The "Kiln" ( grc, Κάμινος, ''Kaminos''), or "Potters" (, ''Kerameis''), is a 23-line

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

poem that was variously attributed to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

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 ...

during antiquity, but is not considered the work of either poet by modern scholars. The poem constitutes an appeal to

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

to grant success to certain unnamed potters if they pay for the poet's song, followed by a series of curses to be enacted should they not reimburse him. It has been included among the ''

Epigrams An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two millen ...

'' of Homer, as epigram XIV.

Authorship

Although the "Kiln" is printed among the Hesiodic fragments, there is little reason to assume that it was widely attributed to Hesiod. In discussing a word for "basket" known as a (''kanastron''), Pollux cites the third verse of the poem, calling it the "Potters" and giving a tentative ascription to Hesiod: The other witnesses to the poem all belong to the Homeric biographical tradition, and it seems that the "Kiln" was composed during the 6th or 5th century BCE as part of a lost work on Homer that predates the surviving texts. According to the pseudo-Herodotean ''

Life of Homer The ''Life of Homer'', whose unknown author is referred to as Pseudo-Herodotus, is one among several ancient biographies of the Greek epic poet, Homer. It is distinguished from the others by the fact that it contains, in its first lines, the claim ...

'', the great bard was traveling through the eastern Mediterranean and happened to land on the island of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

. While there he encountered a group of potters who, aware of his fame, offered Homer some of their wares and whatever else that had on hand if he would sing for them. In response, Homer sang the "Kiln".

Synopsis

The poem opens with a dual address to Athena and the poet's audience: The goddess' potential guardianship is described next: she would make the potter's cups and dishes well-blackened and well-baked, and would make sure that these wares sold for a fair price and in large quantity in the market place, making the potters much profit (lines 3–6). Should the poet not profit as promised, he threatens to "invoke all of the kiln gremlins, Smasher and Crasher, Overblaze and Shakeapart and Underbake, who does this craft

ottery Ottery may refer to: *Ottery, Cape Town *Ottery Hundred, Devon, England **Ottery St Mary *** Ottery St Mary A.F.C. *** Ottery St Mary astronomical clock ***Ottery St Mary railway station ***The King's School, Ottery St Mary *River Ottery, Cornwall, ...

much harm.""Kiln" 9–10, trans. ( , ). Once these gremlins have cast the kiln into confusion and begun wasting the wares, mythological mischief is threatened:

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...

will come and harm the potters with her drugs, and

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

will lead in a host of

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

s to smash kiln and crafts alike (lines 15–20). The poem closes with the poet envisioning himself enjoying the destruction and offers one final curse:

Authorship

Synopsis

Select editions and translations

Critical editions

Translations

Notes

Bibliography