they depart. Meanwhile, Aphrodite
brings Helen and Alexandrus together, and they, after their union, put
very great treasures on board and sail away by night. Hera stirs up a
storm against them and they are carried to Sidon, where Alexandrus takes
the city. From there he sailed to Troy and celebrated his marriage with
Helen.
In the meantime Castor and Polydeuces, while stealing the cattle of Idas
and Lynceus, were caught in the act, and Castor was killed by Idas, and
Lynceus and Idas by Polydeuces.
Zeus gave them immortality every other
day.
Iris next informs Menelaus of what has happened at his home. Menelaus
returns and plans an expedition against Ilium with his brother, and
then goes on to Nestor. Nestor in a digression tells him how Epopeus was
utterly destroyed after seducing the daughter of Lycus, and the story of
Oedipus, the madness of Heracles, and the story of Theseus and Ariadne.
Then they travel over Hellas and gather the leaders, detecting Odysseus
when he pretends to be mad, not wishing to join the expedition,
by seizing his son Telemachus for punishment at the suggestion of
Palamedes.
All the leaders then meet together at Aulis and sacrifice. The incident
of the serpent and the sparrows [3002] takes place before them, and
Calchas foretells what is going to befall. After this, they put out to
sea, and reach Teuthrania and sack it, taking it for Ilium. Telephus
comes out to the rescue and kills Thersander and son of Polyneices, and
is himself wounded by Achilles. As they put out from Mysia a storm comes
on them and scatters them, and Achilles first puts in at Scyros and
married Deidameia, the daughter of Lycomedes, and then heals Telephus,
who had been led by an oracle to go to Argos, so that he might be their
guide on the voyage to Ilium.
When the expedition had mustered a second time at Aulis, Agamemnon,
while at the chase, shot a stag and boasted that he surpassed even
Artemis. At this the goddess was so angry that she sent stormy winds and
prevented them from sailing. Calchas then told them of the anger of the
goddess and bade them sacrifice Iphigeneia to Artemis. This they attempt
to do, sending to fetch Iphigeneia as though for marriage with Achilles.
Artemis, however, snatched her away and transported her to the Tauri,
making her immortal, and putting a stag in place of the girl upon the
altar.
Next they sail as far as Tenedos: and while they are feasting,
Philoctetes is bitten by a snake and is left behind in Lemnos because
of the stench of his sore. Here, too, Achilles quarrels with Agamemnon
because he is invited late. Then the Greeks tried to land at Ilium, but
the Trojans prevent them, and Protesilaus is killed by Hector. Achilles
then kills Cycnus, the son of Poseidon, and drives the Trojans back. The
Greeks take up their dead and send envoys to the Trojans demanding the
surrender of Helen and the treasure with her. The Trojans refusing, they
first assault the city, and then go out and lay waste the country and
cities round about. After this, Achilles desires to see Helen, and
Aphrodite and Thetis contrive a meeting between them. The Achaeans next
desire to return home, but are restrained by Achilles, who afterwards
drives off the cattle of Aeneas, and sacks Lyrnessus and Pedasus and
many of the neighbouring cities, and kills Troilus. Patroclus carries
away Lycaon to Lemnos and sells him as a slave, and out of the spoils
Achilles receives Briseis as a prize, and Agamemnon Chryseis. Then
follows the death of Palamedes, the plan of Zeus to relieve the Trojans
by detaching Achilles from the Hellenic confederacy, and a catalogue of
the Trojan allies.
Fragment #2--Tzetzes, Chil. xiii. 638: Stasinus composed the "Cypria"
which the more part say was Homer's work and by him given to Stasinus as
a dowry with money besides.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Homer, Il. i. 5: 'There was a time when the
countless tribes of men, though wide-dispersed, oppressed the surface
of the deep-bosomed earth, and Zeus saw it and had pity and in his wise
heart resolved to relieve the all-nurturing earth of men by causing the
great struggle of the Ilian war, that the load of death might empty the
world. And so the heroes were slain in Troy, and the plan of Zeus came
to pass. '
Fragment #4--Volumina Herculan, II. viii. 105: The author of the
"Cypria" says that Thetis, to please Hera, avoided union with Zeus, at
which he was enraged and swore that she should be the wife of a mortal.
Fragment #5--Scholiast on Homer, Il. xvii. 140: For at the marriage of
Peleus and Thetis, the gods gathered together on Pelion to feast and
brought Peleus gifts. Cheiron gave him a stout ashen shaft which he had
cut for a spear, and Athena, it is said, polished it, and Hephaestus
fitted it with a head. The story is given by the author of the "Cypria".
Fragment #6--Athenaeus, xv. 682 D, F: The author of the "Cypria",
whether Hegesias or Stasinus, mentions flowers used for garlands. The
poet, whoever he was, writes as follows in his first book:
(ll. 1-7) 'She clothed herself with garments which the Graces and Hours
had made for her and dyed in flowers of spring--such flowers as the
Seasons wear--in crocus and hyacinth and flourishing violet and the
rose's lovely bloom, so sweet and delicious, and heavenly buds,
the flowers of the narcissus and lily. In such perfumed garments is
Aphrodite clothed at all seasons.
((LACUNA))
(ll. 8-12) Then laughter-loving Aphrodite and her handmaidens wove
sweet-smelling crowns of flowers of the earth and put them upon their
heads--the bright-coiffed goddesses, the Nymphs and Graces, and golden
Aphrodite too, while they sang sweetly on the mount of many-fountained
Ida. '
Fragment #7--Clement of Alexandria, Protrept ii. 30. 5: 'Castor was
mortal, and the fate of death was destined for him; but Polydeuces,
scion of Ares, was immortal. '
Fragment #8--Athenaeus, viii. 334 B: 'And after them she bare a third
child, Helen, a marvel to men. Rich-tressed Nemesis once gave her birth
when she had been joined in love with Zeus the king of the gods by harsh
violence. For Nemesis tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love
with her father Zeus the Son of Cronos; for shame and indignation vexed
her heart: therefore she fled him over the land and fruitless dark
water. But Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch her. Now
she took the form of a fish and sped over the waves of the loud-roaring
sea, and now over Ocean's stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and
now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning into such dread
creatures as the dry land nurtures, that she might escape him. '
Fragment #9--Scholiast on Euripides, Andr. 898: The writer [3003] of the
Cyprian histories says that (Helen's third child was) Pleisthenes
and that she took him with her to Cyprus, and that the child she bore
Alexandrus was Aganus.
Fragment #10--Herodotus, ii. 117: For it is said in the "Cypria" that
Alexandrus came with Helen to Ilium from Sparta in three days, enjoying
a favourable wind and calm sea.
