Homer, Hesiod

“ But Lick-platter as he sat upon the soft bank saw him die and, raising a dreadful cry, ran and told the Mice. And when they heard of his fate, all the Mice were seized with fierce anger, and bade their heralds summon the people to assemble towards dawn at the house of Bread-nibbler, the father of hapless Crumb-snatcher who lay outstretched on the water face up, a lifeless corpse, and no longer near the bank, poor wretch, but floating in the midst of the deep. And when the Mice came in haste at dawn, Bread-nibbler stood up first, enraged at his son's death, and thus he spoke. ”

“ Have reverence for him who needs a home and stranger's dole, all ye who dwell in the high city of Cyme, the lovely maiden, hard by the foothills of lofty Sardene, ye who drink the heavenly water of the divine stream, eddying Hermus, whom deathless Zeus begot.
II
Speedily may my feet bear me to some town of righteous men; for their hearts are generous and their wit is best.
III
I am a maiden of bronze and am set upon the tomb of Midas. While the waters flow and tall trees flourish, and the sun rises and shines and the bright moon also ”

“ Then Puff-jaw answered him with a smile: "Stranger you boast too much of belly-matters: we too have many marvels to be seen both in the lake and on the shore. For the Son of Cronos has given us Frogs the power to lead a double life, dwelling at will in two separate elements; and so we both leap on land and plunge beneath the water. ”

“ Shield closed with shield, and helm with helm, and each man with his fellow, and the peaks of their head-pieces with crests of horsehair touched as they bent their heads: so close they stood together. The murderous battle bristled with the long, flesh-rending spears they held, and the flash of bronze from polished helms and burnished breast-plates and gleaming shields blinded the eyes. Very hard of heart would he have been, who could then have seen that strife with joy and fell no pang."
Here, again, the Hellenes applauded Homer admiringly, so far did the verses exceed the ordinary level ”

“ Let the pots and all the dishes turn out well and be well fired: let them fetch good prices and be sold in plenty in the market, and plenty in the streets. Grant that the potters may get great gain and grant me so to sing to them. But if you turn shameless and make false promises, then I call together the destroyers of kilns, Shatter and Smash and Charr and Crash and Crudebake who can work this craft much mischief. Come all of you and sack the kiln-yard and the buildings: let the whole kiln be shaken up to the potter's loud lament. ”

“ Frogs, the Mice have sent me with their threats against you, and bid you arm yourselves for war and battle; for they have seen Crumb-snatcher in the water whom your king Puff-jaw slew. Fight, then, as many of you as are warriors among the Frogs. ”

“ Everyone boasts that the most divine of poets, Homer and Hesiod, are said to be his particular countrymen. Hesiod, indeed, has put a name to his native place and so prevented any rivalry, for he said that his father "settled near Helicon in a wretched hamlet, Ascra, which is miserable in winter sultry in summer, and good at no season." But, as for Homer, you might almost say that every city with its inhabitants claims him as her son. Foremost are the men of Smyrna who say that he was the Son of Meles, the river of their town, by a nymph Cretheïs, and that he was at first called Melesigenes. ”

“ Come then; let us take counsel how we may utterly destroy the wily Mice. Moreover, I will tell you what I think to be the best. Let us all gird on our armour and take our stand on the very brink of the lake, where the ground breaks down sheer: then when they come out and charge upon us, let each seize by the crest the Mouse who attacks him, and cast them with their helmets into the lake; for so we shall drown these dry-bobs [1] in the water, and merrily set up here a trophy of victory over the slaughtered Mice. ”

“ For you get your living in the water, but I am used to eat such foods as men have: I never miss the thrice-kneaded loaf in its neat, round basket, or the thin-wrapped cake full of sesame and cheese, or the slice of ham, or liver vested in white fat, or cheese just curdled from sweet milk, or delicious honey-cake which even the blessed gods long for, or any of all those eates which cooks make for the feasts of mortal men, larding their pots and pans with spices of all kinds. ”

“ The eavesdroppers heard certain girls disputing, one of them saying that Aias was by far a better man than Odysseus and continuing as follows:
"For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus' son: this great Odysseus cared not to do."
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
"Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue!....Even a woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her shoulder; but she could not fight. For she would fail with fear if she should fight." ”

“ Children are a man's crown, towers of a city; horses are the glory of a plain, and so are ships of the sea; wealth will make a house great, and reverend princes seated in assembly are a goodly sight for the folk to see. But a blazing fire makes a house look more comely upon a winter's day, when the Son of Cronos sends down snow.
XIV
Potters, if you will give me a reward, I will sing for you. Come, then, Athena, with hand upraised [6] over the kiln. ”

“ First the abhorred ferret seized and killed one of them, catching him outside the hole; then ruthless men dragged another to his doom when by unheard-of arts they had contrived a wooden snare, a destroyer of Mice, which they call a trap. There was a third whom I and his dear mother loved well, and him Puff-jaw has carried out into the deep and drowned. Come, then, and let us arm ourselves and go out against them when we have arrayed ourselves in rich-wrought arms. ”

