The Aethiopis
Most people know of Homer’s Illiad, which describes an episode from the Trojan War, and also his Odyssey describing the long journey home of one of the Greek heroes from that war. What is less well known is that the Illiad tells only a small part of the ten year siege of Troy, over a period of several weeks. These were oiginally only two of the eight poems forming the Epic Cycle. One of those lost poems, about which little is known for certain except the title, is the Aethiopis. The story of the Aethiopis starts directly after the end of the Illiad, includes the deaths of Achilles ('Achilleus') and Ajax, ending with the Greek forces feigning to sail home from Troy. This new treatment seeks to fill in the 'missing pieces' of the Aethiopis, in the words of the major Greek and Trojan characters, and bring it alive for a modern generation of readers.
From Book 2 (in Achilleus' voice):
I dreamed last night
Of facing six warriors alone
Two with thrusting lances
Two more with sword and short lance
The others with shields to
Pluck projectiles from the air
I took five of them before the lucky last
Brained me with his shield
Of facing six warriors alone
Two with thrusting lances
Two more with sword and short lance
The others with shields to
Pluck projectiles from the air
I took five of them before the lucky last
Brained me with his shield
Awake before dawn
I went back through each
Turn and thrust
as I lay in my bed
More than once
But couldn’t see my mistake
Perhaps
I really am doomed
I went back through each
Turn and thrust
as I lay in my bed
More than once
But couldn’t see my mistake
Perhaps
I really am doomed
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