Fragment #11--Scholiast on Homer, Il. iii. 242: For Helen had been
previously carried off by Theseus, and it was in consequence of this
earlier rape that Aphidna, a town in Attica, was sacked and Castor was
wounded in the right thigh by Aphidnus who was king at that time. Then
the Dioscuri, failing to find Theseus, sacked Athens. The story is in
the Cyclic writers.
Plutarch, Thes. 32: Hereas relates that Alycus was killed by Theseus
himself near Aphidna, and quotes the following verses in evidence: 'In
spacious Aphidna Theseus slew him in battle long ago for rich-haired
Helen's sake. ' [3004]
Fragment #12--Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. x. 114: (ll. 1-6) 'Straightway
Lynceus, trusting in his swift feet, made for Taygetus. He climbed its
highest peak and looked throughout the whole isle of Pelops, son
of Tantalus; and soon the glorious hero with his dread eyes saw
horse-taming Castor and athlete Polydeuces both hidden within a hollow
oak. '
Philodemus, On Piety: (Stasinus? ) writes that Castor was killed with a
spear shot by Idas the son of Aphareus.
Fragment #13--Athenaeus, 35 C: 'Menelaus, know that the gods made wine
the best thing for mortal man to scatter cares. '
Fragment #14--Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles, Elect. 157: Either he
follows Homer who spoke of the three daughters of Agamemnon, or--like
the writer of the "Cypria"--he makes them four, (distinguishing)
Iphigeneia and Iphianassa.
Fragment #15--[3005] Contest of Homer and Hesiod: 'So they feasted all
day long, taking nothing from their own houses; for Agamemnon, king of
men, provided for them. '
Fragment #16--Louvre Papyrus: 'I never thought to enrage so terribly the
stout heart of Achilles, for very well I loved him. '
Fragment #17--Pausanias, iv. 2. 7: The poet of the "Cypria" says that
the wife of Protesilaus--who, when the Hellenes reached the Trojan
shore, first dared to land--was called Polydora, and was the daughter of
Meleager, the son of Oeneus.
Fragment #18--Eustathius, 119. 4: Some relate that Chryseis was taken
from Hypoplacian [3006] Thebes, and that she had not taken refuge there
nor gone there to sacrifice to Artemis, as the author of the "Cypria"
states, but was simply a fellow townswoman of Andromache.
Fragment #19--Pausanias, x. 31. 2: I know, because I have read it in the
epic "Cypria", that Palamedes was drowned when he had gone out fishing,
and that it was Diomedes and Odysseus who caused his death.
Fragment #20--Plato, Euthyphron, 12 A: 'That it is Zeus who has done
this, and brought all these things to pass, you do not like to say; for
where fear is, there too is shame. '
Fragment #21--Herodian, On Peculiar Diction: 'By him she conceived and
bare the Gorgons, fearful monsters who lived in Sarpedon, a rocky island
in deep-eddying Oceanus. '
Fragment #22--Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis vii. 2. 19: Again,
Stasinus says: 'He is a simple man who kills the father and lets the
children live. '
THE AETHIOPIS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: The "Cypria", described in
the preceding book, has its sequel in the "Iliad" of Homer, which is
followed in turn by the five books of the "Aethiopis", the work
of Arctinus of Miletus. Their contents are as follows. The Amazon
Penthesileia, the daughter of Ares and of Thracian race, comes to aid
the Trojans, and after showing great prowess, is killed by Achilles and
buried by the Trojans. Achilles then slays Thersites for abusing and
reviling him for his supposed love for Penthesileia. As a result a
dispute arises amongst the Achaeans over the killing of Thersites, and
Achilles sails to Lesbos and after sacrificing to Apollo, Artemis, and
Leto, is purified by Odysseus from bloodshed.
Then Memnon, the son of Eos, wearing armour made by Hephaestus, comes to
help the Trojans, and Thetis tells her son about Memnon.
A battle takes place in which Antilochus is slain by Memnon and
Memnon by Achilles. Eos then obtains of Zeus and bestows upon her son
immortality; but Achilles routs the Trojans, and, rushing into the city
with them, is killed by Paris and Apollo. A great struggle for the body
then follows, Aias taking up the body and carrying it to the ships,
while Odysseus drives off the Trojans behind. The Achaeans then bury
Antilochus and lay out the body of Achilles, while Thetis, arriving with
the Muses and her sisters, bewails her son, whom she afterwards catches
away from the pyre and transports to the White Island. After this, the
Achaeans pile him a cairn and hold games in his honour. Lastly a dispute
arises between Odysseus and Aias over the arms of Achilles.
Fragment #2--Scholiast on Homer, Il. xxiv. 804: Some read: 'Thus they
performed the burial of Hector. Then came the Amazon, the daughter of
great-souled Ares the slayer of men. '
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Pindar, Isth. iii. 53: The author of the
"Aethiopis" says that Aias killed himself about dawn.
THE LITTLE ILIAD (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: Next comes the "Little Iliad"
in four books by Lesches of Mitylene: its contents are as follows. The
adjudging of the arms of Achilles takes place, and Odysseus, by the
contriving of Athena, gains them. Aias then becomes mad and destroys the
herd of the Achaeans and kills himself. Next Odysseus lies in wait and
catches Helenus, who prophesies as to the taking of Troy, and Diomede
accordingly brings Philoctetes from Lemnos. Philoctetes is healed by
Machaon, fights in single combat with Alexandrus and kills him: the dead
body is outraged by Menelaus, but the Trojans recover and bury it. After
this Deiphobus marries Helen, Odysseus brings Neoptolemus from Scyros
and gives him his father's arms, and the ghost of Achilles appears to
him.
Eurypylus the son of Telephus arrives to aid the Trojans, shows his
prowess and is killed by Neoptolemus. The Trojans are now closely
besieged, and Epeius, by Athena's instruction, builds the wooden horse.
Odysseus disfigures himself and goes in to Ilium as a spy, and there
being recognized by Helen, plots with her for the taking of the city;
after killing certain of the Trojans, he returns to the ships. Next
he carries the Palladium out of Troy with help of Diomedes. Then after
putting their best men in the wooden horse and burning their huts, the
main body of the Hellenes sail to Tenedos. The Trojans, supposing their
troubles over, destroy a part of their city wall and take the wooden
horse into their city and feast as though they had conquered the
Hellenes.
