The Fall of Troy (eBook)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, an epic poet of antiquity, flourished during the latter part of the 4th century AD. Little is known about his life, including his birthplace; however, his epithet 'Smyrnaeus' suggests a connection to the ancient city of Smyrna, known as İzmir today, in modern-day Turkey. Quintus is primarily renowned for his epic poem 'The Fall of Troy' (also known as 'Posthomerica'), which serves as a literary bridge between Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'. Drawing upon the rich Homeric tradition, Quintus endeavored to fill the narrative gap that lingered between the two famed epics by depicting the events that transpired after the death of Hector and leading up to the fall of Troy and the departure of the Greeks. His work, although less celebrated than those of Homer, is of significant literary value for its preservation of the mythological and heroic narratives of ancient Greece in the Greek literary canon. Through his continuation of the epic cycle, Quintus exhibited a scholarly command of the dactylic hexameter— the meter of his accomplished predecessors. Despite its decline in popularity in the ensuing Byzantine period, 'The Fall of Troy' offers scholars vital insights into the epic storytelling and the cultural milieu of the Late Antiquity era.