Abstract
The early Greek hexameter poems that survive intact are the two Homeric epics; the Hesiodic Theogony, Works and Days, and Shield; thirty-one Homeric Hymns; and about two hundred short inscriptions. Homer comprises 27,803 lines of verse; the other poems comprise another 5,000 lines or so. But we can safely infer that there was once much more. For one thing, we are lucky to have what we do: as a general principle, the texts we have inherited through mediaeval manuscripts represent only a sample of what was available in ancient libraries. For another, in ancient authors who do survive we find references to over a hundred other poems or poets that were available to them but are now lost. In several cases we have indications of considerable length.
Published Version
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