Fragment #2--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: 'I sing of Ilium and
Dardania, the land of fine horses, wherein the Danai, followers of Ares,
suffered many things. '
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and Aristophanes
ib: The story runs as follows: Aias and Odysseus were quarrelling as
to their achievements, says the poet of the "Little Iliad", and Nestor
advised the Hellenes to send some of their number to go to the foot
of the walls and overhear what was said about the valour of the heroes
named above. The eavesdroppers heard certain girls disputing, one
of them saying that Aias was by far a better man than Odysseus and
continuing as follows:
'For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus' son:
this great Odysseus cared not to do. '
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
'Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue! Even a
woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her shoulder; but she
could not fight. For she would fail with fear if she should fight. '
Fragment #4--Eustathius, 285. 34: The writer of the "Little Iliad" says
that Aias was not buried in the usual way [3101], but was simply buried
in a coffin, because of the king's anger.
Fragment #5--Eustathius on Homer, Il. 326: The author of the "Little
Iliad" says that Achilles after putting out to sea from the country
of Telephus came to land there: 'The storm carried Achilles the son of
Peleus to Scyros, and he came into an uneasy harbour there in that same
night. '
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. vi. 85: 'About the spear-shaft
was a hoop of flashing gold, and a point was fitted to it at either
end. '
Fragment #7--Scholiast on Euripides Troades, 822: '. . . the vine which the
son of Cronos gave him as a recompense for his son. It bloomed richly
with soft leaves of gold and grape clusters; Hephaestus wrought it and
gave it to his father Zeus: and he bestowed it on Laomedon as a price
for Ganymedes. '
Fragment #8--Pausanias, iii. 26. 9: The writer of the epic "Little
Iliad" says that Machaon was killed by Eurypylus, the son of Telephus.
Fragment #9--Homer, Odyssey iv. 247 and Scholiast: 'He disguised
himself, and made himself like another person, a beggar, the like of
whom was not by the ships of the Achaeans. '
The Cyclic poet uses 'beggar' as a substantive, and so means to say that
when Odysseus had changed his clothes and put on rags, there was no one
so good for nothing at the ships as Odysseus.
Fragment #10--[3102] Plutarch, Moralia, p. 153 F: And Homer put forward
the following verses as Lesches gives them: 'Muse, tell me of those
things which neither happened before nor shall be hereafter. '
And Hesiod answered:
'But when horses with rattling hoofs wreck chariots, striving for
victory about the tomb of Zeus. '
And it is said that, because this reply was specially admired, Hesiod
won the tripod (at the funeral games of Amphidamas).
Fragment #11--Scholiast on Lycophr. , 344: Sinon, as it had been arranged
with him, secretly showed a signal-light to the Hellenes. Thus Lesches
writes:--'It was midnight, and the clear moon was rising. '
Fragment #12--Pausanias, x. 25. 5: Meges is represented [3103] wounded
in the arm just as Lescheos the son of Aeschylinus of Pyrrha describes
in his "Sack of Ilium" where it is said that he was wounded in the
battle which the Trojans fought in the night by Admetus, son of Augeias.
Lycomedes too is in the picture with a wound in the wrist, and Lescheos
says he was so wounded by Agenor. . .
Pausanias, x. 26. 4: Lescheos also mentions Astynous, and here he is,
fallen on one knee, while Neoptolemus strikes him with his sword. . .
Pausanias, x. 26. 8: The same writer says that Helicaon was wounded in
the night-battle, but was recognised by Odysseus and by him conducted
alive out of the fight. . .
Pausanias, x. 27. 1: Of them [3104], Lescheos says that Eion was killed
by Neoptolemus, and Admetus by Philoctetes. . . He also says that Priam
was not killed at the heart of Zeus Herceius, but was dragged away from
the altar and destroyed off hand by Neoptolemus at the doors of the
house. . . Lescheos says that Axion was the son of Priam and was slain by
Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon. Agenor--according to the same poet--was
butchered by Neoptolemus.
Fragment #13--Aristophanes, Lysistrata 155 and Scholiast: 'Menelaus at
least, when he caught a glimpse somehow of the breasts of Helen unclad,
cast away his sword, methinks. ' Lesches the Pyrrhaean also has the same
account in his "Little Iliad".
Pausanias, x. 25. 8: Concerning Aethra Lesches relates that when Ilium
was taken she stole out of the city and came to the Hellenic camp, where
she was recognised by the sons of Theseus; and that Demophon asked her
of Agamemnon. Agamemnon wished to grant him this favour, but he would
not do so until Helen consented. And when he sent a herald, Helen
granted his request.
Fragment #14--Scholiast on Lycophr. Alex. , 1268: 'Then the bright son of
bold Achilles led the wife of Hector to the hollow ships; but her son he
snatched from the bosom of his rich-haired nurse and seized him by the
foot and cast him from a tower. So when he had fallen bloody death and
hard fate seized on Astyanax. And Neoptolemus chose out Andromache,
Hector's well-girded wife, and the chiefs of all the Achaeans gave
her to him to hold requiting him with a welcome prize. And he put
Aeneas[3105], the famous son of horse-taming Anchises, on board his
sea-faring ships, a prize surpassing those of all the Danaans. '
THE SACK OF ILIUM (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: Next come two books of the
"Sack of Ilium", by Arctinus of Miletus with the following contents.
The Trojans were suspicious of the wooden horse and standing round it
debated what they ought to do. Some thought they ought to hurl it down
from the rocks, others to burn it up, while others said they ought to
dedicate it to Athena. At last this third opinion prevailed. Then they
turned to mirth and feasting believing the war was at an end. But at
this very time two serpents appeared and destroyed Laocoon and one of
his two sons, a portent which so alarmed the followers of Aeneas that
they withdrew to Ida. Sinon then raised the fire-signal to the Achaeans,
having previously got into the city by pretence.
streaming from the temples of his head gracefully enclose his far-seen
face: a rich, fine-spun garment glows upon his body and flutters in the
wind: and stallions carry him. Then, when he has stayed his golden-yoked
chariot and horses, he rests there upon the highest point of heaven,
until he marvellously drives them down again through heaven to Ocean.
(ll. 17-19) Hail to you, lord! Freely bestow on me substance that cheers
the heart. And now that I have begun with you, I will celebrate the race
of mortal men half-divine whose deeds the Muses have showed to mankind.
XXXII. TO SELENE (20 lines)
(ll. 1-13) And next, sweet voiced Muses, daughters of Zeus, well-skilled
in song, tell of the long-winged [2535] Moon. From her immortal head
a radiance is shown from heaven and embraces earth; and great is the
beauty that ariseth from her shining light. The air, unlit before, glows
with the light of her golden crown, and her rays beam clear, whensoever
bright Selene having bathed her lovely body in the waters of Ocean, and
donned her far-gleaming, shining team, drives on her long-maned horses
at full speed, at eventime in the mid-month: then her great orbit is
full and then her beams shine brightest as she increases. So she is a
sure token and a sign to mortal men.
