Peleus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Peleus

105 passages from 13 ancient authors that tell of Peleus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Peleus was a hero in Greek mythology, son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeis, an oread nymph. He was the husband of the nymph Thetis,... For the story in one place, read our article on Peleus.

Hesiod (2)

Hesiod, Fragments 1.50–60Aeacus, Peleus and ThetisThese fragments follow the family of Oeneus and Hippostratus, and then Aeacus and the Myrmidons. Peleus and Acastus appear, Peleus comes to Phthia with great possessions, and Thetis is said to have avoided wedlock with Zeus.
Hesiod, Fragments 5.1–6AegimiusThe Aegimius, attributed to Hesiod or to Cercops of Miletus, is cited for Thetis and her children and for Phrixus coming to the halls of Aeétes. It also gives the story of Io, whom Zeus changed into a cow and whom Hera set Argus to watch, until Hermes killed him.

Homer (45)

Homer, Odyssey 11.465–567Achilles and AjaxThe ghosts of Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus and Ajax come up. Achilles says that he would rather be the hired servant of a poor man on earth than king of all the dead, and asks for news of his son Neoptolemus and his father Peleus. Odysseus tells him how Neoptolemus fought at Troy, and Achilles departs rejoicing. The ghost of Ajax, still angry about the arms of Achilles, will not speak.
Homer, Iliad 20.259–352Achilles and Aeneas fight; Poseidon rescues AeneasAeneas casts his spear, which pierces two layers of Achilles' shield but is stopped by the gold of the third, and Achilles' spear passes through Aeneas' shield and over his shoulder. Aeneas lifts a great stone, but Poseidon, pitying him, carries him high over the fighters to the rear of the battle and tells him not to fight Achilles again. Poseidon scatters the mist from Achilles' eyes.
Homer, Iliad 24.322–467Priam's night journey; Hermes appearsPriam and the herald Idaeus drive out of the city, and in the dusk, as they water the mules at the tomb of Ilus, Hermes meets them in the shape of a young Myrmidon. Hermes takes the reins, gets them past the guards, and tells Priam who he is and where Achilles lies. He tells Priam to go in and clasp the knees of Achilles and entreat him by his father, his mother and his child.
Homer, Iliad 1.188–303Athena stops Achilles; Nestor's pleaAchilles is about to draw his sword on Agamemnon when Athena, sent by Hera, seizes him by his hair and tells him to use words only. He obeys, but swears by his sceptre that the Achaeans will long for him when Hector is killing them in crowds. Nestor tries to reconcile the two, but Achilles will not yield, and the assembly breaks up.
Homer, Iliad 17.108–232Hector takes the armour of Achilles; Glaucus rebukes himMenelaus gives ground and Ajax comes up and covers the body of Patroclus with his shield, and Hector falls back, sending the armour of Patroclus to Troy. Glaucus reproaches him for leaving Sarpedon's body and not standing his ground, and Hector puts on the armour of Achilles. Zeus pities him, saying that though he wears the armour of the best of men he will never return from battle to Andromache, and Hector then calls on the Trojans and their allies to drag the body to Troy, promising half the spoil and half the glory to the man who does so.
Homer, Iliad 20.75–155Apollo rouses Aeneas; the gods sit apartAchilles wants above all to meet Hector, but Apollo, in the likeness of Lycaon, goads Aeneas into facing him. Aeneas protests that some god always stands beside Achilles, and Apollo answers that he too is the son of a goddess, Aphrodite, and should pray to the gods. Hera tells Poseidon and Athena that the gods should stand by Achilles, but Poseidon proposes that they sit apart on the wall of Heracles and join the fight only if Ares or Apollo begin it.
Homer, Iliad 21.136–232Achilles and Asteropaeus; the river risesThe river-god is angered at the bodies that choke his stream and tells Achilles to stop, but Achilles will not. He kills Asteropaeus, a grandson of the river, after a fight in which Asteropaeus casts both spears at once, and drives the Paeonians before him. The river rises against him, and Achilles is swept off his feet and cries out to Zeus.
Homer, Iliad 9.179–306The Embassy to Achilles: Odysseus' appealThe envoys find Achilles playing the lyre in his hut while Patroclus sits listening in silence. Achilles welcomes them and has a meal prepared, and then Odysseus, after drinking to him, describes how Hector threatens the ships and begs him to save the Achaeans. He recalls Peleus' advice that Achilles curb his proud heart, and repeats Agamemnon's list of gifts.
Homer, Iliad 16.198–283Achilles' prayer; Patroclus leads out the MyrmidonsAchilles marshals the Myrmidons in five companies and tells them that the battle they have wished for is theirs. He goes into his hut, takes out a cup, pours a libation to Zeus and prays that Patroclus may drive the Trojans from the ships and come back safe. Zeus grants him half his prayer, and the Myrmidons pour out like wasps with Patroclus at their head, while the Trojans, seeing him, think that Achilles has put aside his wrath and look about for a way to escape.
Homer, Iliad 21.233–325Scamander against AchillesPoseidon and Athena, in the likeness of men, take Achilles by the hand and promise him victory over Hector. The river goes on pursuing him, and Scamander calls on his brother Simois to help and rushes upon Achilles, raging on high with foam, blood and dead men.
Homer, Iliad 22.1–102Priam and Hecuba plead with HectorThe Trojans cool themselves within the walls like fawns while the Achaeans come up to the wall, and Hector alone stays outside the Scaean gates. Apollo reveals himself to Achilles and tells him that he is chasing a god in vain. Priam sees Achilles racing across the plain like a star of ill omen and begs Hector from the wall to come in, and Hecuba bares her breast and entreats him, but he stays.
Homer, Odyssey 24.1–97The suitors in HadesHermes leads the ghosts of the suitors down to Hades with his golden wand, squeaking like bats, and they pass the streams of Ocean and the White Rock and come to the meadow of asphodel. There they meet the ghosts of Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroclus and Antilochus. Agamemnon tells Achilles of the splendour of his funeral, and that the Muses sang over him.

