Cinaethon of Sparta (Greek: Κιναίθων ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος Kinaithon ho Lakedaimonios) was a legendary Greek poet to whom different sources ascribe the lost epics Oedipodea, Little Iliad and Telegony. Eusebius says that he flourished in 764–3 BC. Cinaethon's poetry is preserved only in fragments, primarily preserved by Pausanias. The surviving fragments of Cinaethon are from a genealogical poem, and are not attributable to any of the poems he was said to have written.
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👉 Cinaethon of Sparta in the context of Little Iliad
The Little Iliad (Greek: Ἰλιὰς μικρά, Ilias mikra; Latin: parva Ilias) is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the entire history of the Trojan War in epic verse. The story of the Little Iliad comes chronologically after that of the Aethiopis, and is followed by that of the Iliou persis ("Sack of Troy"). The Little Iliad was variously attributed by ancient writers to Lesches of Pyrrha (7th century BCE), Cinaethon of Sparta (8th century BCE), Diodorus of Erythrae, Thestorides of Phocaea, or Homer himself (8th century BCE) (see Cyclic poets). The poem comprised four books of verse in dactylic hexameter, the heroic meter.
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Cinaethon of Sparta in the context of Telegony
The Telegony (Ancient Greek: Τηλεγόνεια or Τηλεγονία, romanized: Tēlegóneia, Tēlegonía) is a lost epic poem of Ancient Greek literature. It is named after Telegonus, the son of Odysseus by Circe, whose name ("born far away") is indicative of his birth on Aeaea, far from Odysseus' home of Ithaca. It was part of the Epic Cycle of poems that recounted the myths of the Trojan War as well as the events that led up to and followed it. The story of the Telegony comes chronologically after that of the Odyssey and is the final episode in the Epic Cycle. The poem was sometimes attributed in antiquity to Cinaethon of Sparta (8th century BC), but in one source it is said to have been stolen from Musaeus by Eugammon of Cyrene (6th century BC) (see Cyclic poets). Its contents are known from surviving summaries by later authors, most notably Eutychius Proclus. The poem comprised two books of verse in dactylic hexameter.
Cinaethon of Sparta in the context of Lesches
Lesches (Ancient Greek: Λέσχης) is a semi-legendary early Greek poet and the reputed author of the Little Iliad. According to the usually accepted tradition, he was a native of Pyrrha in Lesbos, and flourished about 660 BC (others place him about 50 years earlier). Proclus refers to him as "Lesches of Mytilene". Mytilene and Lesbos are names of the same Greek island used interchangeably.
The lost epic Little Iliad, in four books, was commonly attributed to Lesches. It took up the story of the Homeric Iliad, and, beginning with the contest between Telamonian Ajax and Odysseus for the arms of Achilles, carried it down to the feast of the Trojans over the captured Trojan Horse, according to the epitome in Proclus, or to the Fall of Troy, according to Aristotle. Some ancient authorities ascribe the work to a Spartan named Cinaethon, and even to Homer.