“ A war then breaks out between the Thesprotians, led by Odysseus, and the Brygi. Ares routs the army of Odysseus and Athena engages with Ares, until Apollo separates them. After the death of Callidice Polypoetes, the son of Odysseus, succeeds to the kingdom, while Odysseus himself returns to Ithaca. In the meantime Telegonus, while travelling in search of his father, lands on Ithaca and ravages the island: Odysseus comes out to defend his country, but is killed by his son unwittingly. ”

“ Philoctetes is healed by Machaon, fights in single combat with Alexandrus and kills him: the dead body is outraged by Menelaus, but the Trojans recover and bury it. After this Deïphobus marries Helen, Odysseus brings Neoptolemus from Scyros and gives him his father's arms, and the ghost of Achilles appears to him.
Eurypylus the son of Telephus arrives to aid the Trojans, shows his prowess and is killed by Neoptolemus. The Trojans are now closely beseiged, and Epeius, by Athena's instruction, builds the wooden horse. ”

“ By the will of Zeus who holds the aegis the people of Phricon, riders on wanton horses, more active than racing fire in the test of war, once built the towers of Aeolian Smyrna, wave-shaken neighbour to the sea, through which glides the pleasant stream of sacred Meles ”

“ Athena causes a quarrel between Agamemnon and Menelaus about the voyage from Troy. Agamemnon then stays on to appease the anger of Athena. Diomedes and Nestor put out to sea and get safely home. After them Menelaus sets out and readies Egypt with five ships, the rest having been destroyed on the high seas. Those with Calchas, Leontes, and Polypoetes go by land to Colophon and bury Teiresias who died there. When Agamemnon and his followers were sailing away, the ghost of Achilles appeared and tried to prevent them by foretelling what should befall them. ”

“ Meanwhile, Aphrodite brings Helen and Alexandrus together, and they, after their union, put very great treasures on board and sail away by night. Hera stirs up a storm against them and they are carried to Sidon, where Alexandrus takes the city. From there he sailed to Troy and celebrated his marriage with Helen.
In the meantime Castor and Polydeuces, while stealing the cattle of Idas and Lynceus, were caught in the act, and Castor was killed by Idas, and Lynceus and Idas by Polydeuces. Zeus gave them immortality every other day.
Iris next informs Menelaus of what has happened at his home. ”

“ According to the writer of the War of the Titans Heaven was the son of Aether.
3.
Eumelus says that Aegaeon was the son of Earth and Sea and, having his dwelling in the sea, was an ally of the Titans.
4.
The poet of the War of the Titans, whether Eumelus of Corinth or Arctinus, writes thus in his second book: "Upon the shield were dumb fish afloat, with golden faces, swimming and sporting through the heavenly water."
5.
Eumelus somewhere introduces Zeus dancing: he says—" In the midst of them danced the Father of men and gods." ”

“ So there came suddenly warriors with mailed backs and curving claws, crooked beasts that walked sideways, nut-cracker-jawed, shell-hided: bony they were, flat-backed, with glistening shoulders and bandy legs and stretching arms and eyes that looked behind them. They had also eight legs and two feelers—persistent creatures who are called crabs. These nipped off the tails and paws and feet of the Mice with their jaws, while spears only beat on them. Of these the Mice were all afraid and no longer stood up to them, but turned and fled. ”

“ Then the Greeks tried to land at Ilium, but the Trojans prevent them, and Protesilaus is killed by Hector. Achilles then kills Cyenus, the son of Poseidon, and drives the Trojans back. The Greeks take up their dead and send envoys to the Trojans demanding the surrender of Helen and the treasure with her. The Trojans refusing, they first assault the city, and then go out and lay waste the country and cities round about. After this, Achilles desires to see Helen, and Aphrodite and Thetis contrive a meeting between them. ”

“ Dius by Pycimede, the daughter of Apollo had two sons Hesiod and Perses; while Apelles begot Maeon who was the father of Homer by a daughter of the River Meles.
According to one account they flourished at the same time and even had a contest of skill at Chalcis in Euboea. For, they say, after Homer had composed the Margites, he went about from city to city as a minstrel, and coming to Delphi, inquired who he was and of what country? The Pythia answered:
"The Isle of Ios is your mother's country and it shall receive you dead; but beware of the riddle of the young children." ”

“ Let us betake us to the house of some man of great power,—one who bears great power and is greatly prosperous always. Open of yourselves, you doors, for mighty Wealth will enter in, and with Wealth comes jolly Mirth and gentle Peace. May all the corn-bins be full and the mass of dough always overflow the kneading-trough. ”

“ An account has there been given of Eurytus and his daughter Iole, for whose sake Heracles sacked Oechalia. Homer also seems to have written on this subject, as that historian shows who relates that Creophylus of Samos once had Homer for his guest and for a reward received the attribution of the poem which they call the Taking of Oechalia. Some however, assert the opposite ”