33 more passages of Homer that name Peleus

Apollodorus (3)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.13.1–8Peleus, Thetis and the youth of AchillesPeleus flees to Phthia and is purified, kills Eurytion by accident in the Calydonian hunt, and escapes the plots of Astydamia, wife of Acastus. With help from Chiron he wins Thetis, who tries to make their son Achilles immortal in the fire. When Calchas declares that Troy cannot be taken without Achilles, Thetis hides him among the daughters of Lycomedes, where Odysseus finds him; Phoenix and Patroclus join him.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.12.1–7Dardanus, Priam and the royal house of TroyElectra's son Dardanus founds the line of the Trojan kings through Erichthonius and Tros, to Ganymede, Anchises and Ilus. Ilus founds Ilium on the spot where the cow lies down and receives the Palladium, and Laomedon and Priam follow him, with Tithonus and Memnon among Laomedon's line. The section lists Priam's children, including Hecuba's dream before Paris's birth, Cassandra's gift, and Paris and Oenone, and ends with the sons of Aeacus, Peleus and Telamon, the murder of Phocus and the birth of Ajax and Teucer.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.9.1–2Arcas, Auge and Telephus; Atalanta and MelanionArcas has two sons, Elatus and Aphidas, who divide the land; Aphidas's son Aleus has a daughter, Auge, who bears Telephus to Heracles and is sent away to Teuthras in Mysia. Lycurgus's son Iasus has a daughter, Atalanta, who is exposed but suckled by a she-bear and raised by hunters. She kills the centaurs who attack her, wrestles Peleus and hunts the Calydonian boar, and Melanion wins her in a foot race with Aphrodite's golden apples; both are later turned into lions, and their son is Parthenopaeus.

