The "Geryoneis" is a fragmentary poem, written in Ancient Greek by the lyric poet

Stesichorus Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions ab ...

. Composed in the 6th century BC, it narrates an episode from the Heracles myth in which the hero steals the cattle of

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
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Papyrus Oxyrhynchus XXXII 2617 Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

, which was published in 1967. Additional fragments can be found in Book 11 of

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of t ...

' ''

Deipnosophistae The ''Deipnosophistae'' is an early 3rd-century AD Greek work ( grc, Δειπνοσοφισταί, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. "The Dinner Sophists/Philosophers/Experts") by the Greek author Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of lit ...

''. The extant parts of the poem exhibit numerous lacunae, with only fragment 19 (= 15 ''SLG'') displaying long stretches of uninterrupted text. The length of the complete poem is estimated to 1300 lines.

Synopsis

The extant parts of the poem begin with the prelude of the fight between Heracles and Geryon. They include: a council of the

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers great ...

, which resolves that Geryon is to die, the birth of his cowherd Eurytion and a depiction of his parents, trying to convince him not to face Heracles. The final moments of the conflict are preserved at length: Heracles shoots a deadly arrow into Geryon's forehead. His agony is described in detail and compared to a withering

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

Reception

Like much of Stesichorus' output, the "Geryoneis" has been noted for its use and advancement of Homeric elements. Especially the humanisation of Geryon through the mention of his parents and the poppy simile has been highlighted by critics.Davies and Finglass 2014 p. 279-80

Notes

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References

*Budelmann, F. (2018) ''Greek Lyric. A Selection'' (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press) *Davies, M. and Finglass, P. (2014) ''Stesichorus: The Poems'' (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press) *Kelly, A. (2015) 'Stesichorus' Homer' in P. Finglass and A. Kelly (eds.) ''Stesichorus in Context'' (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press) *West, M. (1993) ''Greek Lyric Poetry'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press) Labours of Hercules Ancient Greek poems 6th-century BC literature