e　〃Aethiopis〃　is　clearly　copied　from　the　Thersites　of　the　〃Iliad〃；　in　the　same　poem　Antilochus；　slain　by　Memnon　and　avenged　by　Achilles；　is　obviously　modelled　on　Patroclus。　　4）　The　geographical　knowledge　of　a　poem　like　the　〃Returns〃　is　far　wider　and　more　precise　than　that　of　the　〃Odyssey〃。　　5）　Moreover；　in　the　Cyclic　poems　epic　is　clearly　degenerating　morally　　if　the　expression　may　be　used。　　The　chief　greatness　of　the　〃Iliad〃　is　in　the　character　of　the　heroes　Achilles　and　Hector　rather　than　in　the　actual　events　which　take　place：　in　the　Cyclic　writers　facts　rather　than　character　are　the　objects　of　interest；　and　events　are　so　packed　together　as　to　leave　no　space　for　any　exhibition　of　the　play　of　moral　forces。　　All　these　reasons　justify　the　view　that　　the　poems　with　which　we　now　have　to　deal　were　later　than　the　〃Iliad〃　and　〃Odyssey〃；　and　if　we　must　recognize　the　possibility　　of　some　conventionality　in　the　received　dating；　we　may　feel　　confident　that　it　is　at　least　approximately　just。
  The　earliest　of　the　post…Homeric　epics　of　Troy　are　apparently　the　〃Aethiopis〃　and　the　〃Sack　of　Ilium〃；　both　ascribed　to　Arctinus　of　Miletus　who　is　said　to　have　flourished　in　the　first　Olympiad　（776　B。C。）。　　He　set　himself　to　finish　the　tale　of　Troy；　which；　so　far　as　events　were　concerned；　had　been　left　half…told　by　Homer；　by　tracing　the　course　of　events　after　the　close　of　the　〃Iliad〃。　　The　〃Aethiopis〃　thus　included　the　coming　of　the　Amazon　Penthesilea　to　help　the　Trojans　after　the　fall　of　Hector　and　her　death；　the　similar　arrival　and　fall　of　the　Aethiopian　Memnon；　the　death　of　Achilles　under　the　arrow　of　Paris；　and　the　dispute　between　Odysseus　and　Aias　for　the　arms　of　Achilles。　　The　〃Sack　of　Ilium〃　（13）　as　analysed　by　Proclus　was　very　similar　to　Vergil's　version　in　〃Aeneid〃　ii；　comprising　the　episodes　of　the　wooden　horse；　of　Laocoon；　of　Sinon；　the　return　of　the　Achaeans　from　Tenedos；　the　actual　Sack　of　Troy；　the　division　of　spoils　and　the　burning　of　the　city。
  Lesches　or　Lescheos　（as　Pausanias　calls　him）　of　Pyrrha　or　Mitylene　is　dated　at　about　660　B。C。　　　In　his　〃Little　Iliad〃　he　undertook　to　elaborate　the　〃Sack〃　as　related　by　Arctinus。　　His　work　included　the　adjudgment　of　the　arms　of　Achilles　to　Odysseus；　the　madness　of　Aias；　the　bringing　of　Philoctetes　from　Lemnos　and　his　cure；　the　coming　to　the　war　of　Neoptolemus　who　slays　Eurypylus；　son　of　Telephus；　the　making　of　the　wooden　horse；　the　spying　of　Odysseus　and　his　theft；　along　with　Diomedes；　of　the　Palladium：　the　analysis　concludes　with　the　admission　of　the　wooden　horse　into　Troy　by　the　Trojans。　　It　is　known；　however　（Aristotle；　〃Poetics〃；　xxiii；　Pausanias；　x；　25…27）；　that　the　〃Little　Iliad〃　also　contained　a　description　of　the　sack　of　Troy。　　It　is　probable　that　this　and　other　superfluous　incidents　disappeared　after　the　Alexandrian　arrangement　of　the　poems　in　the　Cycle；　either　as　the　result　of　some　later　recension；　or　merely　through　disuse。　　Or　Proclus　may　have　thought　it　unnecessary　to　give　the　accounts　by　Lesches　and　Arctinus　of　the　same　incident。