Pindar (6)

Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.1–115Pythian 3: for Hieron — Asclepius and CoronisPindar wishes that Cheiron were alive to heal Hieron as he once healed others through his pupil Asclepius. He tells how Coronis, carrying Apollo's child, took another lover and was killed, and how Apollo rescued the child from the pyre and gave him to Cheiron to learn healing. Asclepius, tempted by gold to raise a dead man, was struck down by Zeus; the ode ends with the sorrows of Peleus and Cadmus as proof that no man has unmixed happiness.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 4.1–96Nemean 4: for Timasarchus — Peleus and ThetisPindar says that good cheer and song heal the toil of contests and praises Timasarchus of Aegina, boys' wrestling victor. He recalls Teucer, who rules in Cyprus, Ajax at Salamis, and Peleus, who wedded Thetis, one of the Nereids, and saw the gods promise sovereignty to his line. He promises to raise a monument of song for the victor's uncle Callicles.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 5.1–54Nemean 5: for Pytheas — Peleus and the wife of AcastusPindar sends his song out from Aegina to announce the pancratium victory of Pytheas, and says that reverence restrains him from telling how Peleus and Telamon left the island. He tells instead how Peleus resisted the false advances of the wife of Acastus, and how the Muses sang at his wedding to Thetis. He ends by praising Pytheas and his trainer Menander and by bringing garlands to the portals of Aeacus.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 3.1–84Nemean 3: for Aristocleides — the Aeacidae and CheironPindar calls on the Muse to come to Aegina for the pancratiast Aristocleides, and says that victory in the contest heals its blows. He recalls the Aeacidae: Peleus, who took Iolcus and won the sea-nymph Thetis, Telamon, who followed Heracles against Laomedon, and Achilles, whom Cheiron trained in all the arts of a hero. The ode ends with the virtues that suit each age of life.
Pindar, Olympian Odes 2.1–100Olympian 2: for Theron — the house of Cadmus and the Isles of the BlestPindar praises Theron of Acragas, victor in the chariot race, and prays that time may heal the sorrows of his house. He recalls the house of Cadmus, with Laïus, Oedipus, the Fury that made his sons kill one another, and Polyneices' son Thersander. He then describes the afterlife, in which the wicked are punished and the good go to the Isles of the Blest, where Rhadamanthys judges and Peleus, Cadmus and Achilles dwell, and he ends by answering envy with the praise of Theron's generosity.
Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.1–70Isthmian 8: for Cleandros — Thetis and the AeacidaePindar calls on the youths to sing at the door of Telesarchus for Cleandros of Aegina, pancratium victor, and says that the relief from war's dread may be healed by freedom. He tells how Zeus and Poseidon strove to wed Thetis until Themis declared that she must bear a son greater than his father, so that she was given to Peleus. He ends by praising Cleandros' kinsman, the boxer Nicocles, who won the crown of Dorian celery at the Isthmus.

Euripides (19)

