“THE EPIC CYCLE”
Illustration: Richard Armour, The Classics Reclassified, 1960, p. 2.
Cyclic epics presupposed Homer and were complementary to him in subject matter. Many were lost by Alexandrian times (post 322 BCE).
Trojan Cycle of Epics. Source of titles and summaries: the Chrestomathia of Proclus (2nd century CE, teacher of Marcus Aurelius) preserved in the Bibliotecha of Photius the Patriarch of Constantinople (810-893 CE); also, some are in some manuscripts of the Iliad.
1. Cypria epic. Tells what happened before the Iliad. Zeus decides to reduce the human population by war. The marriage of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles’ parents),the Judgment of Paris,the Rape of Helen, The Greeks at Aulis, the War at Troy.
2. Aethiopis. (probably late 7th c. BCE). In five books, by Arctinus of Miletus. The exploits of Achilles: his victory over the Amazon Queen Penthesilea and Memnon (of Ethiopia); his death at the hands of Paris and Apollo. His funeral.
3. Iliou Persis. (Sacking of Troy) by Arctinus of Miletus.
4. Little Iliad. In four books. The events after Hector’s death.
5. Nostoi (Returns). Catalogues of heroes’ homecomings.
6. Telegonia. By Eugamnon of Cyrene (middle 6th cent. BCE). A continuation of the Odyssey. Telegonus, son of Odysseus by Circe, lands in Ithaca in search of his father. On a plundering foray he meets and kills Odysseus. Telegonus marries Penelope, Telemachus marries Circe. What other myth does this remind us of?
Other works attributed to Homer:
1. Homeric Hymns. Songs in dactylic hexameter telling of important events in the lives of the gods. Perhaps prologues to the recitationof epic poems. Many extant. They make great reading
2. Batrachomyomachia. Battle of the Forgs and Mice. A parody of epic battle scenes. This is extant, short and fun to read.
3. Margites. A tale of a fool. Only fragments and summaries are available. Hexameters mixed with iambic lines -the precursor of satire. Margites can only with great difficulty be prevailed upon by his young wife to discharge his marital duties.
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