Asius of Samos
Encyclopedia
Asius of Samos
was an ancient Greek poet whose work survives in the form of fragments quoted by other ancient authors. All that is known about the man is that he was from Samos
and that his father's name was Amphiptolemus. His era is inferred from the style and content of the remains, which suit the archaizing movement of the sixth century BCE. Antiquity left no titles or synopses, so the number, scope and focus of his works is unknown, but to judge from the ancient testimonia and the content of the fragments themselves he appears to have specialized in genealogical
epic
comparable to the fragmentary Hesiodic Catalogue of Women
. Asius' preserved genealogies show a preoccupation with Hesiod
's Boeotia
, in addition to details concerning his own native Samos. In addition to the 13 fragments surviving from his hexametric
poetry, there is a short and enigmatic fragment in elegiacs
.
Samoš
Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...
was an ancient Greek poet whose work survives in the form of fragments quoted by other ancient authors. All that is known about the man is that he was from Samos
Samoš
Samoš is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Kovačica municipality, in the South Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,247 people .-See also:...
and that his father's name was Amphiptolemus. His era is inferred from the style and content of the remains, which suit the archaizing movement of the sixth century BCE. Antiquity left no titles or synopses, so the number, scope and focus of his works is unknown, but to judge from the ancient testimonia and the content of the fragments themselves he appears to have specialized in genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
epic
Epic
-Comics:* Epic Comics, an imprint of Marvel Comics* Epic Illustrated, a 1980s anthology series published by Marvel Comics-Gaming:* Epic , a 1992 computer game* Epic , a series of wargames...
comparable to the fragmentary Hesiodic Catalogue of Women
Catalogue of Women
thumb|275px|[[Guido Reni]]'s first Atalanta e Ippomene , depicting the race of [[Atalanta]], a myth which was known to Reni from [[Ovid]]'s [[Metamorphoses]], but is now also represented by several fragments of the Catalogue of Women.The Catalogue of Women —also known as...
. Asius' preserved genealogies show a preoccupation with Hesiod
Hesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
's Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
, in addition to details concerning his own native Samos. In addition to the 13 fragments surviving from his hexametric
Dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical epic poetry in both Greek and Latin, and was consequently considered to be the Grand Style of classical poetry...
poetry, there is a short and enigmatic fragment in elegiacs
Elegiac couplet
The elegiac couplet is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Ovid, adopted the same form in Latin many years later...
.