  The　〃Cyprian　Lays〃；　ascribed　to　Stasinus　of　Cyprus　（14）　（but　also　to　Hegesinus　of　Salamis）　was　designed　to　do　for　the　events　preceding　the　action　of　the　〃Iliad〃　what　Arctinus　had　done　for　the　later　phases　of　the　Trojan　War。　　The　〃Cypria〃　begins　with　the　first　causes　of　the　war；　the　purpose　of　Zeus　to　relieve　the　overburdened　earth；　the　apple　of　discord；　the　rape　of　Helen。　　Then　follow　the　incidents　connected　with　the　gathering　of　the　Achaeans　and　their　ultimate　landing　in　Troy；　and　the　story　of　the　war　is　detailed　up　to　the　quarrel　between　Achilles　and　Agamemnon　with　which　the　〃Iliad〃　begins。
  These　four　poems　rounded　off　the　story　of　the　〃Iliad〃；　and　it　only　remained　to　connect　this　enlarged　version　with　the　〃Odyssey〃。　　This　was　done　by　means　of　the　〃Returns〃；　a　poem　in　five　books　ascribed　to　Agias　or　Hegias　of　Troezen；　which　begins　where　the　〃Sack　of　Troy〃　ends。　　It　told　of　the　dispute　between　Agamemnon　and　Menelaus；　the　departure　from　Troy　of　Menelaus；　the　fortunes　of　the　lesser　heroes；　the　return　and　tragic　death　of　Agamemnon；　and　the　vengeance　of　Orestes　on　Aegisthus。　　The　story　ends　with　the　return　home　of　Menelaus；　which　brings　the　general　narrative　up　to　the　beginning　of　the　〃Odyssey〃。
  But　the　〃Odyssey〃　itself　left　much　untold：　what；　for　example；　happened　in　Ithaca　after　the　slaying　of　the　suitors；　and　what　was　the　ultimate　fate　of　Odysseus？　　The　answer　to　these　questions　was　supplied　by　the　〃Telegony〃；　a　poem　in　two　books　by　Eugammon　of　Cyrene　（fl。　568　B。C。）。　　It　told　of　the　adventures　of　Odysseus　in　Thesprotis　after　the　killing　of　the　Suitors；　of　his　return　to　Ithaca；　and　his　death　at　the　hands　of　Telegonis；　his　son　by　Circe。　　The　epic　ended　by　disposing　of　the　surviving　personages　in　a　double　marriage；　Telemachus　wedding　Circe；　and　Telegonus　Penelope。
  The　end　of　the　Cycle　marks　also　the　end　of　the　Heroic　Age。
  The　Homeric　Hymns
  The　collection　of　thirty…three　Hymns；　ascribed　to　Homer；　is　the　last　considerable　work　of　the　Epic　School；　and　seems；　on　the　whole；　to　be　later　than　the　Cyclic　poems。　　It　cannot　be　definitely　assigned　either　to　the　Ionian　or　Continental　schools；　for　while　the　romantic　element　is　very　strong；　there　is　a　distinct　genealogical　interest；　and　in　matters　of　diction　and　style　the　influences　of　both　Hesiod　and　Homer　are　well…marked。　　The　date　of　the　formation　of　the　collection　as　such　is　unknown。　　Diodorus　Siculus　（temp。　Augustus）　is　the　first　to　mention　such　a　body　of　poetry；　and　it　is　likely　enough　that　this　is；　at　least　substantially；　the　one　which　has　come　down　to　us。　　Thucydides　quotes　the　Delian　〃Hymn　to　Apollo〃；　and　it　is　possible　that　the　Homeric　corpus　of　his　day　also　contained　other　of　the　more　important　hymns。　　Conceivable　the　collection　was　arranged　in　the　Alexandrine　period。