(ll. 14-16) Once the Son of Cronos was joined with her in love; and
she conceived and bare a daughter Pandia, exceeding lovely amongst the
deathless gods.
(ll. 17-20) Hail, white-armed goddess, bright Selene, mild,
bright-tressed queen! And now I will leave you and sing the glories
of men half-divine, whose deeds minstrels, the servants of the Muses,
celebrate with lovely lips.
XXXIII. TO THE DIOSCURI (19 lines)
(ll. 1-17) Bright-eyed Muses, tell of the Tyndaridae, the Sons of Zeus,
glorious children of neat-ankled Leda, Castor the tamer of horses, and
blameless Polydeuces. When Leda had lain with the dark-clouded Son
of Cronos, she bare them beneath the peak of the great hill
Taygetus,--children who are delivers of men on earth and of swift-going
ships when stormy gales rage over the ruthless sea. Then the shipmen
call upon the sons of great Zeus with vows of white lambs, going to the
forepart of the prow; but the strong wind and the waves of the sea lay
the ship under water, until suddenly these two are seen darting through
the air on tawny wings. Forthwith they allay the blasts of the cruel
winds and still the waves upon the surface of the white sea: fair signs
are they and deliverance from toil. And when the shipmen see them they
are glad and have rest from their pain and labour.
(ll. 18-19) Hail, Tyndaridae, riders upon swift horses! Now I will
remember you and another song also.
HOMER'S EPIGRAMS [2601]
I. (5 lines) (ll. 1-5) Have reverence for him who needs a home and
stranger's dole, all ye who dwell in the high city of Cyme, the lovely
maiden, hard by the foothills of lofty Sardene, ye who drink the
heavenly water of the divine stream, eddying Hermus, whom deathless Zeus
begot.
II. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Speedily may my feet bear me to some town of
righteous men; for their hearts are generous and their wit is best.
III. (6 lines) (ll. 1-6) I am a maiden of bronze and am set upon the
tomb of Midas. While the waters flow and tall trees flourish, and the
sun rises and shines and the bright moon also; while rivers run and the
sea breaks on the shore, ever remaining on this mournful tomb, I tell
the passer-by that Midas here lies buried.
IV. (17 lines) (ll. 1-17) To what a fate did Zeus the Father give me a
prey even while he made me to grow, a babe at my mother's knee! By the
will of Zeus who holds the aegis the people of Phricon, riders on wanton
horses, more active than raging fire in the test of war, once built
the towers of Aeolian Smyrna, wave-shaken neighbour to the sea, through
which glides the pleasant stream of sacred Meles; thence [2602] arose the
daughters of Zeus, glorious children, and would fain have made famous
that fair country and the city of its people. But in their folly those
men scorned the divine voice and renown of song, and in trouble shall
one of them remember this hereafter--he who with scornful words to them
[2603] contrived my fate. Yet I will endure the lot which heaven gave me
even at my birth, bearing my disappointment with a patient heart. My
dear limbs yearn not to stay in the sacred streets of Cyme, but rather
my great heart urges me to go unto another country, small though I am.
V. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Thestorides, full many things there are that
mortals cannot sound; but there is nothing more unfathomable than the
heart of man.
VI. (8 lines) (ll. 1-8) Hear me, Poseidon, strong shaker of the earth,
ruler of wide-spread, tawny Helicon! Give a fair wind and sight of safe
return to the shipmen who speed and govern this ship. And grant
that when I come to the nether slopes of towering Mimas I may find
honourable, god-fearing men. Also may I avenge me on the wretch who
deceived me and grieved Zeus the lord of guests and his own guest-table.
VII. (3 lines) (ll. 1-3) Queen Earth, all bounteous giver of
honey-hearted wealth, how kindly, it seems, you are to some, and how
intractable and rough for those with whom you are angry.
VIII. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Sailors, who rove the seas and whom a hateful
fate has made as the shy sea-fowl, living an unenviable life, observe
the reverence due to Zeus who rules on high, the god of strangers;
for terrible is the vengeance of this god afterwards for whosoever has
sinned.
IX. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) Strangers, a contrary wind has caught you: but
even now take me aboard and you shall make your voyage.
X. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Another sort of pine shall bear a better fruit
[2604] than you upon the heights of furrowed, windy Ida. For there shall
mortal men get the iron that Ares loves so soon as the Cebrenians shall
hold the land.
XI. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Glaucus, watchman of flocks, a word will I put
in your heart. First give the dogs their dinner at the courtyard
gate, for this is well. The dog first hears a man approaching and the
wild-beast coming to the fence.
XII. (4 lines) (ll. 1-4) Goddess-nurse of the young [2605], give ear to my
prayer, and grant that this woman may reject the love-embraces of youth
and dote on grey-haired old men whose powers are dulled, but whose
hearts still desire.
XIII. (6 lines) (ll. 1-6) Children are a man's crown, towers of a city;
horses are the glory of a plain, and so are ships of the sea; wealth
will make a house great, and reverend princes seated in assembly are a
goodly sight for the folk to see. But a blazing fire makes a house look
more comely upon a winter's day, when the Son of Cronos sends down snow.
XIV. (23 lines) (ll. 1-23) Potters, if you will give me a reward, I will
sing for you. Come, then, Athena, with hand upraised [2606] over the kiln.
Let the pots and all the dishes turn out well and be well fired: let
them fetch good prices and be sold in plenty in the market, and plenty
in the streets. Grant that the potters may get great gain and grant me
so to sing to them. But if you turn shameless and make false promises,
then I call together the destroyers of kilns, Shatter and Smash and
Charr and Crash and Crudebake who can work this craft much mischief.
Come all of you and sack the kiln-yard and the buildings: let the whole
kiln be shaken up to the potter's loud lament. As a horse's jaw grinds,
so let the kiln grind to powder all the pots inside. And you, too,
daughter of the Sun, Circe the witch, come and cast cruel spells; hurt
both these men and their handiwork. Let Chiron also come and bring
many Centaurs--all that escaped the hands of Heracles and all that were
destroyed: let them make sad havoc of the pots and overthrow the kiln,
and let the potters see the mischief and be grieved; but I will gloat as
I behold their luckless craft. And if anyone of them stoops to peer in,
let all his face be burned up, that all men may learn to deal honestly.
