Eumelus of Corinth in the context of "Eusebius of Caesarea"

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⭐ Core Definition: Eumelus of Corinth

Eumelus of Corinth (Greek: Εὔμελος ὁ Κορίνθιος Eumelos ho Korinthios), of the clan of the Bacchiadae, is a semi-legendary 8th century BC Greek poet to whom were attributed several epic poems as well as a celebrated prosodion, the treasured processional anthem of Messenian independence that was performed on Delos. One small fragment of it survives in a quote by Pausanias. To Eumelus was also attributed authorship of several antiquarian epics composed in the Corinthian-Sicyonian cultural sphere, notably Corinthiaca, an epic narrating the legends and early history of his home city Corinth. The Corinthiaca is now lost, but a written version of it was used by Pausanias in his survey of the antiquities of Corinth.

The epics Europia, Bougonia (perhaps the same as Europia), Titanomachy, and Return from Troy (one of the Nostoi) were also ascribed to Eumelus by various later authors. Eumelus was traditionally dated between 760 and 740 BC. According to Martin West the epics appear to have been composed in the late seventh or sixth century BC, later than the date traditionally ascribed to Eumelus in the Greek chronographic tradition used, for instance, by Eusebius of Caesarea.

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Eumelus of Corinth in the context of Nostoi

The Nostoi (Greek: Νόστοι Nóstoi, sg. nostos lit.'return home'), also known as Returns or Returns of the Greeks, is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature. A part of the Epic Cycle, also known as Trojan cycle, it narrated the stories of the Achaean heroes returning to Greece after the end of the Trojan War. The story of the Nostoi comes chronologically after that of the Iliupersis (Sack of Ilium), and is followed by that of the Odyssey. The author of the Nostoi is uncertain; ancient writers attributed the poem variously to Agias (8th century BC), Homer (8th century BC), and Eumelos of Corinth (8th century BC) (see Cyclic Poets). The poem comprised five books of verse in dactylic hexameter.

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Eumelus of Corinth in the context of Agias

Agias or Hagias (Greek: Ἀγίας) of Troezen (fl. 740 BC) was an ancient Greek poet celebrated in antiquity as the author of Nostoi (Νόστοι), an epic poem in five books on the history of the return of the Achaean heroes from Troy, which began with the cause of the misfortunes which befell the Achaeans on their way home and after their arrival, that is, with the outrage committed upon Cassandra and the Palladium; and the whole poem filled up the space which was left between the work of the poet Arctinus and the Odyssey.

The ancients themselves appear to have been uncertain about the author of this poem, for they refer to it simply by the name of Nostoi, and when they mention the author, they only call him "the writer of the Nostoi" (ὁ τοὺς Νόστους γράψας). Hence some writers attributed the Nostoi to Homer, while others call its author a Colophonian. Similar poems, and with the same title, were written by other poets also, such as Eumelus of Corinth, Anticleides of Athens, Cleidemus, and Lysimachus of Alexandria. Where the Nostoi is mentioned without a name, it was generally understood to have been the work of this Agias.

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Eumelus of Corinth in the context of Prosodion

Prosodion (Greek: προσόδιον) in ancient Greece was a processional song to the altar of a deity, mainly Apollo or Artemis, sung ritually before the Paean hymn. It is one of the earliest musical types used by the Greeks. The prosodion was accompanied by the aulos, whereas the associated paean (performed while standing) was accompanied by the kithara. Prosodia were composed by Alcman, Pindar, Simonides of Ceos, Bacchylides, Eumelus of Corinth, and Limenius (whose prosodion follows its paean, rather than preceding it), as well the various winners in art competitions (Mouseia). The etymology of the word is related to ὁδός hodos road and not with ᾠδή ôidê song. According to Soterichus, the music of the prosodia by Alcman, Pindar, Simonides, and Bacchylides was written in the Dorian tonos "because of its grandeur and dignity". The only complete surviving prosodion (part of the Second Delphic Hymn by Limenius), however, is composed in the Lydian tonos.

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Eumelus of Corinth in the context of Titanomachy (epic poem)

The Titanomachy (Ancient Greek: Τιτανομαχία, romanizedTitanomakhía, lit.'Titan-battle', Latin: Titanomachia) is a lost epic poem, which is a part of Greek mythology. It deals with the struggle that Zeus and his siblings, the Olympian Gods, had in overthrowing their father Cronus and his divine generation, the Titans.

The poem was traditionally ascribed to Eumelus of Corinth (8th century BC), a semi-legendary bard of the Bacchiad ruling family in archaic Corinth, who was treasured as the traditional composer of the Prosodion, the processional anthem of Messenian independence that was performed on Delos.

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