h　the　war　of　Aegimus　against　the　Lapithae　and　the　aid　furnished　to　him　by　Heracles；　and　with　the　history　of　Aegimius　and　his　sons。　　Otto　Muller　suggests　that　the　introduction　of　Thetis　and　of　Phrixus　（frags。　1…2）　is　to　be　connected　with　notices　of　the　allies　of　the　Lapithae　from　Phthiotis　and　Iolchus；　and　that　the　story　of　Io　was　incidental　to　a　narrative　of　Heracles'　expedition　against　Euboea。　　The　remaining　poem；　the　〃Melampodia〃；　was　a　work　in　three　books；　whose　plan　it　is　impossible　to　recover。　　Its　subject；　however；　seems　to　have　been　the　histories　of　famous　seers　like　Mopsus；　Calchas；　and　Teiresias；　and　it　probably　took　its　name　from　Melampus；　the　most　famous　of　them　all。
  Date　of　the　Hesiodic　Poems
  There　is　no　doubt　that　the　〃Works　and　Days〃　is　the　oldest；　as　it　is　the　most　original；　of　the　Hesiodic　poems。　　It　seems　to　be　distinctly　earlier　than　the　〃Theogony〃；　which　refers　to　it；　apparently；　as　a　poem　already　renowned。　　Two　considerations　help　us　to　fix　a　relative　date　for　the　〃Works〃。　　1）　In　diction；　dialect　and　style　it　is　obviously　dependent　upon　Homer；　and　is　therefore　considerably　later　than　the　〃Iliad〃　and　〃Odyssey〃：　moreover；　as　we　have　seen；　it　is　in　revolt　against　the　romantic　school；　already　grown　decadent；　and　while　the　digamma　is　still　living；　it　is　obviously　growing　weak；　and　is　by　no　means　uniformly　effective。
  2）　On　the　other　hand　while　tradition　steadily　puts　the　Cyclic　poets　at　various　dates　from　776　B。C。　downwards；　it　is　equally　consistent　in　regarding　Homer　and　Hesiod　as　‘prehistoric'。　　Herodotus　indeed　puts　both　poets　400　years　before　his　own　time；　that　is；　at　about　830…820　B。C。；　and　the　evidence　stated　above　points　to　the　middle　of　the　ninth　century　as　the　probable　date　for　the　〃Works　and　Days〃。　　The　〃Theogony〃　might　be　tentatively　placed　a　century　later；　and　the　〃Catalogues〃　and　〃Eoiae〃　are　again　later；　but　not　greatly　later；　than　the　〃Theogony〃：　the　〃Shield　of　Heracles〃　may　be　ascribed　to　the　later　half　of　the　seventh　century；　but　there　is　not　evidence　enough　to　show　whether　the　other　‘developed'　poems　are　to　be　regarded　as　of　a　date　so　low　as　this。
  Literary　Value　of　Homer
  Quintillian's　（11）　judgment　on　Hesiod　that　‘he　rarely　rises　to　great　heights。。。　and　to　him　is　given　the　palm　in　the　middle…class　of　speech'　is　just；　but　is　liable　to　give　a　wrong　impression。　　Hesiod　has　nothing　that　remotely　approaches　such　scenes　as　that　between　Priam　and　Achilles；　or　the　pathos　of　Andromache's　preparations　for　Hector's　return；　even　as　he　was　falling　before　the　walls　of　Troy；　but　in　matters　that　come　within　the　range　or　ordinary　experience；　he　rarely　fails　to　rise　to　the　appropriate　level。　　Take；　for　instance；　the　description　of　the　Iron　Age　（〃Works　and　Days〃；　182　ff。）　with　its　catalogue　of　wrongdoings　and　violence　ever　increasing　until　Aidos　and　Nemesis　are　forced　to　leave　mankind　who　thenceforward　shall　have　‘no　remedy　against　evil'。　　Such　occasions；　however；　rarely　occur　and　are　perhaps　not　characteristic　of　Hesiod's　genius：　if　we　would　see　Hesiod　at　his　best；　in　his　most　natural　vein；　we　must　turn　to　such　a　passage　as　that　which　he　himself　　according　to　the　compiler　of　the　〃Contest　of　Hesiod　and　Homer〃　　selected　as　best　in　all　his　work；　‘When　the　Pleiades；　Atlas'　daughters；　begin　to　rise。。。'　（〃Works　and　Days；　383　ff。）。　　The　value　of　such　a　passage　cannot　be　analysed：　it　can　only　be　said　that　given　such　a　subject；　this　alone　is　the　right　method　of　treatment。
