Cyclic poets in the context of "Thestorides of Phocaea"

The Aithiopis (/iːˈθaɪəpɪs/; Ancient Greek: Αἰθιοπίς, romanized: Aithiopís), also spelled Aethiopis, is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, which told the entire history of the Trojan War in epic verse. The story of the Aethiopis lands chronologically after the Homeric Iliad, and could be followed by that of the Little Iliad. The Aethiopis was often attributed by ancient writers to Arctinus of Miletus who lived in the 8th century BC (see Cyclic poets). The poem comprised five books of verse in dactylic hexameter. Very few fragments of the Aethiopis survive today; Proclus's summary of the poem's contents establishes the narrative framework of the epic.

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.

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.

Stasinus (Ancient Greek: Στασῖνος, romanized: Stasînos) of Cyprus was a semi-legendary early Greek poet. He is best known for his lost work Cypria, which was one of the poems belonging to the Epic Cycle that narrated the War of Troy.

The Cypria, presupposing an acquaintance with the events of the Homeric poem, confined itself to what preceded the Iliad, and has been described as an introduction. The poem contained an account of the Judgement of Paris, the elopement 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. Proclus, in his Chrestomathia, gave an outline of the poem (preserved in Photius, cod. 239).

Arctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius (Ancient Greek: 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. His father was Teleus son of Nauteus.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.

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.

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.