Epic FragmentsἘπικὰ Ἀποσπάσματα
Asius of Samos Epic Fragments PDF
The Epic Fragments are a collection of thirteen surviving passages of genealogical epic poetry attributed to the Archaic Greek poet Asius of Samos. Preserved not as a continuous poem but as quotations in later prose authors, the fragments are composed in dactylic hexameter and focus on the mythological origins and heroic lineages of Samos and the Peloponnese. Their content includes the genealogies of regional heroes, such as the Spartan king Lelex, and local foundation myths, including the naming of Samos. One notable fragment describes the luxurious attire and elaborate hairstyles of Samian aristocrats, offering valuable insight into Archaic material culture and aristocratic ideals. Asius’s work survives entirely through citation by later antiquarians and grammarians, principally Pausanias and Athenaeus, with no independent manuscript tradition for the original poem. These fragments are significant as evidence for the tradition of regional epic poetry that existed alongside the Homeric canon. Scholars utilize them to study the development of early Greek epic and as a source for Archaic social history, material culture, and local mythology.
| book 1.1 | Ἀντιόπη δ’ ἔτεκε Ζῆθον κἀμφίονα δῖον Ἀσωποῦ κούρη |
| book 1.2 | ποταμοῦ βαθυδινήεντος, Ζηνί τε κυσαμένη καὶ Ἐπωπέι |
| book 1.3 | ποιμένι λαῶν. |
| book 2 | Δίου ἐνὶ μεγάροις τέκεν εὐειδὴς Μελανίππη. |
| book 8 | ἀντίθεον δὲ Πελασγὸν ἐν ὑψικόμοισιν ὄρεσσι γαῖα μέλαιν’ ἀνέδωκεν, ἵνα θνητῶν γένος εἴη. |
| book 10 | κοῦραί τ’ Ἰκαρίοιο Μέδη καὶ Πηνελόπεια. |
| book 13.1 | οἳ δ’ αὔτως |
| book 13.2 | φοίτεσκον ὅπως |
| book 13.3 | πλοκάμους κτενίσαιντο εἰς Ἥρης τέμενος, πεπυκασμένοι εἵμασι καλοῖς, χιονέοισι |
| book 13.4 | χιτῶσι πέδον |
| book 13.5 | χθονὸς εὐρέος εἶχον·[ln_5]χαῖται δ’ ἠιωρεῦντ’ ἀνέμωι |
| book 13.6 | χρυς͜έοι͜ς ἐνὶ δεσμοῖς,[ln_4]χρύσειαι δὲ κορύμβαι ἐπ’ αὐτῶν τέττιγες ὥς·[ln_6]δαιδαλέας δὲ χλιδῶνας ἄρ’ ἀμφὶ βραχίος’ ἕσαντες 〈–⏔–⏔–〉τες ὑπασπίδιον |
| book 13.7 | πολεμιστήν. |