eul_aid: abo
Ἐπίγονοι
Epigoni
1 work

The Epigoni is an ancient Greek epic poem from the Archaic period, traditionally dated to the 8th or 7th century BCE. It belongs to a collection known as the Epic Cycle, a series of poems that narrated the mythical events surrounding the Trojan War and its origins. No biographical details about the author are known. Ancient sources sometimes credited the poem to Homer, but later scholars attributed it to a poet named Antimachus or considered it anonymous.

The poem itself is now lost, surviving only in a handful of fragments and a later prose summary. It told the story of the Epigoni, or "the descendants," who were the sons of the heroes who had previously attacked the city of Thebes and failed. The Epigoni narrates their successful second expedition to conquer the city.

According to modern scholars, the poem’s significance lies in its role within the broader mythological tradition. It provided a crucial link between the saga of Thebes and the mustering of the Greek army for the Trojan War, as some of the Epigoni were said to have later fought at Troy. Its existence illustrates how early Greek poets expanded the heroic saga beyond the stories in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The loss of the Epigoni, along with most of the Epic Cycle, represents a major gap in our knowledge of early Greek epic poetry.

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Ἐπίγονοι
Epigoni
8 passages

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