XV. (13 lines) [2607] (ll. 1-7) Let us betake us to the house of some man
of great power,--one who bears great power and is greatly prosperous
always. Open of yourselves, you doors, for mighty Wealth will enter
in, and with Wealth comes jolly Mirth and gentle Peace. May all
the corn-bins be full and the mass of dough always overflow the
kneading-trough. Now (set before us) cheerful barley-pottage, full of
sesame. . . .
((LACUNA))
(ll. 8-10) Your son's wife, driving to this house with strong-hoofed
mules, shall dismount from her carriage to greet you; may she be shod
with golden shoes as she stands weaving at the loom.
(ll. 11-13) I come, and I come yearly, like the swallow that perches
light-footed in the fore-part of your house. But quickly bring. . . .
XVI. (2 lines) (ll. 1-2) If you will give us anything (well). But if
not, we will not wait, for we are not come here to dwell with you.
XVII. HOMER: Hunters of deep sea prey, have we caught anything?
FISHERMAN: All that we caught we left behind, and all that we did not
catch we carry home. [2608]
HOMER: Ay, for of such fathers you are sprung as neither hold rich lands
nor tend countless sheep.
FRAGMENTS OF THE EPIC CYCLE
THE WAR OF THE TITANS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Photius, Epitome of the Chrestomathy of Proclus: The Epic
Cycle begins with the fabled union of Heaven and Earth, by which they
make three hundred-handed sons and three Cyclopes to be born to him.
Fragment #2--Anecdota Oxon. (Cramer) i. 75: According to the writer of
the "War of the Titans" Heaven was the son of Aether.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 1165: Eumelus says
that Aegaeon was the son of Earth and Sea and, having his dwelling in
the sea, was an ally of the Titans.
Fragment #4--Athenaeus, vii. 277 D: The poet of the "War of the Titans",
whether Eumelus of Corinth or Arctinus, writes thus in his second book:
'Upon the shield were dumb fish afloat, with golden faces, swimming and
sporting through the heavenly water. '
Fragment #5--Athenaeus, i. 22 C: Eumelus somewhere introduces Zeus
dancing: he says--'In the midst of them danced the Father of men and
gods. '
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 554: The author of
the "War of the Giants" says that Cronos took the shape of a horse and
lay with Philyra, the daughter of Ocean. Through this cause Cheiron was
born a centaur: his wife was Chariclo.
Fragment #7--Athenaeus, xi. 470 B: Theolytus says that he (Heracles)
sailed across the sea in a cauldron [2701]; but the first to give this
story is the author of the "War of the Titans".
Fragment #8--Philodemus, On Piety: The author of the "War of the Titans"
says that the apples (of the Hesperides) were guarded.
THE STORY OF OEDIPUS (fragments)
Fragment #1--C. I. G. Ital. et Sic. 1292. ii. 11: . . . . the "Story of
Oedipus" by Cinaethon in six thousand six hundred verses.
Fragment #2--Pausanias, ix. 5. 10: Judging by Homer I do not believe that
Oedipus had children by Iocasta: his sons were born of Euryganeia as the
writer of the Epic called the "Story of Oedipus" clearly shows.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Euripides Phoen. , 1750: The authors of the
"Story of Oedipus" (say) of the Sphinx: 'But furthermore (she killed)
noble Haemon, the dear son of blameless Creon, the comeliest and
loveliest of boys. '
THE THEBAID (fragments)
Fragment #1--Contest of Homer and Hesiod: Homer travelled about reciting
his epics, first the "Thebaid", in seven thousand verses, which begins:
'Sing, goddess, of parched Argos, whence lords. . . '
Fragment #2--Athenaeus, xi. 465 E: 'Then the heaven-born hero,
golden-haired Polyneices, first set beside Oedipus a rich table of
silver which once belonged to Cadmus the divinely wise: next he filled
a fine golden cup with sweet wine. But when Oedipus perceived these
treasures of his father, great misery fell on his heart, and he
straight-way called down bitter curses there in the presence of both
his sons. And the avenging Fury of the gods failed not to hear him as
he prayed that they might never divide their father's goods in loving
brotherhood, but that war and fighting might be ever the portion of them
both. '
Fragment #3--Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles, O. C. 1375: 'And when
Oedipus noticed the haunch [2801] he threw it on the ground and said:
"Oh! Oh! my sons have sent this mocking me. . . " So he prayed to Zeus the
king and the other deathless gods that each might fall by his brother's
hand and go down into the house of Hades. '
Fragment #4--Pausanias, viii. 25. 8: Adrastus fled from Thebes 'wearing
miserable garments, and took black-maned Areion [2802] with him. '
Fragment #5--Pindar, Ol. vi. 15: [2803] 'But when the seven dead had
received their last rites in Thebes, the Son of Talaus lamented and
spoke thus among them: "Woe is me, for I miss the bright eye of my host,
a good seer and a stout spearman alike. "'
Fragment #6--Apollodorus, i. 74: Oeneus married Periboea the daughter
of Hipponous. The author of the "Thebais" says that when Olenus had been
stormed, Oeneus received her as a prize.
Fragment #7--Pausanias, ix. 18. 6: Near the spring is the tomb of
Asphodicus. This Asphodicus killed Parthenopaeus the son of Talaus in
the battle against the Argives, as the Thebans say; though that part of
the "Thebais" which tells of the death of Parthenopaeus says that it was
Periclymenus who killed him.
THE EPIGONI (fragments)
Fragment #1--Contest of Homer and Hesiod: Next (Homer composed) the
"Epigoni" in seven thousand verses, beginning, 'And now, Muses, let us
begin to sing of younger men. '
Fragment #2--Photius, Lexicon: Teumesia. Those who have written on
Theban affairs have given a full account of the Teumesian fox. [2901]
They relate that the creature was sent by the gods to punish the
descendants of Cadmus, and that the Thebans therefore excluded those of
the house of Cadmus from kingship. But (they say) a certain Cephalus,
the son of Deion, an Athenian, who owned a hound which no beast ever
escaped, had accidentally killed his wife Procris, and being purified
of the homicide by the Cadmeans, hunted the fox with his hound, and when
they had overtaken it both hound and fox were turned into stones near
Teumessus. These writers have taken the story from the Epic Cycle.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, Arg. i. 308: The authors
of the "Thebais" say that Manto the daughter of Teiresias was sent
to Delphi by the Epigoni as a first fruit of their spoil, and that in
accordance with an oracle of Apollo she went out and met Rhacius, the
son of Lebes, a Mycenaean by race. This man she married--for the oracle
also contained the command that she should marry whomsoever she might
meet--and coming to Colophon, was there much cast down and wept over the
destruction of her country.
THE CYPRIA (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, i: This [3001] is continued by the
epic called "Cypria" which is current is eleven books. Its contents are
as follows.
