List of Extant Epics & Lost Epics
In an effort to try and find all the epics I may possibly have to read and the lost/fragmentary epics I will probably compile into one place eventually for my final paper for my Ancient Historiography course, here is what I think is all the epics (with titles, not necessarily authors whose titles we don’t know; anonymous/cycle poems are going to be listed without authors) that I am going to have to include/mention. Incomplete works are staying with extant because it’s not the author’s fault they died in the middle of writing it (my worst fear as a writer tbh).
If any Classicists who follow me want to point out any I missed, I would absolutely appreciate it because I am so tired already.
And our second class is Thursday.
De rerum natura (does this count under epic? It was listed on the list I found and I can see why but also…is it tho)
Pharsalia / De Bello Civili
Publius Papinius Statius:
Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi
Quintus Smyrnaeus (Quintus of Smyrna):
De raptu Proserpinae (incomplete)
Argonautica Orphica (Unknown Author)
Lost and Fragmentary Epics:
Alexandriad (one-line fragment)
the so-called Little Iliad
Aegimius (may have been authored by Cercops of Miletus)
Astronomia (is this an epic?)
Idaean Dactyls (is this an epic?)
(uncertain if considered epics)
(above works also attributed to Homer)
Messeniaca (most celebrated)
I think that’s all of them. Again, if you could clarify (if you know) whether some of these would be considered epics, please let me know. Some of them I’m unsure of, as noted. Some obviously could be epics but I haven’t sat down to analyze for sure which of them are except for the ones I’ve read since I was a wee undergrad. Most of these were new to me a couple days ago.
Anyway, sorry for the long post!
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