  Hesiod's　diction　is　in　the　main　Homeric；　but　one　of　his　charms　is　the　use　of　quaint　allusive　phrases　derived；　perhaps；　from　a　pre…　Hesiodic　peasant　poetry：　thus　the　season　when　Boreas　blows　is　the　time　when　‘the　Boneless　One　gnaws　his　foot　by　his　fireless　hearth　in　his　cheerless　house'；　to　cut　one's　nails　is　‘to　sever　the　withered　from　the　quick　upon　that　which　has　five　branches'；　similarly　the　burglar　is　the　‘day…sleeper'；　and　the　serpent　is　the　‘hairless　one'。　　Very　similar　is　his　reference　to　seasons　through　what　happens　or　is　done　in　that　season：　‘when　the　House…　carrier；　fleeing　the　Pleiades；　climbs　up　the　plants　from　the　earth'；　is　the　season　for　harvesting；　or　‘when　the　artichoke　flowers　and　the　clicking　grass…hopper；　seated　in　a　tree；　pours　down　his　shrill　song'；　is　the　time　for　rest。
  Hesiod's　charm　lies　in　his　child…like　and　sincere　naivete；　in　his　unaffected　interest　in　and　picturesque　view　of　nature　and　all　that　happens　in　nature。　　These　qualities；　it　is　true；　are　those　pre…eminently　of　the　〃Works　and　Days〃：　the　literary　values　of　the　〃Theogony〃　are　of　a　more　technical　character；　skill　in　ordering　and　disposing　long　lists　of　names；　sure　judgment　in　seasoning　a　monotonous　subject　with　marvellous　incidents　or　episodes；　and　no　mean　imagination　in　depicting　the　awful；　as　is　shown　in　the　description　of　Tartarus　（ll。　736…745）。　　Yet　it　remains　true　that　Hesiod's　distinctive　title　to　a　high　place　in　Greek　literature　lies　in　the　very　fact　of　his　freedom　form　classic　form；　and　his　grave；　and　yet　child…like；　outlook　upon　his　world。
  The　Ionic　School
  The　Ionic　School　of　Epic　poetry　was；　as　we　have　seen；　dominated　by　the　Homeric　tradition；　and　while　the　style　and　method　of　treatment　are　Homeric；　it　is　natural　that　the　Ionic　poets　refrained　from　cultivating　the　ground　tilled　by　Homer；　and　chose　for　treatment　legends　which　lay　beyond　the　range　of　the　〃Iliad〃　and　〃Odyssey〃。　　Equally　natural　it　is　that　they　should　have　particularly　selected　various　phases　of　the　tale　of　Troy　which　preceded　or　followed　the　action　of　the　〃Iliad〃　or　〃Odyssey〃。　　In　this　way；　without　any　preconceived　intention；　a　body　of　epic　poetry　was　built　up　by　various　writers　which　covered　the　whole　Trojan　story。　　But　the　entire　range　of　heroic　legend　was　open　to　these　poets；　and　other　clusters　of　epics　grew　up　dealing　particularly　with　the　famous　story　of　Thebes；　while　others　dealt　with　the　beginnings　of　the　world　and　the　wars　of　heaven。　　In　the　end　there　existed　a　kind　of　epic　history　of　the　world；　as　known　to　the　Greeks；　down　to　the　death　of　Odysseus；　when　the　heroic　age　ended。　　In　the　Alexandrian　Age　these　poems　were　arranged　in　chronological　order；　apparently　by　Zenodotus　of　Ephesus；　at　the　beginning　of　the　3rd　century　B。C。　　At　a　later　time　the　term　〃Cycle〃；　‘round'　or　‘course'；　was　given　to　this　collection。