Zeus plans with Themis to bring about the Trojan war. Strife arrives
while the gods are feasting at the marriage of Peleus and starts a
dispute between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite as to which of them
is fairest. The three are led by Hermes at the command of Zeus to
Alexandrus [3002] on Mount Ida for his decision, and Alexandrus, lured
by his promised marriage with Helen, decides in favour of Aphrodite.
Then Alexandrus builds his ships at Aphrodite's suggestion, and Helenus
foretells the future to him, and Aphrodite order Aeneas to sail with
him, while Cassandra prophesies as to what will happen afterwards.
Alexandrus next lands in Lacedaemon and is entertained by the sons of
Tyndareus, and afterwards by Menelaus in Sparta, where in the course of
a feast he gives gifts to Helen.
After this, Menelaus sets sail for Crete, ordering Helen to furnish the
guests with all they require until they depart. Meanwhile, Aphrodite
brings Helen and Alexandrus together, and they, after their union, put
very great treasures on board and sail away by night. Hera stirs up a
storm against them and they are carried to Sidon, where Alexandrus takes
the city. From there he sailed to Troy and celebrated his marriage with
Helen.
In the meantime Castor and Polydeuces, while stealing the cattle of Idas
and Lynceus, were caught in the act, and Castor was killed by Idas, and
Lynceus and Idas by Polydeuces.
Zeus gave them immortality every other
day.
Iris next informs Menelaus of what has happened at his home. Menelaus
returns and plans an expedition against Ilium with his brother, and
then goes on to Nestor. Nestor in a digression tells him how Epopeus was
utterly destroyed after seducing the daughter of Lycus, and the story of
Oedipus, the madness of Heracles, and the story of Theseus and Ariadne.
Then they travel over Hellas and gather the leaders, detecting Odysseus
when he pretends to be mad, not wishing to join the expedition,
by seizing his son Telemachus for punishment at the suggestion of
Palamedes.
All the leaders then meet together at Aulis and sacrifice. The incident
of the serpent and the sparrows [3002] takes place before them, and
Calchas foretells what is going to befall. After this, they put out to
sea, and reach Teuthrania and sack it, taking it for Ilium. Telephus
comes out to the rescue and kills Thersander and son of Polyneices, and
is himself wounded by Achilles. As they put out from Mysia a storm comes
on them and scatters them, and Achilles first puts in at Scyros and
married Deidameia, the daughter of Lycomedes, and then heals Telephus,
who had been led by an oracle to go to Argos, so that he might be their
guide on the voyage to Ilium.
When the expedition had mustered a second time at Aulis, Agamemnon,
while at the chase, shot a stag and boasted that he surpassed even
Artemis. At this the goddess was so angry that she sent stormy winds and
prevented them from sailing. Calchas then told them of the anger of the
goddess and bade them sacrifice Iphigeneia to Artemis. This they attempt
to do, sending to fetch Iphigeneia as though for marriage with Achilles.
Artemis, however, snatched her away and transported her to the Tauri,
making her immortal, and putting a stag in place of the girl upon the
altar.
Next they sail as far as Tenedos: and while they are feasting,
Philoctetes is bitten by a snake and is left behind in Lemnos because
of the stench of his sore. Here, too, Achilles quarrels with Agamemnon
because he is invited late. Then the Greeks tried to land at Ilium, but
the Trojans prevent them, and Protesilaus is killed by Hector. Achilles
then kills Cycnus, the son of Poseidon, and drives the Trojans back. The
Greeks take up their dead and send envoys to the Trojans demanding the
surrender of Helen and the treasure with her. The Trojans refusing, they
first assault the city, and then go out and lay waste the country and
cities round about. After this, Achilles desires to see Helen, and
Aphrodite and Thetis contrive a meeting between them. The Achaeans next
desire to return home, but are restrained by Achilles, who afterwards
drives off the cattle of Aeneas, and sacks Lyrnessus and Pedasus and
many of the neighbouring cities, and kills Troilus. Patroclus carries
away Lycaon to Lemnos and sells him as a slave, and out of the spoils
Achilles receives Briseis as a prize, and Agamemnon Chryseis. Then
follows the death of Palamedes, the plan of Zeus to relieve the Trojans
by detaching Achilles from the Hellenic confederacy, and a catalogue of
the Trojan allies.
Fragment #2--Tzetzes, Chil. xiii. 638: Stasinus composed the "Cypria"
which the more part say was Homer's work and by him given to Stasinus as
a dowry with money besides.
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Homer, Il. i. 5: 'There was a time when the
countless tribes of men, though wide-dispersed, oppressed the surface
of the deep-bosomed earth, and Zeus saw it and had pity and in his wise
heart resolved to relieve the all-nurturing earth of men by causing the
great struggle of the Ilian war, that the load of death might empty the
world. And so the heroes were slain in Troy, and the plan of Zeus came
to pass. '
Fragment #4--Volumina Herculan, II. viii. 105: The author of the
"Cypria" says that Thetis, to please Hera, avoided union with Zeus, at
which he was enraged and swore that she should be the wife of a mortal.
Fragment #5--Scholiast on Homer, Il. xvii. 140: For at the marriage of
Peleus and Thetis, the gods gathered together on Pelion to feast and
brought Peleus gifts. Cheiron gave him a stout ashen shaft which he had
cut for a spear, and Athena, it is said, polished it, and Hephaestus
fitted it with a head. The story is given by the author of the "Cypria".
Fragment #6--Athenaeus, xv. 682 D, F: The author of the "Cypria",
whether Hegesias or Stasinus, mentions flowers used for garlands. The
poet, whoever he was, writes as follows in his first book:
(ll. 1-7) 'She clothed herself with garments which the Graces and Hours
had made for her and dyed in flowers of spring--such flowers as the
Seasons wear--in crocus and hyacinth and flourishing violet and the
rose's lovely bloom, so sweet and delicious, and heavenly buds,
the flowers of the narcissus and lily. In such perfumed garments is
Aphrodite clothed at all seasons.
