EUCLASSIC. 285 



aphorisms ; such as those of Solon, and the Golden Verses, so called, 

 attributed to Pythagoras, but of doubtful authenticity. Dicrcarchus 

 wrote a didactic poem on Grecian geography ; Archestratus another 

 on Gastrology ; and Nicanor wrote two others on medical subjects, 

 the T/ieriaca, and Mexipharmaca. The poem of Aratus on Astro- 

 nomy, is mentioned as a superior production. Most of the Grecian 

 satires, are in the dramatic form ; but we may here mention the 

 Silloi, (StMoi), or didactic satires, of Timon of Philius, and others. 

 Of descriptive poetry, we may instance Hesiod's Catalogue of 

 Women, and his Shield of Hercules ; both of which are supposed 

 by some writers to have been parts of a larger poem, now lost. 

 The only romantic poems in Greek, which have been preserved, 

 belong to the Byzantine age, and are of little merit. 



Dramatic poetry, in Greece, took its rise from the religious cere- 

 monies, in which representations were introduced of some scene, or 

 action, relating to the god in honor of whom they were instituted. 

 Thespis of Icarus, in the time of Solon, is said to have invented tra- 

 gedy, and to have introduced greater refinement in theatrical amuse- 

 ments. He first assigned a part of the rehearsal to an actor, in order 

 to relieve the chorus ; Eschylus added a second actor, to admit of 

 dialogue ; and Sophocles added a third, or even a fourth speaker, to 

 increase the interest of the fable or plot. The three great tragic 

 poets of Greece, are ^Eschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The 

 Prometheus bound, of Eschylus ; the CEdipus Tyrannus, of Sopho- 

 cles ; and the Medea, of Euripides ; are regarded as their best pro- 

 ductions. Grecian comedy, is said to have sprung from the choral 

 songs of villagers ; and Epicharmus of Cos, is mentioned as the 

 first writer of comedy, about 470 B. C. Living persons, and public 

 characters were represented and satirized in comedy, until the abuse 

 of this practice led to its suppression. Aristophanes is the only comic 

 poet, of whose plays any are still preserved complete. In his come- 

 dy entitled the Clouds, he ridiculed Socrates ; and he attacked Euri- 

 pides, in another, entitled the rfcharnians. Of the later comedies 

 of Menander, only some slight fragments remain. The satirical 

 dramas, of the Greeks, were a peculiar kind, intermediate between 

 tragedy and comedy, not generally satirical in the modern sense ; 

 but so named from the chorus of satyrs, introduced to enliven the per- 

 formance. The Cyclops, of Euripides, is the only specimen of this 

 kind which has been preserved. 



The early works of fiction in Greece related to their mythology : 

 and works of romance were unknown until a later period. The Cy- 

 ropsedia of Xenophon, describing the education of Cyrus of Persia, 

 but supposed to contain more of fiction than of fact, has been some- 

 times styled a political novel. The Milesian and Ionian Tales, 

 have mostly perished; but from what is known of them, we have 

 little reason to regret their loss. The piece by Lucian, styled Lucius 

 or the Jlss, is a specimen of this kind ; and his True History, is 

 chiefly a satire on travellers, who indulge in the marvellous. The 

 Babylonian Histories, or Loves of Rhodane and Simonis, by Jam- 

 blichus of Syria, was probably the most ancient romance proper ; 

 and next to it was the Ephesiaca, by Xenophon of Ephesus. The 

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