Returns Fragments

Ἀποσπάσματα Νόστων

The Nostoi, or Returns, was an ancient Greek epic poem belonging to the Epic Cycle, a collection of works narrating the myths of the Trojan War. Though its author is anonymous, ancient sources sometimes attribute it to Agias of Troezen. Composed in the Epic dialect and the dactylic hexameter meter, its date of composition remains uncertain but is traditionally assigned to the seventh or sixth century BCE. The poem directly continued the narrative of the Iliad, chronicling the often disastrous homeward voyages of the Greek heroes following the sack of Troy.

It detailed the divergent fates of the Achaean leaders, with particular attention to the murder of Agamemnon, the wanderings of Menelaus, and the foundation of new cities by displaced heroes. Central themes included divine vengeance, the perils of seafaring, and the integration of the Panhellenic Trojan saga into numerous local legends and cult foundations across the Greek world. The complete text is lost, and modern understanding of the poem derives primarily from a prose summary by the second-century CE scholar Proclus, supplemented by fragmentary quotations preserved in the works of later authors, which together provide an outline of its structure and principal episodes.