((LACUNA))
(ll. 8-12) Then laughter-loving Aphrodite and her handmaidens wove
sweet-smelling crowns of flowers of the earth and put them upon their
heads--the bright-coiffed goddesses, the Nymphs and Graces, and golden
Aphrodite too, while they sang sweetly on the mount of many-fountained
Ida. '
Fragment #7--Clement of Alexandria, Protrept ii. 30. 5: 'Castor was
mortal, and the fate of death was destined for him; but Polydeuces,
scion of Ares, was immortal. '
Fragment #8--Athenaeus, viii. 334 B: 'And after them she bare a third
child, Helen, a marvel to men. Rich-tressed Nemesis once gave her birth
when she had been joined in love with Zeus the king of the gods by harsh
violence. For Nemesis tried to escape him and liked not to lie in love
with her father Zeus the Son of Cronos; for shame and indignation vexed
her heart: therefore she fled him over the land and fruitless dark
water. But Zeus ever pursued and longed in his heart to catch her. Now
she took the form of a fish and sped over the waves of the loud-roaring
sea, and now over Ocean's stream and the furthest bounds of Earth, and
now she sped over the furrowed land, always turning into such dread
creatures as the dry land nurtures, that she might escape him. '
Fragment #9--Scholiast on Euripides, Andr. 898: The writer [3003] of the
Cyprian histories says that (Helen's third child was) Pleisthenes
and that she took him with her to Cyprus, and that the child she bore
Alexandrus was Aganus.
Fragment #10--Herodotus, ii. 117: For it is said in the "Cypria" that
Alexandrus came with Helen to Ilium from Sparta in three days, enjoying
a favourable wind and calm sea.
Fragment #11--Scholiast on Homer, Il. iii. 242: For Helen had been
previously carried off by Theseus, and it was in consequence of this
earlier rape that Aphidna, a town in Attica, was sacked and Castor was
wounded in the right thigh by Aphidnus who was king at that time. Then
the Dioscuri, failing to find Theseus, sacked Athens. The story is in
the Cyclic writers.
Plutarch, Thes. 32: Hereas relates that Alycus was killed by Theseus
himself near Aphidna, and quotes the following verses in evidence: 'In
spacious Aphidna Theseus slew him in battle long ago for rich-haired
Helen's sake. ' [3004]
Fragment #12--Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. x. 114: (ll. 1-6) 'Straightway
Lynceus, trusting in his swift feet, made for Taygetus. He climbed its
highest peak and looked throughout the whole isle of Pelops, son
of Tantalus; and soon the glorious hero with his dread eyes saw
horse-taming Castor and athlete Polydeuces both hidden within a hollow
oak. '
Philodemus, On Piety: (Stasinus? ) writes that Castor was killed with a
spear shot by Idas the son of Aphareus.
Fragment #13--Athenaeus, 35 C: 'Menelaus, know that the gods made wine
the best thing for mortal man to scatter cares. '
Fragment #14--Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles, Elect. 157: Either he
follows Homer who spoke of the three daughters of Agamemnon, or--like
the writer of the "Cypria"--he makes them four, (distinguishing)
Iphigeneia and Iphianassa.
Fragment #15--[3005] Contest of Homer and Hesiod: 'So they feasted all
day long, taking nothing from their own houses; for Agamemnon, king of
men, provided for them. '
Fragment #16--Louvre Papyrus: 'I never thought to enrage so terribly the
stout heart of Achilles, for very well I loved him. '
Fragment #17--Pausanias, iv. 2. 7: The poet of the "Cypria" says that
the wife of Protesilaus--who, when the Hellenes reached the Trojan
shore, first dared to land--was called Polydora, and was the daughter of
Meleager, the son of Oeneus.
Fragment #18--Eustathius, 119. 4: Some relate that Chryseis was taken
from Hypoplacian [3006] Thebes, and that she had not taken refuge there
nor gone there to sacrifice to Artemis, as the author of the "Cypria"
states, but was simply a fellow townswoman of Andromache.
Fragment #19--Pausanias, x. 31. 2: I know, because I have read it in the
epic "Cypria", that Palamedes was drowned when he had gone out fishing,
and that it was Diomedes and Odysseus who caused his death.
Fragment #20--Plato, Euthyphron, 12 A: 'That it is Zeus who has done
this, and brought all these things to pass, you do not like to say; for
where fear is, there too is shame. '
Fragment #21--Herodian, On Peculiar Diction: 'By him she conceived and
bare the Gorgons, fearful monsters who lived in Sarpedon, a rocky island
in deep-eddying Oceanus. '
Fragment #22--Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis vii. 2. 19: Again,
Stasinus says: 'He is a simple man who kills the father and lets the
children live. '
THE AETHIOPIS (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: The "Cypria", described in
the preceding book, has its sequel in the "Iliad" of Homer, which is
followed in turn by the five books of the "Aethiopis", the work
of Arctinus of Miletus. Their contents are as follows. The Amazon
Penthesileia, the daughter of Ares and of Thracian race, comes to aid
the Trojans, and after showing great prowess, is killed by Achilles and
buried by the Trojans. Achilles then slays Thersites for abusing and
reviling him for his supposed love for Penthesileia. As a result a
dispute arises amongst the Achaeans over the killing of Thersites, and
Achilles sails to Lesbos and after sacrificing to Apollo, Artemis, and
Leto, is purified by Odysseus from bloodshed.
Then Memnon, the son of Eos, wearing armour made by Hephaestus, comes to
help the Trojans, and Thetis tells her son about Memnon.
A battle takes place in which Antilochus is slain by Memnon and
Memnon by Achilles. Eos then obtains of Zeus and bestows upon her son
immortality; but Achilles routs the Trojans, and, rushing into the city
with them, is killed by Paris and Apollo. A great struggle for the body
then follows, Aias taking up the body and carrying it to the ships,
while Odysseus drives off the Trojans behind. The Achaeans then bury
Antilochus and lay out the body of Achilles, while Thetis, arriving with
the Muses and her sisters, bewails her son, whom she afterwards catches
away from the pyre and transports to the White Island. After this, the
Achaeans pile him a cairn and hold games in his honour. Lastly a dispute
arises between Odysseus and Aias over the arms of Achilles.
Fragment #2--Scholiast on Homer, Il. xxiv. 804: Some read: 'Thus they
performed the burial of Hector. Then came the Amazon, the daughter of
great-souled Ares the slayer of men. '
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Pindar, Isth. iii. 53: The author of the
"Aethiopis" says that Aias killed himself about dawn.
THE LITTLE ILIAD (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: Next comes the "Little Iliad"
in four books by Lesches of Mitylene: its contents are as follows. The
adjudging of the arms of Achilles takes place, and Odysseus, by the
contriving of Athena, gains them. Aias then becomes mad and destroys the
herd of the Achaeans and kills himself. Next Odysseus lies in wait and
catches Helenus, who prophesies as to the taking of Troy, and Diomede
accordingly brings Philoctetes from Lemnos. Philoctetes is healed by
Machaon, fights in single combat with Alexandrus and kills him: the dead
body is outraged by Menelaus, but the Trojans recover and bury it. After
this Deiphobus marries Helen, Odysseus brings Neoptolemus from Scyros
and gives him his father's arms, and the ghost of Achilles appears to
him.
