Quintus Smyrnaeus · 4th century AD
The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica)
Τὰ μεθ' ὍμηρονThe Fall of Troy picks up where the Iliad stops, at the funeral of Hector, and runs through fourteen books to the end of the war: the Amazon Penthesileia and the Ethiopian Memnon come to help Troy and die; Paris kills Achilles; the Greeks hold funeral games and quarrel over his armour until Ajax goes mad; Eurypylus and then Neoptolemus and Philoctetes arrive, and Paris falls; the Wooden Horse is built and Troy is sacked; the victors sail for home into storm. Way's translation is in English blank verse, and its books carry his own one-line arguments. It has no line numbers, so each stanza is matched to a run of Greek lines and the ranges are approximate.
Contents · 77 passages
- 1.1–133Penthesileia comes to Troy1299 words
- 1.134–226Penthesileia arms for battle959 words
- 1.227–352Penthesileia's onslaught1286 words
- 1.353–493Theano and the women of Troy1513 words
- 1.494–653Achilles kills Penthesileia1687 words
- 1.654–765Achilles and Thersites1163 words
- 1.766–830Diomedes and Thersites; the Amazons buried640 words
- 2.1–93Polydamas and Paris quarrel1044 words
- 2.94–182Memnon comes to Troy857 words
- 2.183–276Memnon kills Antilochus880 words
- 2.277–387Memnon and Nestor1103 words
- 2.388–548Achilles kills Memnon1438 words
- 2.549–666Dawn mourns Memnon1075 words
- 3.1–95Apollo shoots Achilles885 words
- 3.96–211Hera rebukes Apollo; Achilles falls1036 words
- 3.212–292The fight over Achilles' body697 words
- 3.293–421Aias and Odysseus rescue Achilles' body1193 words
- 3.422–513The lament for Achilles798 words
- 3.514–581Achilles' body is washed594 words
- 3.582–664Thetis and the Muses mourn Achilles786 words
- 3.665–787The pyre of Achilles1110 words
- 4.1–117Glaucus carried to Lycia; Thetis sets the games1047 words
- 4.118–214Funeral games: the foot-race805 words
- 4.215–322Funeral games: wrestling903 words
- 4.323–464Funeral games: boxing, archery and the iron bar1230 words
- 4.465–595Funeral games: leaping, javelin, chariot-race and horse-race1122 words
- 5.1–120The arms of Achilles940 words
- 5.121–236Aias and Odysseus claim the arms1075 words
- 5.237–332Odysseus wins the arms of Achilles877 words
- 5.333–455The madness of Aias1063 words
- 5.456–567The death of Aias1047 words
- 5.568–663The burial of Aias878 words
- 6.1–115Calchas sends for Neoptolemus1010 words
- 6.116–199Eurypylus comes to Troy709 words
- 6.200–334The shield of Eurypylus1134 words
- 6.335–450Eurypylus kills Machaon964 words
- 6.451–651Eurypylus drives the Argives to the ships1680 words
- 7.1–97Podaleirius mourns Machaon852 words
- 7.98–168A truce for the dead607 words
- 7.169–291Odysseus and Diomedes at Scyros1111 words
- 7.292–430Neoptolemus leaves Scyros1242 words
- 7.431–555Neoptolemus enters the battle1084 words
- 7.556–734Neoptolemus is honoured at the feast1492 words
- 8.1–107Neoptolemus and the Myrmidons attack868 words
- 8.108–236Neoptolemus kills Eurypylus1067 words
- 8.237–394Ares rallies the Trojans1321 words
- 8.395–504Zeus veils Troy911 words
- 9.1–74Neoptolemus at Achilles' tomb636 words
- 9.75–209The battle before the walls1217 words
- 9.210–320Apollo and Poseidon check Neoptolemus952 words
- 9.321–443Philoctetes on Lemnos1019 words
- 9.444–546Philoctetes is healed939 words
- 10.1–73Polydamas and Aeneas debate622 words
- 10.74–202Heroes in the slaughter; the arms of Hercules1025 words
- 10.203–331Philoctetes wounds Paris1105 words
- 10.332–410The death of Paris721 words
- 10.411–489The death of Oenone680 words
- 11.1–128The battle after Paris' death1045 words
- 11.129–282Apollo rouses the Trojans1242 words
- 11.283–357Athena turns the battle577 words
- 11.358–501The assault on the wall1179 words
- 12.1–116Odysseus plans the Wooden Horse955 words
- 12.117–213Epeius builds the Wooden Horse835 words
- 12.214–345The Argives enter the Wooden Horse1118 words
- 12.346–443Sinon and Laocoon819 words
- 12.444–585Laocoon's sons and Cassandra1181 words
- 13.1–66Sinon signals the fleet734 words
- 13.67–167The Argives enter Troy792 words
- 13.168–296The deaths of Priam and Astyanax1121 words
- 13.297–414Aeneas escapes; Menelaus and Helen1001 words
- 13.415–563Troy burns; Aethra rescued1262 words
- 14.1–120The spoil of Troy951 words
- 14.121–227Menelaus and Helen; Achilles' ghost956 words
- 14.228–328Polyxeina is sacrificed834 words
- 14.329–418The fleet sails from Troy777 words
- 14.419–547Athena's storm1086 words
- 14.548–658The wreck of the Argive fleet994 words
English translation by A. S. Way (1913). Original text: Arnold Zimmermann (ed.), Quinti Smyrnaei Posthomericorum libri XIV, Leipzig: Teubner, 1891 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).
Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library, Greek text); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.
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