| Cypria | |
|---|---|
| byStasinus | |
| Written | c. 7th century BCE |
| Country | Ancient Greece |
| Language | Ancient Greek |
| Genre | Epic poetry |
| Followed by | Iliad |
TheCypria (/ˈsɪpri.ə/;[1]Ancient Greek:Κύπρια,romanized: Kýpria;Latin:Cypria) is a lostepic poem of ancientGreek literature, which has been attributed toStasinus and was quite well known inclassical antiquity[2] and fixed in a received text, but which subsequently was lost to view. It was part of theEpic Cycle, which told the entire history of theTrojan War in epic hexameter verse. The story of theCypria comes chronologically at the beginning of the Epic Cycle, and is followed by that of theIliad; the composition of the two was apparently in the reverse order. The poem comprised eleven books of verse in epicdactylic hexameters.
TheCypria, in the written form in which it was known inclassical Greece, was probably composed in the late seventh century BCE,[3] but there is much uncertainty. The Cyclic Poets, as the translator of Homerica Hugh G. Evelyn-White noted,[4] "were careful not to trespass upon ground already occupied byHomer," one of the reasons for dating the final, literary form ofCypria as post-Homeric, in effect a "prequel". "The author of theKypria already regarded theIliad as a text. Any reading of theKypria will show it preparing for events for (specifically) theIliad in order to refer back to them, for instance the sale ofLycaon toLemnos or the kitting out ofAchilles withBriseis andAgamemnon withChryseis".[5] A comparison can be made with theAethiopis, also lost, but which even in its quoted fragments is more independent of theIliad as text.
The stories contained in theCypria, on the other hand, were fixed[6] much earlier than that, and the same problems of datingoral traditions associated with theHomeric epics also apply to theCypria. Many or all of the stories in theCypria were known to the composer(s) of theIliad andOdyssey. TheCypria, in presupposing an acquaintance with the events of the Homeric poem, in the received view thus formed a kind of introduction to theIliad[7] though there is an overlap in events from the death ofPalamedes, including the catalogue of Trojan allies.[8] J. Marks observes that "Indeed, the junction would be seamless if theKypria simply ended with the death of Palamedes."[9]
The titleCypria, associating the epic withCyprus,[10] demanded some explanation: the epic was said in one ancient tradition[11] to have been given byHomer as a dowry to his son-in-law, aStasinus of Cyprus mentioned in no other context; there was apparently an allusion to this in a lost Nemean ode byPindar. Some later writers repeated the story. It did at least serve to explain why theCypria was attributed by some to Homer and by others to Stasinus. Others, however, ascribed the poem to Hegesias (or Hegesinus) of Salamis in Cyprus or to Cyprias of Halicarnassus (seeCyclic Poets).
It is possible that the "Trojan Battle Order" (the list ofTrojans and their allies, ofIliad 2.816–876, which forms an appendix to theCatalogue of Ships) is abridged from that in theCypria, which was known to contain in its final book a list of the Trojan allies.
In current critical editions only about fifty lines survive of theCypria's original text, quoted by others. For the content we are almost entirely dependent on a prose summary of the Cyclic epics contained in theChrestomathy attributed to an unknown "Proclus" (possibly to be identified with the 2nd-century AD grammarianEutychius Proclus, or else with an otherwise unknown 5th-century grammarian).[12] Many other passing references give further minor indications of the poem's storyline.
What follows embeds reports of known content of theCypria in a retelling of the known events leading up to the anger of Achilles.
The poem narrates the origins of theTrojan War and its first events. It begins with the decision of Zeus to relieve the Earth of the burden of population through war, a decision with familiar Mesopotamian parallels.[13] The war of theSeven against Thebes ensues.
TheCypria described the wedding ofPeleus andThetis; in theJudgement of Paris[14] among the goddessesAthena,Hera, andAphrodite: Paris awards the prize for beauty to Aphrodite, and as a prize is awardedHelen, wife ofMenelaus.
Then Paris builds his ships at Aphrodite's suggestion, andHelenus foretells the future to him, and Aphrodite ordersAeneas to sail with him, whileCassandra prophesies the outcome. InLacedaemon the Trojans are entertained by the sons ofTyndareus,Castor and Pollux, and by Menelaus, who then sets sail for Crete, ordering Helen to furnish the guests with all they require.[15] Aphrodite brings Helen and Paris together, and he takes her and herdowry back to his home ofTroy with an episode atSidon, which Paris and his men successfully storm.
In the meantime Castor and Pollux, while stealing the cattle ofIdas andLynceus, are caught and killed: Zeus gives them immortality that they share every other day.
Iris informs Menelaus, who returns to plan an expedition against Ilium with his brotherAgamemnon. They set out to assemble the former suitors of Helen, who had sworn an oath to defend the rights of whichever one won her hand.Nestor in a digression tells Menelaus howEpopeus was destroyed after seducing the daughter ofLycus, the story ofOedipus, the madness ofHeracles, and the story ofTheseus andAriadne. In gathering the leaders, they detectOdysseus' feigned madness.
The assembled leaders offer ill-omened sacrifice atAulis, where the prophetCalchas warns the Greeks that the war will last ten years. They reach the city ofTeuthras inMysia and sack it in error for Ilium:Telephus comes to the city's rescue and is wounded byAchilles. The fleet scattered by storm, Achilles puts in atSkyros and marriesDeidameia, the daughter ofLycomedes, then heals Telephus, so that he might be their guide to Ilium.
When the Achaeans have been mustered a second time at Aulis, Agamemnon is persuaded by Calchas to sacrifice his daughterIphigenia to appease the goddessArtemis and obtain safe passage for the ships, after he offends her by killing a stag. Iphigeneia is fetched as though for marriage with Achilles.Artemis, however, snatches her away, substituting a deer on the altar, and transports her to the land of theTauri, making her immortal.
Next they sail as far asTenedos, where while they are feasting,Philoctetes is bitten by a snake and is left behind inLemnos. Here, too, Achilles quarrels with Agamemnon. A first landing at theTroad is repulsed by the Trojans, andProtesilaus is killed byHector. Achilles then killsCycnus, the son ofPoseidon, and drives the Trojans back. The Greeks take up their dead and send envoys to the Trojans demanding the surrender of Helen and the treasure. The Trojans refusing, they first attempt an assault upon the city, and then lay waste the country round about.
Achilles desires to see Helen, and Aphrodite andThetis contrive a meeting between them. The Achaeans next desire to return home, but are restrained byAchilles, who afterwards drives off the cattle ofAeneas, sacks neighbouring cities, and killsTroilus.Patroclus carries awayLycaon to Lemnos and sells him as a slave, and out of the spoils Achilles receivesBriseis as a prize, and AgamemnonChryseis.Then follow the death of Palamedes, the plan of Zeus to relieve the Trojans by detaching Achilles from the Hellenic confederacy, and a catalogue of the Trojan allies.
TheCypria was considered to be a lesser work thanHomer's two masterpieces:Aristotle criticised it for its lack of narrative cohesion and focus. It was rather a catalogue of events than a unified story.
Works related toHomer in antiquity | ||
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| Attributed to Homer |  | |
| About Homer | ||