  Thucydides；　in　quoting　the　〃Hymn　to　Apollo〃；　calls　it　PROOIMION；　which　ordinarily　means　a　‘prelude'　chanted　by　a　rhapsode　before　recitation　of　a　lay　from　Homer；　and　such　hymns　as　Nos。　vi；　xxxi；　xxxii；　are　clearly　preludes　in　the　strict　sense；　in　No。　xxxi；　for　example；　after　celebrating　Helios；　the　poet　declares　he　will　next　sing　of　the　‘race　of　mortal　men；　the　demi…gods'。　　But　it　may　fairly　be　doubted　whether　such　Hymns　as　those　to　〃Demeter〃　（ii）；　〃Apollo〃　（iii）；　〃Hermes〃　（iv）；　〃Aphrodite〃　（v）；　can　have　been　real　preludes；　in　spite　of　the　closing　formula　‘and　now　I　will　pass　on　to　another　hymn'。　　The　view　taken　by　Allen　and　Sikes；　amongst　other　scholars；　is　doubtless　right；　that　these　longer　hymns　are　only　technically　preludes　and　show　to　what　disproportionate　lengths　a　simple　literacy　form　can　be　developed。
  The　Hymns　to　〃Pan〃　（xix）；　to　〃Dionysus〃　（xxvi）；　to　〃Hestia　and　Hermes〃　（xxix）；　seem　to　have　been　designed　for　use　at　definite　religious　festivals；　apart　from　recitations。　　With　the　exception　perhaps　of　the　〃Hymn　to　Ares〃　（viii）；　no　item　in　the　collection　can　be　regarded　as　either　devotional　or　liturgical。
  The　Hymn　is　doubtless　a　very　ancient　form；　but　if　no　example　of　extreme　antiquity　survive　this　must　be　put　down　to　the　fact　that　until　the　age　of　literary　consciousness；　such　things　are　not　preserved。
  First；　apparently；　in　the　collection　stood　the　〃Hymn　to　Dionysus〃；　of　which　only　two　fragments　now　survive。　　While　it　appears　to　have　been　a　hymn　of　the　longer　type　（15）；　we　have　no　evidence　to　show　either　its　scope　or　date。
  The　〃Hymn　to　Demeter〃；　extant　only　in　the　MS。　discovered　by　Matthiae　at　Moscow；　describes　the　seizure　of　Persephone　by　Hades；　the　grief　of　Demeter；　her　stay　at　Eleusis；　and　her　vengeance　on　gods　and　men　by　causing　famine。　　In　the　end　Zeus　is　forced　to　bring　Persephone　back　from　the　lower　world；　but　the　goddess；　by　the　contriving　of　Hades；　still　remains　partly　a　deity　of　the　lower　world。　　In　memory　of　her　sorrows　Demeter　establishes　the　Eleusinian　mysteries　（which；　however；　were　purely　agrarian　in　origin）。
  This　hymn；　as　a　literary　work；　is　one　of　the　finest　in　the　collection。　　It　is　surely　Attic　or　Eleusinian　in　origin。　　Can　we　in　any　way　fix　its　date？　　Firstly；　it　is　certainly　not　later　than　the　beginning　of　the　sixth　century；　for　it　makes　no　mention　of　Iacchus；　and　the　Dionysiac　element　was　introduced　at　Eleusis　at　about　that　period。　　Further；　the　insignificance　of　Triptolemus　and　Eumolpus　point　to　considerable　antiquity；　and　the　digamma　is　still　active。　　All　these　considerations　point　to　the　seventh　century　as　the　probable　date　of　the　hymn。
  The　〃Hymn　to　Apollo〃　consists　of　two　parts；　which　beyond　any　doubt　were　originally　distinct；　a　Delian　hymn　and　a　Pythian　hymn。
  The　Delian　hymn　describes　how　Leto；　in　travail　with　Apollo；　sought　out　a　place　in　which　to　bear　her　son；　and　how　Apollo；　born　in　Delos；　at　once　claimed　for　himself　the　lyre；　the　bow；　and　prophecy。　　This　part　of　the　existing　hymn　ends　with　an　encomium　of　the　Delian　festival　of　Apollo　and　of　the　Delian　choirs。　　The　second　part　celebrates　the　founding　of　Pytho　（Delphi）　as　the　oracular　seat　of　Apollo。　　After　various　wanderings　the　god　comes　to　Telphus；　near　Haliartus；　but　is　dissuaded　by　the　nymph　of　the　place　from　settling　there　and　urged　to　go　on　to　Pytho　where；　after　slaying　the　she…dragon　who　nursed　Typhaon；　he　builds　his　temple。　　After　the　punishment　of　Telphusa　for　her　deceit　in　giving　him　no　warning　of　the　dragoness　at　Pytho