''Epigoni'' ( grc-gre, Ἐπίγονοι, ''Epigonoi'', "Progeny") was an early Greek epic, a sequel to the ''

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity ...

'' and therefore grouped in the

Theban cycle __NOTOC__ The Theban Cycle ( el, Θηβαϊκὸς Κύκλος) is a collection of four lost epics of ancient Greek literature which tells the mythological history of the Boeotian city of Thebes.West, M.L. (2003), ''Greek Epic Fragments'', Loeb C ...

. Some ancient authors seem to have considered it a part of the ''Thebaid'' and not a separate poem.

According to one source, the epic extended to 7,000 lines of verse. It told the story of the last battle for Thebes by the Epigoni, the children of the heroes who had previously fought for the city. Only the first line is now known: :Now, Muses, let us begin to sing of younger men ... Additional references, without verbal quotations, suggest that the myth of the death of

Procris In Greek mythology, Procris ( grc, Πρόκρις, ''gen''.: Πρόκριδος) was an Athenian princess as the third daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea, daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia. Homer mentions her in t ...

and the story of

Teiresias In Greek mythology, Tiresias (; grc, Τειρεσίας, Teiresías) was a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nym ...

's daughter Manto formed part of the ''Epigoni''. The epic was sometimes ascribed to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

, but

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known for ...

doubted this attribution. According to the

Scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

there was an alternative attribution to "Antimachus." This presumably means Antimachus of Teos (8th century BC), and for this reason another verse line attributed without title to Antimachus of Teos is conjecturally thought to belong to the ''Epigoni''.Fragment 2 West;

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...

, '' Stromata'' 6.12.7. An alternative explanation for the naming of Antimachus here would be that the later epic poet Antimachus of Colophon (4th century BC) had been accused of stealing the traditional ''Epigoni'' by incorporating its plot in his literary epic ''Thebais''. The story of the Epigoni was afterwards told again in the form of a tragedy by

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

, '' Epigoni''.

References

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Critical editions

* . * . * . * .

Translations

* . (The link is to the 1st edition of 1914.) English translation with facing Greek text; now obsolete except for its translations of the ancient quotations. * . Greek text with facing English translation

Bibliography

* . {{Homer 8th-century BC books Ancient Greek epic poems Homer Lost poems Sequels Theban Cycle Works of uncertain authorship

Contents

References

Select editions and translations

Critical editions

Translations

Bibliography