Vergil's Aeneid: Commentary
The Epic Cycle: Brief Summaries
Richmond Lattimore's translation of the Iliad has a helpful
table outlining
probable attributions and dates for several of the poems. Davies and Kopff also have
good discussions of authorship and full summaries of the poems' plots.
Aethiopis
The Aethiopis was an epic in five books attributed to
Arctinus of Miletus. Its
plot seems to contain two main events: the arrival of Penthesilea the
Amazon and that of
Memnon, both of whom fight on the side of the Trojans. Achilles slays
them both, and
Thersites as well, who accuses him of being in love with the Amazon. In
addition, Achilles
is killed by Paris and Apollo, and his body is rescued by Ajax and
Odysseus.
Subsequently, Thetis takes him from his pyre to Leuce, which implies that
he was granted
immortality, a tradition that contradicts that of Homer's mortal
Achilles.
Cypria
The Cypria recounts events from the beginning of the Trojan
War to just
before the start of the Iliad. Some key events in this poem are Zeus's
decision to begin the
Trojan War in order to relieve the earth's overpopulation, the judgment
of Paris, the
sacrifice of Iphigeneia, and the death of Troilus.
Iliupersis
The Iliupersis recounts the actual sack of Troy by the
Greeks.
Little Iliad
The Little Iliad is an epic in four books attributed to
Lesches of Mytilene. Its
date is uncertain The subject matter includes Odysseus's obtaining
Achilles's arms and
Ajax's resulting madness, Deiphobus's marriage to Helen, and the making
of the Trojan
Horse.
The Little Iliad may be just a portion of one larger epic
originally formed by it,
the Aethiopis, and the Iliupersis (Davies 62-63).
Nostoi
Nostoi accounts for the returns home of Greek heroes besides
Odysseus,
focusing largely on Agamemnon and Menelaus.
(12/17/95)