Arctinus of Miletus
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| - | :''[[Laocoon (meanings)]]'' | + | '''Arctinus of Miletus''' or '''Arctinus Milesius''' (Ἀρκτῖνος Μιλήσιος) was a [[Cyclic poets|Greek epic poet]] whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of [[Homer]]. [[Phaenias of Eresus]] placed him in the [[7th century BC]] and claimed that he was defeated by [[Lesches|Lesches of Pyrrha]] in competition. One of the "[[cyclic poets]]", Arctinus composed the epics ''[[Aethiopis]]'' and ''[[Sack of Troy]]'', which were contributions to the [[Epic Cycle|Trojan War cycle]], and possibly ''[[Naupactia]]''. |
| - | '''Laocoön''', the son of [[Acoetes]] is a figure in [[Greek mythology]], a [[Troy|Trojan]] [[priest]] of [[Poseidon]], (or [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]]), whose rules he had defied, either by marrying and having sons, or by having committed an impiety by making love with his wife in the presence of a [[cult image]] in a sanctuary. His minor role in the [[Epic Cycle]] narrating the [[Trojan War]] was of warning the Trojans in vain against accepting the [[Trojan Horse]] from the [[Greeks]] — "A deadly fraud is this," he said, "devised by the Achaean chiefs!" — and for his subsequent divine execution by two serpents sent to Troy across the sea from the island of Tenedos, where the Greeks had temporarily camped. | + | |
| - | Laocoön warned his fellow Trojans against the wooden horse presented to the city by the Greeks. In the ''[[Aeneid]]'', [[Virgil]] gives Laocoön the famous line ''[[Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes|Equo ne credite, Teucri / Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes]]'', or "Do not trust the Horse, Trojans / Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts." This line is the source of the saying: "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." | + | These poems are lost, but an idea of the first two can be obtained from the ''[[Chrestomathy]]'' ascribed (probably wrongly) to [[Proclus]] the [[Neoplatonism|Neo-Platonist]] of the 5th century AD. |
| - | The death of Laocoön was famously depicted in a much-admired marble ''[[Laocoön and his Sons|Lacoön and His Sons]]'', attributed by [[Pliny the Elder]] to the [[Rhodes|Rhodian]] sculptors [[Agesander]], [[Athenodoros]], and [[Polydorus]], which stands in the [[Vatican Museums]], [[Rome]]. Copies have been executed by various artists, notably [[Baccio Bandinelli]]. These show the complete sculpture (with conjectural reconstructions of the missing pieces) and can be seen in [[Rhodes]], at the [[Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes]], [[Rome]], the [[Uffizi Gallery]] in [[Florence]] and in front of the Archaeological Museum, [[Odessa]], [[Ukraine]], amongst others. | + | The ''[[Aethiopis]]'' (Αἰθιοπίς), in five books, is so called from the Aethiopian [[Memnon]], who became the ally of the [[Troy|Trojans]] after the death of [[Hector]]. According to Proclus, the poem took up the narrative from the close of the ''[[Iliad]]'': |
| - | The marble Laocoön provided the central image for [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]]'s ''[[Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry]]'', 1766, an aesthetic polemic directed against [[Winckelmann]] and the [[comte de Caylus]]. Daniel Albright reengages the role of the figure of Laocoön in [[aesthetic]] thought in his book ''[[Untwisting the Serpent: Modernism in Literature, Music, and Other Arts]]''. [cite El Greco painting] | + | :"The Amazon [[Penthesilea]] arrives to aid the Trojans in war. She is the daughter of Ares and a Thracian by birth. [[Achilles]] kills her while she is fighting at her best, and the Trojans bury her. Achilles kills [[Thersites]], who railed at him and reproached him for loving Penthesileia.” |
