Quintus Smyrnaeus (also known as
Kointos Smyrnaios) was a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
epicAn epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
whose
Posthomerica, following "after Homer" continues the narration of the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
.
The dates of Smyrnaeus's life are controversial, but they are traditionally placed in the latter part of the fourth century. "His date is approximately settled by two passages in the poem, viz. vi. 531 sqq., in which occurs an illustration drawn from the
man-and-beast fights of the amphitheatreA Gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
, which were suppressed by
Theodosius IFlavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire...
.
Quintus Smyrnaeus (also known as
Kointos Smyrnaios) was a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
epicAn epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
whose
Posthomerica, following "after Homer" continues the narration of the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
.
The dates of Smyrnaeus's life are controversial, but they are traditionally placed in the latter part of the fourth century. "His date is approximately settled by two passages in the poem, viz. vi. 531 sqq., in which occurs an illustration drawn from the
man-and-beast fights of the amphitheatreA Gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
, which were suppressed by
Theodosius IFlavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire...
. (379-395 A.D.); and xiii. 335 sqq., which contains a prophecy, the special particularity of which, it is maintained by Tychsen and Koechly, limits its applicability to the middle of the fourth century A.D."
Some scholars suggest an earlier date in the 3rd or even the 2nd century, arguing that his
PosthomericaThe Posthomerica is an epic poem by Quintus of Smyrna, probably written in the latter half of the 4th century, and telling the story of the period between the death of Hektor and the fall of Ilium...
shows an influence from the "
Second SophisticThe Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek writers who flourished from the reign of Nero until c.230 AD and who were catalogued and celebrated by Philostratus in his Lives of the Sophists...
", the school of Greek orators who flourished in the first and second centuries. According to his own account (xii. 310), he began composing poetry in his early youth while tending sheep near Smyrna (present-day
İzmirİzmir, historically Smyrna, is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's largest port after Istanbul. It is located along the outlying waters of the Gulf of İzmir, by the Aegean Sea. It is the seat of İzmir Province, which has an area of 7350 km
2...
). His epic in fourteen books, known as the
Posthomerica, covers the period between the end of
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
's
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem recounting significant events during a portion of the final year of the Trojan War — the Greek siege of the city of Ilion — hence the title...
and the end of the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
. Its primary importance is as the earliest surviving work to cover this period, the archaic works in the Epic Cycle, which he knew and drew upon, having been lost.
His materials are borrowed from the cyclic poems from which
VirgilPublius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him.The son of a farmer, Virgil came to be...
(with whose works he was probably acquainted) also drew, in particular the
Aethiopis (
Coming of Memnon) and the
Iliupersis (
Destruction of Troy) of
Arctinus of MiletusArctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of Homer. Phaenias of Eresus placed him in the 7th century BC and claimed that he was...
and the
Ilias Mikra (
Little Iliad) of
LeschesLesches is a semi-legendary early Greek poet and the reputed author of the Little Iliad. According to the usually accepted tradition, he was a native of Pyrrha in Lesbos, and flourished about 660 BC...
. His work is closely modelled on Homer, though Quintus is almost universally considered an inferior poet and a clumsy imitator of the Homeric style.
The
Editio princepsIn classical scholarship, editio princeps is a term of art. It means, roughly, the first printed edition of a work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which were therefore circulated only after being copied by hand.For example, the editio princeps of Homer is that of Demetrius...
by
Aldus ManutiusAldus Pius Manutius , the Latinized name of Teobaldo Mannucci, sometimes called Aldus Manutius, the Elder, to distinguish him from his grandson, Aldus Manutius, the Younger, was an Italian humanist who became a printer and publisher when he founded the Aldine Press at Venice.His publishing legacy...
was published at Venice, 1504 under the title
Quinti Calabri derelictorum ab Homero libri XIV. Venetiis: in aedibus Aldi. Aldus calls him
Quintus Calaber, because the only known manuscript of his poem was discovered at
OtrantoOtranto is a town and commune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses....
in
CalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the...
by Cardinal Bessarion, in 1450. His familiar name was first given him by his editor Lorenz Rhodomann, in 1577, who included a Latin translation by
Michael NeanderMichael Neander was a German teacher, mathematician, medical academic, and astronomer....
.
There has been a renewed interest in the poet and his poem in the last several decades, with a new edition of the text with partial commentary and French translation done by Francis Vian (published by Bude); Combellack's publication of an English translation (now in print only through Barnes and Noble);
Alan JamesAlan James was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 79 films between 1916 and 1943...
and Kevin Lee's detailed commentary on book 5; and Alan James's well-regarded English translation, with newly edited text and commentary.
The Posthomerica
The first four books, covering the same ground as the
Coming of Memnon of
Arctinus of MiletusArctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of Homer. Phaenias of Eresus placed him in the 7th century BC and claimed that he was...
, describe the doughty deeds and deaths of Penthesileia the
AmazonThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
, of
MemnonMemnon may refer to:* Saint Memnon the Wonderworker — early Christian saint from Egypt, hermit and hegumen of one of Egyptian monasteries* Memnon and those erroneously named after him in the Graeco-Roman era:...
, son of
EosEos is, in Greek mythology, the Titanic goddess of the dawn, who rose from her home at the edge of Oceanus, the Ocean that surrounds the world, to herald her brother Helios, the sun....
, the dawn goddess, slain by Achilles, and of
AchillesIn Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Achilles also has the attributes of being the most handsome of the heroes assembled against Troy....
himself; and the funeral games in his honour.
Books five through twelve, covering the same ground as the
Little Iliad of
LeschesLesches is a semi-legendary early Greek poet and the reputed author of the Little Iliad. According to the usually accepted tradition, he was a native of Pyrrha in Lesbos, and flourished about 660 BC...
, span the contest between Aias and
OdysseusOdysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey...
for the arms of Achilles, the death of Aias of suicide after his loss, the exploits of
NeoptolemusNeoptolemus was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology. Achilles' mother foretold many years before Achilles birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war...
,
EurypylusIn Greek mythology, Eurypylus was the name of several different people.-Son of Thestius:One Eurypylus was a son of Thestius. He participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, during which he insulted Atalanta and was killed by Meleager.-Son of Euaemon:Another Eurypylus was a Thessalian king,...
and
DeiphobusIn Greek mythology, Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris....
, the deaths of
ParisParis , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
and
OenoneIn Greek mythology, Oenone was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for the queen Helen of Sparta....
, and the building of the
wooden horseThe Trojan Horse was a tale from the Trojan War, as told in Virgil's Latin epic poem The Aeneid. The events in this story from the Bronze Age took place after Homer's Iliad, and before Homer's Odyssey. It was the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the...
.
The remaining books, covering the same ground as Arctinus'
Destruction of Troy, relate the capture of Troy by means of the wooden horse, the sacrifice of
PolyxenaPolyxena , Greek Πολυξένη, was known to be a beautiful Trojan princess from Greek mythology. She is the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. She is considered the Trojan version of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Polyxena is not in Homer's Iliad,...
at the grave of Achilles, the departure of the Greeks, and their dispersal by storm.
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