Euripides, Andromache 545–589Third episode: Peleus arrives and defies MenelausThe Chorus sees Peleus coming, and Peleus asks what is the meaning of the uproar. Andromache tells him that she and her child are being led to death, and that she has sent for him in her desperation. Peleus orders that her bonds be loosed, and Menelaus defies him.
Euripides, Andromache 1009–1069Third choral song; Peleus learns that Hermione has fledThe Chorus calls on Apollo and Poseidon, who built the walls of Troy, and asks why they have forgotten, and sings of the vengeance that has overtaken the sons of Agamemnon. Peleus then comes and asks if the rumour is true that Hermione has fled; the Chorus says that she has, and that she fears the anger of her husband.
Euripides, Andromache 1166–1221Exodos: the body of Neoptolemus is brought homeThe Chorus sees the body of Neoptolemus being carried on a bier from Delphi. Peleus, in grief, says that his line is ended, and curses the marriage that has brought all this on his house, and the Chorus laments with him that he will live alone.
Euripides, Andromache 693–746Third episode: Peleus drives Menelaus awayPeleus says that the credit for victories in war goes to the general, not to the fighters, and that the Spartans are the worst of men, and that it was Achilles' son who took Troy. Menelaus says that he has come to Phthia only under compulsion and will go, and that he will return to Sparta to deal with the matter, and Peleus replies that he is no more than a voice.
Euripides, Andromache 747–801Third episode: Peleus rescues Andromache; choral song on noble birthPeleus tells Andromache and her son to follow him, and says that no one will dare to touch them. Andromache blesses the old man for saving her and her child, and fears that the Spartans may attack them again on the road, but Peleus tells her not to be afraid. The Chorus, left alone, sings of the evils of a quarrel and of noble descent.
Euripides, Andromache 1070–1165Messenger speech: the death of Neoptolemus at DelphiA Messenger arrives with the news of the death of Neoptolemus. He tells how Neoptolemus came to Phoebus' shrine to atone for his past quarrel with the god, how men lay in ambush in the cover of the bay-trees, with Orestes, the author of the plot, among them, and how, when the Delphians attacked him at the altar, he fought alone, took armour from the pillar, and was at last struck down and stabbed by them all.
Euripides, Andromache 1222–1288Exodos: Thetis appears and consoles PeleusPeleus says that he has no city or sceptre left and throws his sceptre on the ground, and the Chorus sees a divine form moving through the air. It is Thetis, who tells him that he must take the body to the Pythian altar and bury it there, a reproach to Delphi, and that Andromache will live in the Molossian land, married to Helenus, and that her child will found an unbroken line of kings, while Peleus himself will be made divine and live with her in the halls of Nereus.
Euripides, Andromache 1–55Prologue: Andromache tells of her slavery at the shrine of ThetisAndromache, who has come from Thebes as the wife of Hector, recalls the fall of Troy and the death of her husband and tells how she became the slave of Neoptolemus and bore him a son. She says that his wife Hermione, who is childless, accuses her of using drugs and charms to make her barren, and that she has taken refuge at the shrine of Thetis while Neoptolemus is away at Delphi.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 677–740Second episode: Clytemnestra questions Agamemnon about the weddingAgamemnon sends Iphigenia in, and Clytemnestra asks about the bridegroom's family, and he tells her of Aegina, of Peleus and Thetis, and of the Centaur Chiron. Clytemnestra asks who will give the bride away and where she is to prepare the feast for the women. Agamemnon says that she must go back to Argos, and Clytemnestra, after protesting, refuses to obey.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1036–1097Third choral song: the wedding of Peleus and Thetis; Iphigenia's coming sacrificeThe Chorus recalls the day when the Pierian choir came over Pelion to the wedding of Peleus, with the banquet of the gods and the Centaurs on horseback. They then turn to Iphigenia and say that the Argives will crown her like a pure heifer, and stain her throat with blood.
Euripides, Andromache 56–90Prologue: the Maid warns Andromache of Menelaus' plotA Maid of Andromache comes to the shrine and tells her that Menelaus and his daughter are plotting to kill her and her son, whom she has secretly sent away to a neighbour's house. Andromache asks her to go in secret to Peleus, the old king, and ask him to come to their rescue, and the Maid goes.
Euripides, Andromache 645–692Third episode: Menelaus replies to PeleusMenelaus says that old men are called wise when they are only talkative, and that a king cannot be spoken to like this. He says that Andromache has seduced his daughter's husband and that it is no matter of one woman, and that he will get his way, and he asks why Peleus would risk his house for a woman.

