The Life of Eustathius is a brief, anonymous prose biography or hagiography concerning a figure named Eustathius. Transmitted within the corpus of pseudepigraphical works spuriously attributed to Homer, it survives as a single, short passage. The specific identity of its subject, whether Eustathius of Antioch, Eustathius of Thessalonica, or another, remains undetermined. The text provides a biographical sketch of its subject and exemplifies the practice of pseudepigraphy through its false attribution to the epic poet. Preserved as a minor text within the larger tradition of Homeric spuria, it is cataloged in modern digital libraries of ancient Greek texts, indicating its transmission through medieval manuscript traditions. This short work is primarily significant as an example of the pseudepigraphical practice of attaching famous authorial names to anonymous works to enhance their authority. It illustrates the breadth of material transmitted under the Homeric name and contributes to the study of minor biographical and hagiographical notes in Greek literature.
Ὁμήρου δὲ γένος οὐδʼ αὐτὸ περιεργασόμεθα. εἴρηται
γὰρ πολλοῖς ἑτέροις ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἡμεῖς κρειττόνως εἴπωμεν.
εἰ μὴ ἄρα τοῦτο καὶ μόνον ῥητέον κατὰ τὸ ἐπιτρέχον, ὅτι
ἐπικρύψας ἑαυτὸν ὁ ποιητὴς καὶ σιγήσας ὅστις ποτὲ καὶ
ὅθεν ἦν, περιμάχητος μᾶλλον ἐγένετο καὶ πολύπατρις. ἔστι
γὰρ κατὰ τὴν τῶν ποθούντων ἔφεσιν καὶ Ἰήτης καὶ Σμυρ-
ναῖος καὶ Ἀθηναῖος καὶ Αἰγύπτιος, ἤδη δὲ καὶ Ἰταλός. ἀμφι-
σβητοῦσι δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ Χῖοι μαρτύριον προχειριζόμενοι
τοὺς καλουμένους Ὁμηρίδας ὧν καὶ Πίνδαρος μέμνηται. καὶ
ἕτεροι δὲ πολλοὶ Ὁμήρου μεταποιοῦνται σφετεριζόμενοι
καὶ ἁβρυνόμενοι αὐτὸν ἔχειν πολίτην ἢ ἑτέροις ἀγαθοῖς
σεμνύνεσθαι.
