The ''Iliupersis'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: , ''Iliou persis'', "Sack of Ilium"), also known as ''The Sack of Troy'', is a lost epic of ancient

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the entire history of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

in epic verse. The story of the ''Iliou persis'' comes chronologically after that of the ''

Little Iliad The ''Little Iliad'' (Greek: , ''Ilias mikra''; la, parva Illias) is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the entire history of the Trojan War in epic verse. The story of t ...

'', and is followed by the ''

Nostoi The ''Nostoi'' ( el, Νόστοι, ''Nostoi'', "Returns"), also known as ''Returns'' or ''Returns of the Greeks'', is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the entire history ...

'' ("Returns"). The ''Iliou persis'' was sometimes attributed by ancient writers to Arctinus of Miletus (8th century BCE) (see Cyclic poets). The poem comprised two books of verse in

dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable ...

Date

The ''Iliou persis'' was probably composed in the seventh century BCE, but there is much uncertainty. Ancient sources date Arctinus to the eighth century BCE, but evidence concerning another of his poems, the '' Aethiopis'', suggests that he lived considerably later than that.

Content

Only ten lines of the original text of the ''Iliou persis'' survive. For its storyline we are almost entirely dependent on a summary of the Cyclic epics contained in the ''

Chrestomathy A chrestomathy ( ; from the Ancient Greek (, “desire of learning”) = (, “useful”) + (, “learn”)) is a collection of selected literary passages (usually from a single author); a selection of literary passages from a foreign language ...

'' written by an unknown Proclus (possibly to be identified with the 2nd century CE grammarian Eutychius Proclus). A few other references give indications of the poem's storyline. A further impression of the poem's content may be gained from book 2 of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of th ...

'' (written many centuries after the ''Iliou persis''), which tells the story from a Trojan point of view. Note that different sources record some details differently: for example the manner of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

' departure from Troy, or the identity of

Astyanax In Greek mythology, Astyanax (; grc, Ἀστυάναξ ''Astyánax'', "lord of the city") was the son of Hector, the crown prince of Troy, and his wife, Princess Andromache of Cilician Thebe."Astyanax". ''Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Oxford, 1 ...

's killer. The version told here specifically follows what is known of the early epic poem, rather than any other source. The poem opens with the Trojans discussing what to do with the wooden horse which the Greeks have left behind: some thought they ought to hurl it down from the rocks, others to burn it up, while others say they ought to dedicate it to Athena. The third opinion prevails, and the Trojans celebrate their apparent victory. The god

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

, meanwhile, sends an ill omen of two snakes which kill

Laocoön Laocoön (; grc, , Laokóōn, , gen.: ), is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoon was a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents, sent by the gods. The story of Laocoön has been the su ...

and one of his two sons; seeing this,

and his men leave Troy in anticipation of what is to come. When night comes, signalled by Sinon, the Greek warriors inside the horse emerge and open the city gates to let in the Greek army, having sailed back from

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...

. The Trojans are massacred, and the Greeks set fire to the city.

Neoptolemus In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), also called Pyrrhus (; ), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Ep ...

kills king Priam, even though he has taken refuge at the altar of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

;

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

kills

Deiphobus In Greek mythology, Deiphobus ( grc, , Dēḯphobos) was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris. Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War. Description Deiphob ...

and takes back his wife Helen;

Ajax the Lesser Ajax ( grc, Αἴας ''Aias'' means "of the earth".) was a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris. He was called the "lesser" or "Locrian" Ajax, to distinguish him from Ajax the Great, son of Telamon. He was the leader ...

wrests

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be belie ...

from the altar of

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

, incurring physical damage to the idol. The Greeks determine that they should stone Ajax in retribution, but he in turn also takes refuge at the altar of Athena. Odysseus kills

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

's baby son

and

takes Hector's wife

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...

captive. The Greeks make a human sacrifice of Priam's daughter

Polyxena In Greek mythology, Polyxena (; Greek: ) was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. She does not appear in Homer, but in several other classical authors, though the details of her story vary considerably. After the ...

at Achilles' tomb. Athena formulates a plan to inflict revenge upon the Greeks concurrent with their nautical return.

Editions

*Online editions (English translation):
Fragments of the ''Iliou persis''
translated by H.G. Evelyn-White, 1914 (public domain)
Fragments of complete Epic Cycle
translated by H.G. Evelyn-White, 1914;

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

edition *Print editions (Greek): **A. Bernabé 1987, ''Poetarum epicorum Graecorum testimonia et fragmenta'' pt. 1 (Leipzig:

Teubner The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collection published of ancient (and some medieval) ...

) **M. Davies 1988, ''Epicorum Graecorum fragmenta'' (Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht) *Print editions (Greek with English translation): **M.L. West 2003, ''Greek Epic Fragments'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

)

References

* Abrantes, M.C. (2016), ''Themes of the Trojan Cycle: Contribution to the study of the greek mythological tradition'' (Coimbra). * Burgess, Jonathan S., ''The Tradition of the Trojan War in Homer and the Epic Cycle'', The Johns Hopkins University Press, (2004). . (p. 180). * Davies, Malcolm; ''Greek Epic Cycle'', Duckworth Publishers; 2 edition (May 2, 2001). . * Evelyn-White, Hugh G., ''Hesiod the Homeric Hymns and Homerica'', BiblioBazaar (March 13, 2007). . {{Authority control 7th-century BC books 7th-century BC poems Epic Cycle Lost poems