7 more passages of Euripides that name Peleus

Apollonius Rhodius (6)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.783–884Hera and ThetisHera asks Thetis to guide Argo through the Wandering Rocks and past Scylla and Charybdis. Thetis agrees, gathers the Nereids, and secretly tells her husband Peleus to have the heroes sail at dawn.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 2.815–910The deaths of Idmon and TiphysIdmon is killed by a boar in the marsh, and Tiphys dies of sickness soon after, leaving the ship without a pilot. The heroes bury both and fall into despair until Hera stirs Ancaeus, who offers to steer, and Argo sails on.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.1–121Pelias' oracle and the catalogue of the ArgonautsThe poet invokes Phoebus and tells how Pelias, warned by an oracle to beware the man with one sandal, sends Jason after the Golden Fleece when Jason loses a sandal crossing the Anaurus. The catalogue of the Argonauts begins with Orpheus and goes on through Asterion, Polyphemus, Admetus, Mopsus, Peleus and Telamon and Tiphys, who steers the ship Athena and Argus built. It closes with Phlias and the sons of Bias from Argos.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.448–558The feast, Orpheus' song and the departure from PagasaeAt the feast on the shore Idas jeers at Idmon's prophecy and Idmon answers him, and Orpheus ends the quarrel by singing of the origin of earth, sky and sea. At dawn the heroes embark, Tiphys takes the helm and Argo leaves Pagasae to the music of Orpheus' lyre while Cheiron shows Achilles to his father Peleus from the shore.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.439–575The heroes decide to ask Medea for helpMedea, tormented by love, fears for the stranger's life. Argus tells Jason that Medea knows magic and should be asked for help, and after Peleus, Telamon and Idas offer to face the contest, an omen of a dove escaping a hawk, which Mopsus reads as the will of Cypris, persuades the heroes. Idas scorns the plan, and Argus is sent back to the city.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.1228–1392Storm and the Libyan SyrtisA storm drives Argo into the shallows of the Libyan Syrtis, where the heroes despair of ever sailing out. The heroines of Libya tell Jason to repay their mother, a sea-horse appears, and Peleus understands that they must carry Argo overland; the heroes carry her on their shoulders for twelve days to Lake Triton.

Aristophanes (1)

Aristophanes, The Clouds 889–1112Agon: the Better Logic and the Worse LogicThe Right Logic and the Wrong Logic come forward and quarrel, each calling the other names, and the Right Logic argues that there is such a thing as Justice, whereupon the Wrong Logic asks why Zeus is unpunished for chaining his father. The Chorus invite each to state his case, and the Right Logic describes the old education of boys, who walked in silence to school and sat modestly, which the Wrong Logic mocks. The Wrong Logic argues that warm baths are good for the young, that chastity does a man no good, and that the audience are full of adulterers, so the Right Logic admits defeat and runs off to join them, and Strepsiades tells Socrates to flog his son and sharpen his wits for lawsuits.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.71.1–4.75.6Asclepius, Aeacus, Pelops and the kings of TroyThe historian gives the birth and healing art of Asclepius and the descendants of Asopus' daughters, including Aeacus and his sons Peleus and Telamon. He then tells of Oenomaüs and the chariot race by which Pelops wins Hippodameia, and of Tantalus, and ends with the first kings of Troy, from Teucrus and Dardanus down to Priam.

