marriage with Peleus, the episode of the golden apple, the
judgment of Paris, the kidnapping of Helen, the mustering of the Greek
forces, and the main events of the first nine years of the Trojan War.
The Iliad (of which a synopsis is given) follows this epic, taking up
the story where the wrath of Achilles is aroused and ending it with
the funeral of Hector.
This, however, does not conclude the story of the Trojan War, which is
resumed in the "Aethiopia," in five books, by Arctinus of Miletus.
After describing the arrival of Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, to
aid the Trojans, the poet relates her death at the hand of Achilles,
who, in his turn, is slain by Apollo and Paris. This epic concludes
with the famous dispute between Ajax and Ulysses for the possession of
Achilles' armor.
The Little Iliad, whose authorship is ascribed to sundry poets,
including Homer, next describes the madness and death of Ajax, the
arrival of Philoctetes with the arrows of Hercules, the death of
Paris, the purloining of the Palladium, the stratagem of the wooden
horse, and the death of Priam.
In the Ilion Persis, or Sack of Troy, by Arctinus, in two books, we
find the Trojans hesitating whether to convey the wooden steed into
their city, and discover the immortal tales of the traitor Sinon and
that of Laocoon. We then behold the taking and sacking of the city,
with the massacre of the men and the carrying off into captivity of
the women.
In the Nostroi, or Homeward Voyage, by Agias of Troezene, the Atridae
differ in opinion; so, while Agamemnon delays his departure to offer
propitiatory sacrifices, Menelaus sets sail for Egypt, where he is
detained. This poem also contains the narrative of Agamemnon's return,
of his assassination, and of the way in which his death was avenged by
his son Orestes.
Next in sequence of events comes the Odyssey of Homer (of which a
complete synopsis follows), and then the Telegonia of Eugammon of
Cyrene, in two books. This describes how, after the burial of the
suitors, Ulysses renews his adventures, and visits Thesprotia, where
he marries and leaves a son. We also have his death, a battle between
two of his sons, and the marriage of Telemachus and Circe, as well as
that of the widowed Penelope to Telegonus, one of Ulysses'
descendants.
Another sequel, or addition to the Odyssey, is found in the
Telemachia, also a Greek poem, as well as in a far more modern work,
the French classic, Telemaque, wr
|