(ll. 1-7) Sing, clear-voiced Muses, of Hephaestus famed for inventions. With bright-eyed Athene he taught men glorious gifts throughout the world,—men who before used to dwell in caves in the mountains like wild beasts. But now that they have learned crafts through Hephaestus the famed worker, easily they live a peaceful life in their own houses the whole year round.
(l. 8) Be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant me success and prosperity!
XXI. TO APOLLO (ll. 1-4) Phoebus, of you even the swan sings with clear voice to the beating of his wings, as he alights upon the bank by the eddying river Peneus; and of you the sweet-tongued minstrel, holding his high-pitched lyre, always sings both first and last.
(l. 5) And so hail to you, lord! I seek your favour with my song.
XXII. TO POSEIDON (ll. 1-5) I begin to sing about Poseidon, the great god, mover of the earth and fruitless sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae. A two-fold office the gods allotted you, O Shaker of the Earth, to be a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships!
(ll. 6-7) Hail, Poseidon, Holder of the Earth, dark-haired lord! O blessed one, be kindly in heart and help those who voyage in ships!
XXIII. TO THE SON OF CRONOS, MOST HIGH (ll. 1-3) I will sing of Zeus, chiefest among the gods and greatest, all-seeing, the lord of all, the fulfiller who whispers words of wisdom to Themis as she sits leaning towards him.
(l. 4) Be gracious, all-seeing Son of Cronos, most excellent and great!
XXIV. TO HESTIA (ll. 1-5) Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise—draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song.
XXV. TO THE MUSES AND APOLLO (ll. 1-5) I will begin with the Muses and Apollo and Zeus. For it is through the Muses and Apollo that there are singers upon the earth and players upon the lyre; but kings are from Zeus. Happy is he whom the Muses love: sweet flows speech from his lips.
(ll. 6-7) Hail, children of Zeus! Give honour to my song! And now I will remember you and another song also.
XXVI. TO DIONYSUS (ll. 1-9) I begin to sing of ivy-crowned Dionysus, the loud-crying god, splendid son of Zeus and glorious Semele. The rich-haired Nymphs received him in their bosoms from the lord his father and fostered and nurtured him carefully in the dells of Nysa, where by the will of his father he grew up in a sweet-smelling cave, being reckoned among the immortals. But when the goddesses had brought him up, a god oft hymned, then began he to wander continually through the woody coombes, thickly wreathed with ivy and laurel. And the Nymphs followed in his train with him for their leader; and the boundless forest was filled with their outcry.
(ll. 10-13) And so hail to you, Dionysus, god of abundant clusters! Grant that we may come again rejoicing to this season, and from that season onwards for many a year.
XXVII. TO ARTEMIS (ll. 1-20) I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earthquakes and the sea also where fishes shoal. But the goddess with a bold heart turns every way destroying the race of wild beasts: and when she is satisfied and has cheered her heart, this huntress who delights in arrows slackens her supple bow and goes to the great house of her dear brother Phoebus Apollo, to the rich land of Delphi, there to order the lovely dance of the Muses and Graces. There she hangs up her curved bow and her arrows, and heads and leads the dances, gracefully arrayed, while all they utter their heavenly voice, singing how neat-ankled Leto bare children supreme among the immortals both in thought and in deed.
(ll. 21-22) Hail to you, children of Zeus and rich-haired Leto! And now I will remember you and another song also.
XXVIII. TO ATHENA (ll. 1-16) I begin to sing of Pallas Athene, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia. From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed. But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: great Olympus began to reel horribly at the might of the bright-eyed goddess, and earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth suddenly: the bright Son of Hyperion stopped his swift-footed horses a long while, until the maiden Pallas Athene had stripped the heavenly armour from her immortal shoulders. And wise Zeus was glad.
(ll. 17-18) And so hail to you, daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis! Now I will remember you and another song as well.
XXIX. TO HESTIA (ll. 1-6) Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honour: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet,—where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last.
(ll. 7-10) 2533 And you, slayer of Argus, Son of Zeus and Maia, messenger of the blessed gods, bearer of the golden rod, giver of good, be favourable and help us, you and Hestia, the worshipful and dear. Come and dwell in this glorious house in friendship together; for you two, well knowing the noble actions of men, aid on their wisdom and their strength.
(ll. 12-13) Hail, Daughter of Cronos, and you also, Hermes, bearer of the golden rod! Now I will remember you and another song also.
XXX. TO EARTH THE MOTHER OF ALL (ll. 1-16) I will sing of well-founded Earth, mother of all, eldest of all beings. She feeds all creatures that are in the world, all that go upon the goodly land, and all that are in the paths of the seas, and all that fly: all these are fed of her store. Through you, O queen, men are blessed in their children and blessed in their harvests, and to you it belongs to give means of life to mortal men and to take it away. Happy is the man whom you delight to honour! He has all things abundantly: his fruitful land is laden with corn, his pastures are covered with cattle, and his house is filled with good things. Such men rule orderly in their cities of fair women: great riches and wealth follow them: their sons exult with ever-fresh delight, and their daughters in flower-laden bands play and skip merrily over the soft flowers of the field. Thus is it with those whom you honour O holy goddess, bountiful spirit.
(ll. 17-19) Hail, Mother of the gods, wife of starry Heaven; freely bestow upon me for this my song substance that cheers the heart! And now I will remember you and another song also.
XXXI. TO HELIOS (ll. 1-16) 2534 And now, O Muse Calliope, daughter of Zeus, begin to sing of glowing Helios whom mild-eyed Euryphaessa, the far-shining one, bare to the Son of Earth and starry Heaven. For Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios who is like the deathless gods. As he rides in his chariot, he shines upon men and deathless gods, and piercingly he gazes with his eyes from his golden helmet. 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 (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 (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.
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 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 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 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 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 THE CYPRIA 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 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 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.