Stasinus
Encyclopedia
According to some ancient authorities, Stasinus of Cyprus
, a semi-legendary early Greek poet
, was the author of the Cypria, in eleven books, one of the poems belonging to the Epic Cycle that narrated the War of Troy. According to Photius others ascribed it to Hegesias (or Hegesinus) of Salamis or elsewhere even to Homer
himself, who was said to have written it on the occasion of his daughter's marriage to Stasinus. At Halicarnassus
, according to an inscription found in 1995, local tradition ascribed it to a local poet, a "Kyprias" (Κυπρίας).
The Cypria, presupposing an acquaintance with the events of the Homeric poem, confined itself to what preceded the Iliad
, and thus formed a kind of introduction. It contained an account of the Judgement of Paris
, the rape
of Helen, the abandonment of Philoctetes
on the island of Lemnos
, the landing of the Achaeans on the coast of Asia Minor
, and the first engagement before Troy
. It is possible that the "Trojan Battle Order
" (the list of Trojans
and their allies, Iliad
2.816-876, which formed an appendix to the "Catalogue of Ships
") is abridged from that in the Cypria, which is known to have contained a list of the Trojan allies. Proclus
, in his Chrestomathia, gave an outline of the poem (preserved in Photius, cod. 239). Plato
puts quotes from Stasinos' works in the mouth of Socrates, in his dialogue Euthyphro
.
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, a semi-legendary early Greek poet
Cyclic Poets
Cyclic Poets is a shorthand term for the early Greek epic poets, approximate contemporaries of Homer. We know no more about these poets than we know about Homer, but modern scholars regard them as having composed orally, as did Homer. In the classical period, surviving early epic poems were...
, was the author of the Cypria, in eleven books, one of the poems belonging to the Epic Cycle that narrated the War of Troy. According to Photius others ascribed it to Hegesias (or Hegesinus) of Salamis or elsewhere even to Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
himself, who was said to have written it on the occasion of his daughter's marriage to Stasinus. At Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. It was located in southwest Caria on a picturesque, advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf. The city was famous for the tomb of Mausolus, the origin of the word mausoleum, built between 353 BC and 350 BC, and...
, according to an inscription found in 1995, local tradition ascribed it to a local poet, a "Kyprias" (Κυπρίας).
The Cypria, presupposing an acquaintance with the events of the Homeric poem, confined itself to what preceded the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
, and thus formed a kind of introduction. It contained an account of the Judgement of Paris
Judgement of Paris
thumb |right |460px |[[The Judgment of Paris |The Judgment of Paris]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]], ca 1636...
, the rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of Helen, the abandonment of Philoctetes
Philoctetes
Philoctetes or Philocthetes according to Greek mythology, the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War. He was the subject of at least two plays by Sophocles, one of which is named after him, and one each by both...
on the island of Lemnos
Lemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...
, the landing of the Achaeans on the coast of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, and the first engagement before Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
. It is possible that the "Trojan Battle Order
Trojan Battle Order
The Trojan Battle Order or Trojan Catalogue is a section of the second book of the Iliad listing the allied contingents that fought for Troy in the Trojan War...
" (the list of Trojans
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
and their allies, Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
2.816-876, which formed an appendix to the "Catalogue of Ships
Catalogue of Ships
The Catalogue of Ships is a passage in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad , which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy...
") is abridged from that in the Cypria, which is known to have contained a list of the Trojan allies. Proclus
Proclus
Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers . He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism...
, in his Chrestomathia, gave an outline of the poem (preserved in Photius, cod. 239). Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
puts quotes from Stasinos' works in the mouth of Socrates, in his dialogue Euthyphro
Euthyphro
Euthyphro is one of Plato's early dialogues, dated to after 399 BC. Taking place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial, the dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a man known for claiming to be a religious expert. They attempt to pinpoint a definition for piety.-Background:The dialogue...
.
Authorities
- F.G. WelckerFriedrich Gottlieb WelckerFriedrich Gottlieb Welcker was a German classical philologist and archaeologist.-Biography:Welcker was born at Grünberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. Having studied classical philology at the University of Giessen, in 1803 he was appointed master in the high school, an office which he combined with that of...
, Der epische Cyclus (1862). - D.B. MonroDavid Binning MonroDavid Binning Monro was a Scottish Homeric scholar.-Life:David Monro was born in Edinburgh, the grandson of Alexander Monro tertius, professor of anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, whose own father, Alexander Monro secondus , and grandfather, Alexander Monro primus , had both filled the same...
, Appendix to his edition of OdysseyOdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, xiii.-xxiv. (1901). - Thomas W Allen, "The Epic Cycle," in Classical Quarterly 2.1 (January 1908:54-64).