Ovid (5)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.266–409Peleus, Ceyx and the wolfPeleus, exiled for killing his half-brother Phocus, comes to the court of Ceyx at Trachis, where he is received kindly. Ceyx tells him of his brother Daedalion, who was turned into a hawk after the death of his daughter Chione. A herdsman brings word that a huge wolf is ravaging Peleus' cattle, and the sea-goddess Psamathe, who sent it, at last turns it to marble at the pleading of Thetis. Peleus goes on to Magnesia, where King Acastus purifies him.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.194–265Laomedon and Hesione; Peleus and ThetisApollo and Poseidon (Neptune) build the walls of Troy for King Laomedon, who cheats them of their pay, and Poseidon sends a sea-monster, to which Hesione is exposed, until Heracles (Hercules) saves her. Laomedon again breaks his word, and Heracles takes the city. Peleus marries the sea-goddess Thetis after he holds her through all her changes of shape, and she bears Achilles.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.327–458The Lapiths and the Centaurs: the battleNestor goes on describing the fighting, in which the centaurs and Lapiths kill one another with uprooted trees, antlers, torches and altar-fires. Among the dead are the centaur Cyllarus and his mate Hylonome, a pair of lovers who die together.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.264–444The Calydonian boar huntArtemis (Diana), angered at being forgotten at the harvest rites, sends a huge boar to ravage the fields of Calydon, and Meleager gathers heroes from all Greece to hunt it. The hunters include Theseus, Jason, Castor and Pollux, and the huntress Atalanta, whose beauty and skill the others admire. Atalanta first wounds the boar, and Meleager kills it, and awards the head and hide to her. Meleager's uncles, jealous of Atalanta, snatch the prize from her, and Meleager kills them in a rage.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.121–254The contest for the arms of Achilles: Odysseus repliesOdysseus (Ulysses) answers that Ajax's strength is of no use without the counsel that guides it, and that he, a descendant of Zeus (Jupiter), has served the Greeks as much with his mind as with his hands. He tells how he brought Iphigenia to Aulis for the common good, and how he found Achilles disguised among the daughters of Lycomedes and brought him to Troy. He tells too how he went as an envoy to Troy, and how he and Diomedes killed Dolon and Rhesus and won Rhesus' horses.

Pausanias (1)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.29.1–11Epidaurus and Aegina: the Aeaceum and the stories of Aeacus and PhocusPausanias lists the temples and images of Epidaurus city and moves to Aegina, tracing the island’s legends from Zeus and Aegina to Aeacus, the descendants of Aeacus who went elsewhere, and its rise to naval power. He describes the Aeaceum with the relief of the envoys who begged Aeacus to end the drought, and the grave of Phocus, killed by Peleus’ quoit throw. He also notes the Secret Harbour and Telamon’s mole, and the theatre and stadium.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (13)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.96–211Hera rebukes Apollo; Achilles fallsHera rebukes Apollo for killing Achilles, reminding him that he sang at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and Apollo sits silent and ashamed. The dying Achilles still kills Orythaon, Hipponous and Alcathous, and his last shout sends the Trojans reeling before he falls. Paris then urges the Trojans to drag the body to Troy behind Hector's horses.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.422–513The lament for AchillesThe Myrmidons mourn round the body. Aias, old Phoenix and Agamemnon each speak their grief, and the whole camp joins in the wailing.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.494–653Achilles kills PenthesileiaAs the Trojans are about to fire the ships, Aias hears the cries and calls Achilles, and both arm and meet the Amazons. Penthesileia hurls two spears at them in vain and boasts, and Achilles pierces her with Chiron's spear. He then runs his spear through her horse, and horse and rider die together.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.654–765Achilles and ThersitesAchilles takes the helmet from the dead queen's head and, seeing how beautiful she is, grieves for her. Ares rushes down from Olympus in anger for his child but is held back by Zeus. Thersites jeers at Achilles for pitying an Amazon, and Achilles strikes him dead with a single blow.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.183–276Memnon kills AntilochusAt dawn the Trojans arm and the Argives, trusting in Achilles, arm to meet them. Achilles kills Thalius, Mentes and many others, while Memnon kills Pheron and then Antilochus, the son of Nestor, before his father's eyes.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 1.766–830Diomedes and Thersites; the Amazons buriedDiomedes, a kinsman of Thersites, is the only Argive angry at his death, and the two heroes are on the point of fighting before their comrades reconcile them. The Atreidae give Penthesileia's body and arms back to Priam, who buries her with her horse beside Laomedon's tomb and buries her Amazons beside her. The Argives raise a mound for Podarces, throw Thersites into a pit, and feast with Achilles.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.388–548Achilles kills MemnonAchilles leaves the line and finds Memnon, rebuking him as inferior in blood and strength. They fight with swords and shields, and the long and even struggle is watched from Olympus. At last Eris tips the scales and Achilles kills Memnon.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.1–95Apollo shoots AchillesThe Pylians bury Antilochus by the Hellespont, and Achilles drives the Trojans back, filling the streams of Simois and Xanthus with the dead. Apollo warns him to stop, and Achilles defies him. Apollo, veiled in cloud, shoots an arrow into his ankle, and Achilles pulls it out in agony.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.514–581Achilles' body is washedAt nightfall Nestor tells Agamemnon what to do for the body. Water is heated, and Achilles is washed and dressed, and Athena pours ambrosia on him so that he looks as if asleep. The captive women, and above all Briseis, lament him.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.1–117Glaucus carried to Lycia; Thetis sets the gamesThe Trojans lay Glaucus on his pyre, but Apollo snatches him away to Lycia, where the Nymphs make a spring that bears his name. The Argives go on mourning Achilles, and in heaven Hera reproaches Zeus for favouring Troy while he sits silent. At dawn Diomedes urges an attack, but Aias says they must wait for Thetis, who now comes out of the sea to set out the prizes for the funeral games.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.118–214Funeral games: the foot-raceNestor rises to sing of the deeds of Achilles, and Thetis rewards him with the horses Telephus once gave her son. Ten heifers are set out as prizes for the foot-race. Teucer and Aias son of Oileus run for them, and Teucer, tripped by a tamarisk root and lamed, loses to Aias.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.293–421Aias and Odysseus rescue Achilles' bodyAias fights on beside Odysseus, who kills Maenalus, Atymnius and Proteus and is wounded by Alcon, whom he kills. When Paris draws his bow on Aias, Aias strikes his helmet with a stone, and Paris is carried off to Troy behind Hector's horses. Aias drives the rest of the Trojans into the city and then strides back across a plain covered with the dead, and the kings bring Achilles' body to his tent, where the army wails for him.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.323–464Funeral games: boxing, archery and the iron barEpeius, son of Panopeus and builder of the Horse, steps forward for the boxing, and none dares face him. Oileus' son and Teucer then compete in archery at a helmet. Aias alone is able to hurl the great bar of iron.

