Quintus Smyrnaeus (or Quintus of Smyrna) was a Greek epic poet. For other meanings of Smyrna, see Smyrna (disambiguation). ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, and one of the major forms of narrative literature. ... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ...

Time in history

Smyrnaeus' date is controversial, but traditionally placed in the latter part of the 4th century AD, though some suggest an earlier date in the 3rd or even 2nd century AD, arguing that his Posthomerica shows an influence from the Second Sophistic. He is sometimes called Quintus Calaber, because the only known manuscript of his poem was discovered at Otranto in Calabria by Cardinal Bessarion in 1450. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century _ other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... (1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries) Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... The Posthomerica is an epic poem by Quintus of Smyrna, probably written in the latter half of the 4th century AD, and telling the story of the period between the death of Hektor and the fall of Ilium. ... The Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek showpiece orators who flourished from the reign of Nero until c. ... Country Italy Region Puglia Province Lecce (LE) Mayor Elevation 15 m Area 76 km² Population  - Total (as of December 31, 2004) 5,487  - Density 69/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Coordinates Gentilic Idruntini or Otrantini Dialing code 0836 Postal code 73028 Patron Blesses Otrantine Martyrs  - Day August 14 [[Image... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... Johannes Bessarion, or Basilius (c. ...

Career

According to his own account (xii. 310), he began composing poetry in his early youth while tending sheep near Smyrna (present-day Izmir). His epic in fourteen books, known as the Posthomerica, covers the period between the end of Homer's Iliad and the end of the Trojan War. Its primary importance is as the earliest surviving work to cover this period. Shows the Location of the Province İzmir Izmir from space, June 1996 Izmir (Turkish spelling İzmir, contraction of its former name Smyrna), the second-largest port (after İstanbul) and the third most populous city (2,409,000 in 2000) of Turkey, is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf... The Homère Caetani bust at the Louvre, a 2nd century Roman copy of a 2nd century BC Greek original. ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek , Ilias) is, together with the Odyssey, one of the two principal ancient Greek epic poems. ... The fall of Troy by Johann Georg Trautmann (1713–1769) From the collections of the granddukes of Baden, Karlsruhe The Trojan War was a war waged, according to legend, against the city of Troy in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), by the armies of the Achaeans, after Paris of Troy...

His work is closely modelled on Homer, though Quintus is almost universally considered an inferior poet and a clumsy imitator of the Homeric style. His materials are borrowed from the cyclic poems from which Virgil (with whose works he was probably acquainted) also drew, in particular the Aethiopis (Coming of Memnon) and the Iliupersis (Destruction of Troy) of Arctinus of Miletus and the Ilias Mikra (Little Iliad) of Lesches. A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Arctinus of Miletus was one of the earliest poets of Greece and contributors to the epic cycle. ... Lesches (Lescheos in Pausanias x. ...

There has been a renewed interest in the poet and his poem in the last several decades, with a new edition of the text with partial commentary and French translation done by Francis Vian (published by Bude); Combellack's publication of an English translation (now in print only through Barnes and Noble); Alan James and Kevin Lee's detailed commentary on book 5; and Alan James's well-regarded English translation, with newly edited text and commentary. A typical Barnes & Noble bookstore. ... Alan James is the bandleader of Powerhouse,[1] a leading event entertainment group based in Naples, Florida. ...

The Posthomerica

The first four books, covering the same ground as the Coming of Memnon of Arctinus of Miletus, describe the doughty deeds and deaths of Penthesileia the Amazon, of Memnon, son of the Morning, and of Achilles; and the funeral games in honour of Achilles. Arctinus of Miletus was one of the earliest poets of Greece and contributors to the epic cycle. ... In Greek mythology, Penthesilea (also spelled Penthesilia) was an Amazonian queen, daughter of Ares and Otrera, sister of Hippolyte. ... In Greek mythology, the Amazons () were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a land dominated by women at the outer edges of their known world. ... Memnon may refer to three men: Memnon (mythology), in Greek mythology Memnon (Fantasy Literature), in the Forgotten Realms setting Memnon of Heraclea was a Greek historian. ... The Wrath of Achilles, by François-Léon Benouville (1821–1859) (Musée Fabre) In Greek mythology, Achilles, also Akhilleus or Achilleus (Ancient Greek ) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad, which takes for its theme, not the War...

Books five through twelve, covering the same ground as the Little Iliad of Lesches, span from the contest between Aias and Odysseus for the arms of Achilles, the death of Aias of suicide after his loss, the exploits of Neoptolemus, Eurypylus and Deiphobus, the deaths of Paris and Oenone, to the building of the wooden horse. Lesches (Lescheos in Pausanias x. ... Aias (Greek: Αίας: Of the Earth), or Ajax, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, a legendary hero of ancient Greece. ... Odysseus and the Sirens. ... Neoptolemus Kills Priam Neoptolemus Murdered at Delphi In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus, also Neoptólemos or Pyrrhus, was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamea. ... In Greek mythology, Eurypylus was the name of several different people. ... In Greek mythology, Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. ... Judgement of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. ... In Greek mythology, Oenone (wine woman) was the first wife of Paris. ... 19th century etching of the Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse is part of the myth of the Trojan War, as told in Virgils Latin epic poem The Aeneid. ...

The remaining books, covering the same ground as Arctinus' Destruction of Troy, relate the capture of Troy by means of the wooden horse, the sacrifice of Polyxena at the grave of Achilles, the departure of the Greeks, and their dispersal by the storm. Polyxena dies by the hand of Neoptolemus on the tomb of Achilles. ...

References

• Editio princeps by Aldus Manutius (1504)
• Hermann Kochly (ed. major with elaborate prolegomena, 1850; ed. minor, 1853)
• Z. Zimmermann (author of other valuable articles on the poet), (1891)
• Franz Kehmptzow, De Quinti Smyrnaei fontibus ac mythopoeia (1889)
• CA Sainte-Beuve, Etude sur . . . Quinte de Smyrne (1857)
• FA Paley, Quintus Smyrnaeus and the "Homer" of the tragic Poets (1879)
• G. W. Paschal, A Study of Quintus Smyrnaeus (Chicago, 1904).
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

In classical scholarship, editio princeps is a term of art. ... Aldus Manutius (1449/50 - February 6, 1515), the Latin form of Aldo Manuzio (born Teobaldo Mannucci) was the founder of the Aldine Press. ... Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (December 23, 1804 – October 13, 1869) was a literary critic and one of the major figures of French literary history. ... Frederick Apthorp Paley (January 14, 1815 - December 8, 1888), was an English classical scholar. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• Works by Quintus Smyrnaeus at Project Gutenberg
• The Fall of Troy at OMACL