where the "Sack of Troy" ends. It told of the dispute between
Agamemnon and Menelaus, the departure from Troy of Menelaus, the
fortunes of the lesser heroes, the return and tragic death of
Agamemnon, and the vengeance of Orestes on Aegisthus. The story
ends with the return home of Menelaus, which brings the general
narrative up to the beginning of the "Odyssey".

But the "Odyssey" itself left much untold: what, for example,
happened in Ithaca after the slaying of the suitors, and what was
the ultimate fate of Odysseus? The answer to these questions was
supplied by the "Telegony", a poem in two books by Eugammon of
Cyrene (fl. 568 B.C.). It told of the adventures of Odysseus in
Thesprotis after the killing of the Suitors, of his return to
Ithaca, and his death at the hands of Telegonus, his son by
Circe. The epic ended by disposing of the surviving personages
in a double marriage, Telemachus wedding Circe, and Telegonus
Penelope.

The end of the Cycle marks also the end of the Heroic Age.


The Homeric Hymns

The collection of thirty-three Hymns, ascribed to Homer, is the
last considerable work of the Epic School, and seems, on the
whole, to be later than the Cyclic poems. It cannot be
definitely assigned either to the Ionian or Continental schools,
for while the romantic element is very strong, there is a
distinct genealogical interest; and in matters of diction and
style the influences of both Hesiod and Homer are well-marked.