The Greek epic cycle / Malcolm Davies.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davies, Malcolm, 1951-

Series:

Bristol classical paperbacks

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Epic poetry, Greek--History and criticism.

Epic poetry, Greek.

Trojan War--Literature and the war.

Trojan War.

Troy (Extinct city)--In literature.

Troy (Extinct city).

Mythology, Greek, in literature.

Cycles (Literature).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 93 pages).

Edition:

Second edition.

Manufacture:

2001.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Bristol Classical Press, 1989.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

"In the wake of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, poets of the seventh and sixth centuries BC composed epics which covered other parts of the Trojan War story or different areas of Greek mythology. Quotations from them and other testimonies as to their content survive in later authors and the evidence thus assembled allows us to reconstruct something of the poems' contents. Collectively these poems came to be known by Hellenistic scholars in Alexandria as 'The Epic Cycle'. With their often grotesque and fantastic tales, the cyclic poems were an important source for later writers of epic. Yet they also present a wealth of fascinating mythological details in their own right and provide absorbing variation on the traditional themes presented in Homer. Why are certain themes frequently used, while others are neglected in various poems? Such considerations enhance an overall appreciation of epic theme and outlook. This short study provides an introduction to the Cycle for students and scholars of Greek epic, and of Classical civilisation and mythology more generally. All quotations are translated, making the material accessible to those with little or no Greek."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

1. The Epic Cycle 1

2. The Titanomachy 13

3. The Oedipodeia 19

4. The Thebais 22

5. The Epigoni 29

6. The Cypria 32

7. The Aethiopis 51

8. The Little Iliad 60

9. The Sack of Troy 71

10. The Returns Home 77

11. The Telegony 84.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 11-12) and index.

Other Format:

Original

ISBN:

9781472540294

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.