Eurypylus the son of Telephus arrives to aid the Trojans, shows his
prowess and is killed by Neoptolemus. The Trojans are now closely
besieged, and Epeius, by Athena's instruction, builds the wooden horse.
Odysseus disfigures himself and goes in to Ilium as a spy, and there
being recognized by Helen, plots with her for the taking of the city;
after killing certain of the Trojans, he returns to the ships. Next
he carries the Palladium out of Troy with help of Diomedes. Then after
putting their best men in the wooden horse and burning their huts, the
main body of the Hellenes sail to Tenedos. The Trojans, supposing their
troubles over, destroy a part of their city wall and take the wooden
horse into their city and feast as though they had conquered the
Hellenes.
Fragment #2--Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: 'I sing of Ilium and
Dardania, the land of fine horses, wherein the Danai, followers of Ares,
suffered many things. '
Fragment #3--Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and Aristophanes
ib: The story runs as follows: Aias and Odysseus were quarrelling as
to their achievements, says the poet of the "Little Iliad", and Nestor
advised the Hellenes to send some of their number to go to the foot
of the walls and overhear what was said about the valour of the heroes
named above. The eavesdroppers heard certain girls disputing, one
of them saying that Aias was by far a better man than Odysseus and
continuing as follows:
'For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus' son:
this great Odysseus cared not to do. '
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
'Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue! Even a
woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her shoulder; but she
could not fight. For she would fail with fear if she should fight. '
Fragment #4--Eustathius, 285. 34: The writer of the "Little Iliad" says
that Aias was not buried in the usual way [3101], but was simply buried
in a coffin, because of the king's anger.
Fragment #5--Eustathius on Homer, Il. 326: The author of the "Little
Iliad" says that Achilles after putting out to sea from the country
of Telephus came to land there: 'The storm carried Achilles the son of
Peleus to Scyros, and he came into an uneasy harbour there in that same
night. '
Fragment #6--Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. vi. 85: 'About the spear-shaft
was a hoop of flashing gold, and a point was fitted to it at either
end. '
Fragment #7--Scholiast on Euripides Troades, 822: '. . . the vine which the
son of Cronos gave him as a recompense for his son. It bloomed richly
with soft leaves of gold and grape clusters; Hephaestus wrought it and
gave it to his father Zeus: and he bestowed it on Laomedon as a price
for Ganymedes. '
Fragment #8--Pausanias, iii. 26. 9: The writer of the epic "Little
Iliad" says that Machaon was killed by Eurypylus, the son of Telephus.
Fragment #9--Homer, Odyssey iv. 247 and Scholiast: 'He disguised
himself, and made himself like another person, a beggar, the like of
whom was not by the ships of the Achaeans. '
The Cyclic poet uses 'beggar' as a substantive, and so means to say that
when Odysseus had changed his clothes and put on rags, there was no one
so good for nothing at the ships as Odysseus.
Fragment #10--[3102] Plutarch, Moralia, p. 153 F: And Homer put forward
the following verses as Lesches gives them: 'Muse, tell me of those
things which neither happened before nor shall be hereafter. '
And Hesiod answered:
'But when horses with rattling hoofs wreck chariots, striving for
victory about the tomb of Zeus. '
And it is said that, because this reply was specially admired, Hesiod
won the tripod (at the funeral games of Amphidamas).
Fragment #11--Scholiast on Lycophr. , 344: Sinon, as it had been arranged
with him, secretly showed a signal-light to the Hellenes. Thus Lesches
writes:--'It was midnight, and the clear moon was rising. '
Fragment #12--Pausanias, x. 25. 5: Meges is represented [3103] wounded
in the arm just as Lescheos the son of Aeschylinus of Pyrrha describes
in his "Sack of Ilium" where it is said that he was wounded in the
battle which the Trojans fought in the night by Admetus, son of Augeias.
Lycomedes too is in the picture with a wound in the wrist, and Lescheos
says he was so wounded by Agenor. . .
Pausanias, x. 26. 4: Lescheos also mentions Astynous, and here he is,
fallen on one knee, while Neoptolemus strikes him with his sword. . .
Pausanias, x. 26. 8: The same writer says that Helicaon was wounded in
the night-battle, but was recognised by Odysseus and by him conducted
alive out of the fight. . .
Pausanias, x. 27. 1: Of them [3104], Lescheos says that Eion was killed
by Neoptolemus, and Admetus by Philoctetes. . . He also says that Priam
was not killed at the heart of Zeus Herceius, but was dragged away from
the altar and destroyed off hand by Neoptolemus at the doors of the
house. . . Lescheos says that Axion was the son of Priam and was slain by
Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon. Agenor--according to the same poet--was
butchered by Neoptolemus.
Fragment #13--Aristophanes, Lysistrata 155 and Scholiast: 'Menelaus at
least, when he caught a glimpse somehow of the breasts of Helen unclad,
cast away his sword, methinks. ' Lesches the Pyrrhaean also has the same
account in his "Little Iliad".
Pausanias, x. 25. 8: Concerning Aethra Lesches relates that when Ilium
was taken she stole out of the city and came to the Hellenic camp, where
she was recognised by the sons of Theseus; and that Demophon asked her
of Agamemnon. Agamemnon wished to grant him this favour, but he would
not do so until Helen consented. And when he sent a herald, Helen
granted his request.
Fragment #14--Scholiast on Lycophr. Alex. , 1268: 'Then the bright son of
bold Achilles led the wife of Hector to the hollow ships; but her son he
snatched from the bosom of his rich-haired nurse and seized him by the
foot and cast him from a tower. So when he had fallen bloody death and
hard fate seized on Astyanax. And Neoptolemus chose out Andromache,
Hector's well-girded wife, and the chiefs of all the Achaeans gave
her to him to hold requiting him with a welcome prize. And he put
Aeneas[3105], the famous son of horse-taming Anchises, on board his
sea-faring ships, a prize surpassing those of all the Danaans. '
THE SACK OF ILIUM (fragments)
Fragment #1--Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: Next come two books of the
"Sack of Ilium", by Arctinus of Miletus with the following contents.
The Trojans were suspicious of the wooden horse and standing round it
debated what they ought to do. Some thought they ought to hurl it down
from the rocks, others to burn it up, while others said they ought to
dedicate it to Athena. At last this third opinion prevailed. Then they
turned to mirth and feasting believing the war was at an end. But at
this very time two serpents appeared and destroyed Laocoon and one of
his two sons, a portent which so alarmed the followers of Aeneas that
they withdrew to Ida. Sinon then raised the fire-signal to the Achaeans,
having previously got into the city by pretence.