| - | In addition to other literary references, [[John Barth]] employs a bust of Laocoön in his novella, ''[[The End of the Road]]''. The R.E.M. song "Laughing" references Laocoön ("Laocoön and her two sons," rendering him female in the song). The marble's pose is parodied in [[Asterix and the Laurel Wreath]]. | + | The ''Aethiopis'' concluded with the death and burial of [[Achilles]] and the dispute between [[Ajax the great|Ajax]] and [[Odysseus]] for his arms. |
| - | ==References== | + | |
| - | * Gall, Dorothee and Anja Wolkenhauer (hg). ''Laokoon in Literatur und Kunst: Schriften des Symposions "Laokoon in Literatur und Kunst" vom 30.11.2006, Universität Bonn'' (Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2009) (Beiträge zur Altertumskunde, 254). | + | |
| - | === Classical sources === | + | ''The [[Sack of Troy]]'' (''Iliou Persis'') told the stories of the [[Trojan Horse]], [[Sinon]], and [[Laocoön]], the capture of the city, and the departure of the Greeks pursued by the anger of [[Athena]] at the [[rape]] of [[Cassandra]] by [[Ajax the Lesser]]. The ''[[Little Iliad]]'', usually ascribed to [[Lesches]], bridged the gap in the story-line between ''Aethiopis'' and the ''Sack of Troy''. |
| - | Compiled by Tracy, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/294668 1987:452 note 3], which also mentions a fragmentary line possibly by Nicander. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | * [[Arctinus]], OCT Homer 5.107.23 | + | |
| - | * [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]], ''Roman Antiquities'' 1.48.2 | + | |
| - | * Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae|Fabula]]'' 135 | + | |
| - | * [[Petronius]] 89; [[Servius]] on ''Aeneid'' 2.201 | + | |
| - | * pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheke|Epitome]]'' 5.18 | + | |
| - | * [[Quintus Smyrnaeus]], ''Posthomerica'' 12.445ff | + | |
| - | * [[John Tzetzes]], ''Ad Lycophron'' 347 | + | |
| + | == Sources == | ||
| + | *[[Eusebius]], ''Chronicle'' Olympiad 1.2, 5.1. | ||
| + | *[[Clement of Alexandria]], ''Stromata'' 1.131.6. | ||
| + | *''[[Suda]]'' s.lem. Arctinus (Alpha, 3960: Ἀρκτῖνος). | ||
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Arctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius (Ἀρκτῖνος Μιλήσιος) was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of Homer. Phaenias of Eresus placed him in the 7th century BC and claimed that he was defeated by Lesches of Pyrrha in competition. One of the "cyclic poets", Arctinus composed the epics Aethiopis and Sack of Troy, which were contributions to the Trojan War cycle, and possibly Naupactia.
These poems are lost, but an idea of the first two can be obtained from the Chrestomathy ascribed (probably wrongly) to Proclus the Neo-Platonist of the 5th century AD.
The Aethiopis (Αἰθιοπίς), in five books, is so called from the Aethiopian Memnon, who became the ally of the Trojans after the death of Hector. According to Proclus, the poem took up the narrative from the close of the Iliad:
- "The Amazon Penthesilea arrives to aid the Trojans in war. She is the daughter of Ares and a Thracian by birth. Achilles kills her while she is fighting at her best, and the Trojans bury her. Achilles kills Thersites, who railed at him and reproached him for loving Penthesileia.”
The Aethiopis concluded with the death and burial of Achilles and the dispute between Ajax and Odysseus for his arms.
The Sack of Troy (Iliou Persis) told the stories of the Trojan Horse, Sinon, and Laocoön, the capture of the city, and the departure of the Greeks pursued by the anger of Athena at the rape of Cassandra by Ajax the Lesser. The Little Iliad, usually ascribed to Lesches, bridged the gap in the story-line between Aethiopis and the Sack of Troy.
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Sources
- Eusebius, Chronicle Olympiad 1.2, 5.1.
- Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 1.131.6.
- Suda s.lem. Arctinus (Alpha, 3960: Ἀρκτῖνος).
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