The "Aegimius" ( grc, Αἰγίμιος, ''Aigimios'') is a fragmentary

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

that was variously attributed to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

Cercops of Miletus Aegimius (Ancient Greek: Αἰγίμιος) was the Greek mythological ancestor of the Dorians, who is described as their king and lawgiver at the time when they were yet inhabiting the northern parts of Thessaly. Mythology Aegimius asked Hera ...

during antiquity.. The "

Aegimius Aegimius (Ancient Greek: Αἰγίμιος) was the Greek mythological ancestor of the Dorians, who is described as their king and lawgiver at the time when they were yet inhabiting the northern parts of Thessaly. Mythology Aegimius asked Hera ...

" of the title was surely the son of

Dorus In Greek mythology, Dorus ( grc, Δῶρος probably derived from ''doron'' "gift") was the Eponym, eponymous founder of the Dorians. Family Each of Hellen, Hellen's sons founded a primary tribe of Greece: Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus the Aeo ...

, but the surviving fragments have nothing to do directly with this figure, and, despite his status as

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

, it cannot be inferred from the available evidence that the poem was primarily concerned with the Dorian king.. Instead other myths, such as those concerning Io,

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

, and the

golden fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where P ...

, are found among the handful of fragments preserved in other ancient authors as quotations and

paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

Content

Next to nothing is known of poem's overarching plot or structure aside from the fact that it was at least two books in length:

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

and the

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

preserve fragments which they assign to "the second book of the ''Aegimius''". One of the fragments cited for book 2 relates the gruesome story that

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

cast numerous of her children by

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biograp ...

into a cauldron of boiling water to see whether they were mortal, before her husband intervened in the case of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

.''Aegimius'' 300 Merkelbach–West. Other isolated fragments concern the

Graeae In Greek mythology the Graeae ( grc, Γραῖαι; ; English translation: "old women", "grey ones", or "grey witches"; alternatively spelled Graiai and Graiae) were three sisters who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one t ...

( 295), Nauplius (fr. 297),

Phrixus In Greek mythology Phrixus (; also spelt Phryxus; el, Φρίξος, ''Phrixos'' means "standing on end, bristling") was the son of Athamas, king of Boeotia, and Nephele (a goddess of clouds). He was the twin brother of Helle and the father of ...

(fr. 299) and a rare Greek word for a "cool shady place" (, ''psyktērion'') found in a context-less hexameter quoted by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

(''

Deipnosophistae The ''Deipnosophistae'' is an early 3rd-century AD Greek work ( grc, Δειπνοσοφισταί, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. "The Dinner Sophists/Philosophers/Experts") by the Greek author Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of liter ...

'' 11.109.503c–d = fr. 301): The small scraps of information found in these fragments represent most of our knowledge of the ''Aegimius''' content, but the poem's greatest points of literary historical interest are found in its treatments of the myths of Io and Theseus.

Authorship

If the story of Heracles' participation in Aegimius' battle with the Lapiths played a major role in the ''Aegimius'', it is possible the great hero's prominence in the poem contributed to its being attributed to Hesiod, for the remains of three other poems anciently credited to him—the ''

Shield of Heracles The ''Shield of Heracles'' ( grc, Ἀσπὶς Ἡρακλέους, ''Aspis Hērakleous'') is an archaic Greek epic poem that was attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. The subject of the poem is the expedition of Heracles and Iolaus against Cyc ...

'', ''

Megalai Ehoiai The ''Megalai Ehoiai'' ( grc, Μεγάλαι Ἠοῖαι, ), or ''Great Ehoiai'', is a fragmentary Greek epic poem that was popularly, though not universally, attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Like the more widely read Hesiodic ''Catalogue o ...

'' and ''

Wedding of Ceyx The "Wedding of Ceyx" ( grc, Κήυκος γάμος, ''Kḗykos gámos'') is a Lost works, fragmentary Ancient Greek dactylic hexameter, hexameter poem that was attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. The poem did not only deal with the wedding of ...

''—betray a preoccupation with Heracles.

Select editions and translations

Critical editions

* ''Hesiodi, Eumeli, Cinaethonis, Asii et Carminis Naupactii fragmenta'', Guil. Marckscheffel (ed.), Lipsiae, sumtibus Fr. Chr. Guil. Vogelii, 1840
pp. 347-51
* ''Hesiodi carmina'',

Johann Friedrich Dübner Johann Friedrich Dübner (20 December 180213 December 1867) was a German classical scholar (naturalized a Frenchman). Biography He was born in Hörselgau, near Gotha. After studying at the University of Göttingen he returned to Gotha, where from ...

(ed.), Parisiis, editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot, 1841
pp. 47-8
* . * . * .

Translations

* . (The link is to the 1st edition of 1914.) * . * .

Notes

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . {{Authority control Ancient Greek epic poems Lost poems Hesiod