Cyclic Poets facts for kids

The Cyclic Poets were a group of early Greek poets who wrote long poems, called epics. They lived around the same time as Homer, who wrote the famous Iliad and Odyssey.

These poets are called "Cyclic" because their poems, along with Homer's, told a complete "cycle" of stories. Most of these stories were about the famous Trojan War. While Homer's Iliad only covers about 50 days of the war, the Cyclic Poets' works filled in the rest of the story, from the very beginning to the end.

Sadly, none of the poems written by the Cyclic Poets have survived to today. We only know about them from mentions in other ancient writings. Most experts believe Homer lived in the 8th century BC, and the other Cyclic Poets lived between the 7th and 5th centuries BC.

Poets of Ancient Epics

Many different poets were believed to have written these ancient epic poems. Here are some of the names that have been passed down through history:

• Homer
• Stasinus of Cyprus
• Creophylus of Samos
• Panyassis of Halicarnassus
• Arctinus of Miletus
• Lesches of Pyrrha
• Cinaethon of Sparta
• Thestorides of Phocaea
• Antimachus of Teos
• Eumelus of Corinth
• Agias of Troezen
• Diodorus of Erythrae
• Hegesias of Salamis (also known as Hegesinus)
• Cyprias of Halicarnassus
• Carcinus of Naupactus
• Prodicus of Phocaea
• Eugammon of Cyrene
• Pisinous of Lindus
• Pisander of Camirus

Famous Early Greek Epics

These long poems told stories about heroes, gods, and great battles. They were very important to the ancient Greeks.

The Epic Cycle

This group of poems told the complete story of the Trojan War.

• Cypria: This poem told the events leading up to the Trojan War, like the wedding that started it all and the gathering of the Greek heroes.
• Iliad: This famous poem, usually credited to Homer, tells about a short but very important part of the Trojan War, focusing on the hero Achilles.
• Aethiopis: This poem continued the story after the Iliad, describing the arrival of new allies for Troy, like the Amazon warriors.
  • Amazonia: This might have been another name for Aethiopis or a similar story.
• Little Iliad: This poem covered events after the Iliad, including the building of the famous Trojan Horse.
• Sack of Troy: This poem described how the Greeks finally captured and destroyed the city of Troy using the Trojan Horse.
• Return from Troy: This poem told the stories of the Greek heroes' difficult journeys home after the war.
• Odyssey: This epic, also usually credited to Homer, tells the long and adventurous journey of the hero Odysseus as he tries to return home after the Trojan War.
• Telegony: This poem was a sequel to the Odyssey, telling about the later adventures of Odysseus and his son.
  • Thesprotis: This might have been another version or name for Telegony.

The Theban Cycle

This group of poems told stories about the city of Thebes and its legendary heroes and kings.

• Oedipodea: This poem told the story of Oedipus, a king of Thebes.
• Thebaid: This poem described a war fought over the throne of Thebes.
• Epigoni: This poem told about the descendants of the heroes from the Thebaid, who fought another war against Thebes.
• Alcmeonis: This poem told the story of Alcmaeon, a hero from Thebes.

Other Ancient Epics

Besides the Trojan War and Theban stories, there were other epic poems about different myths and heroes.

• Titanomachy: This poem described the great battle between the Olympian gods and the older Titans.
• Heracleia: This poem told stories about the mighty hero Heracles.
• Capture of Oechalia: This poem was about Heracles's capture of the city of Oechalia.
• Naupactia: The topic of this poem is not fully known, but it was an early epic.
• Phocais: This poem was about the city of Phocaea.
• Minyas: This poem told stories about the Argonauts, who sailed with Jason to find the Golden Fleece.
• Danais or Danaides: This poem was about the fifty daughters of Danaus.
• Europia (also called Bougonia): This poem told the story of Europa, a princess carried away by Zeus.