  Of　all　this　mass　of　epic　poetry　only　the　scantiest　fragments　survive；　but　happily　Photius　has　preserved　to　us　an　abridgment　of　the　synopsis　made　of　each　poem　of　the　〃Trojan　Cycle〃　by　Proclus；　i。e。　Eutychius　Proclus　of　Sicca。
  The　pre…Trojan　poems　of　the　Cycle　may　be　noticed　first。　　The　〃Titanomachy〃；　ascribed　both　to　Eumelus　of　Corinth　and　to　Arctinus　of　Miletus；　began　with　a　kind　of　Theogony　which　told　of　the　union　of　Heaven　and　Earth　and　of　their　offspring　the　Cyclopes　and　the　Hundred…handed　Giants。　　How　the　poem　proceeded　we　have　no　means　of　knowing；　but　we　may　suppose　that　in　character　it　was　not　unlike　the　short　account　of　the　Titan　War　found　in　the　Hesiodic　〃Theogony〃　（617　ff。）。
  What　links　bound　the　〃Titanomachy〃　to　the　Theben　Cycle　is　not　clear。　　This　latter　group　was　formed　of　three　poems；　the　〃Story　of　Oedipus〃；　the　〃Thebais〃；　and　the　〃Epigoni〃。　　Of　the　〃Oedipodea〃　practically　nothing　is　known；　though　on　the　assurance　of　Athenaeus　（vii。　277　E）　that　Sophocles　followed　the　Epic　Cycle　closely　in　the　plots　of　his　plays；　we　may　suppose　that　in　outline　the　story　corresponded　closely　to　the　history　of　Oedipus　as　it　is　found　in　the　〃Oedipus　Tyrannus〃。　　The　〃Thebais〃　seems　to　have　begun　with　the　origin　of　the　fatal　quarrel　between　Eteocles　and　Polyneices　in　the　curse　called　down　upon　them　by　their　father　in　his　misery。　　The　story　was　thence　carried　down　to　the　end　of　the　expedition　under　Polyneices；　Adrastus　and　Amphiarus　against　Thebes。　　The　〃Epigoni〃　（ascribed　to　Antimachus　of　Teos）　recounted　the　expedition　of　the　‘After…Born'　against　Thebes；　and　the　sack　of　the　city。
  The　Trojan　Cycle
  Six　epics　with　the　〃Iliad〃　and　the　〃Odyssey〃　made　up　the　Trojan　Cycle　　The　〃Cyprian　Lays〃；　the　〃Iliad〃；　the　〃Aethiopis〃；　the　〃Little　Illiad〃；　the　〃Sack　of　Troy〃；　the　〃Returns〃；　the　〃Odyssey〃；　and　the　〃Telegony〃。
  It　has　been　assumed　in　the　foregoing　pages　that　the　poems　of　the　Trojan　Cycle　are　later　than　the　Homeric　poems；　but；　as　the　opposite　view　has　been　held；　the　reasons　for　this　assumption　must　now　be　given。　　1）　Tradition　puts　Homer　and　the　Homeric　poems　proper　back　in　the　ages　before　chronological　history　began；　and　at　the　same　time　assigns　the　purely　Cyclic　poems　to　definite　authors　who　are　dated　from　the　first　Olympiad　（776　B。C。）　downwards。　　This　tradition　cannot　be　purely　arbitrary。　　2）　The　Cyclic　poets　（as　we　can　see　from　the　abstract　of　Proclus）　were　careful　not　to　trespass　upon　ground　already　occupied　by　Homer。　　Thus；　when　we　find　that　in　the　〃Returns〃　all　the　prominent　Greek　heroes　except　Odysseus　are　accounted　for；　we　are　forced　to　believe　that　the　author　of　this　poem　knew　the　〃Odyssey〃　and　judged　it　unnecessary　to　deal　in　full　with　that　hero's　adventures。　（12）　　In　a　word；　the　Cyclic　poems　are　‘written　round'　the　〃Iliad〃　and　the　〃Odyssey〃。　　3）　The　general　structure　of　these　epics　is　clearly　imitative。　　As　M。M。　Croiset　remark；　the　abusive　　Thersites　in　the　〃Aethiopis〃　is　clearly　copied　from　the　Thersites　of　the　〃Iliad〃；　in　the　same　poem　Antilochus；　slai