Bacchylides (1)

Bacchylides, Epinicians (Odes of Victory) 12.1–14.23Odes 12–14: Pytheas of Aegina and the Aeacidae; Cleoptolemus of ThessalyOde 12 asks Cleio to guide the poet to Aegina and to a wrestler's victory at Nemea, but only its opening survives. Ode 13, for Pytheas of Aegina, shows Heracles, the descendant of Perseus, mastering the Nemean lion, praises Aegina and her heroes Peleus, Telamon, Achilles and Ajax, and tells how Achilles' anger let the Trojans drive the Greeks to their ships until Ajax stopped Hector. It ends with praise of the trainer Menander and of the host Lampon. Ode 14 reflects that fortune can crush or exalt a man before honouring Cleoptolemus of Thessaly and the domain of Poseidon Petraios.

Epic Cycle (2)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 5.1–38CypriaProclus' summary of the Cypria opens with Zeus planning the Trojan War with Themis, the quarrel of the three goddesses, Alexandrus, Helen and the gathering of the Greeks at Aulis. The fragments cover the earth burdened by men, the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Helen's birth to Nemesis, Castor and Polydeuces, and Alexandrus carrying Helen to Ilium.
Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 7.1–26Little IliadProclus' summary of the Little Iliad begins with the judging of the arms of Achilles, which Odysseus wins, and the madness and death of Aias. Philoctetes is brought from Lemnos, Eurypylus is killed by Neoptolemus and Epeius builds the wooden horse. The fragments give the girls' quarrel over Aias and Odysseus, Achilles at Scyros, the golden vine given to Laomedon for Ganymedes, and the death of Astyanax.