Fragment #1—Proclus, Chrestomathia, ii: Next comes the _Little Iliad_
in four books by Lesches of Mitylene: its contents are as follows. The
adjudging of the arms of Achilles takes place, and Odysseus, by the
contriving of Athena, gains them. Aias then becomes mad and destroys
the herd of the Achaeans and kills himself. Next Odysseus lies in wait
and catches Helenus, who prophesies as to the taking of Troy, and
Diomede accordingly brings Philoctetes from Lemnos. Philoctetes is
healed by Machaon, fights in single combat with Alexandrus and kills
him: the dead body is outraged by Menelaus, but the Trojans recover and
bury it. After this Deiphobus marries Helen, Odysseus brings
Neoptolemus from Scyros and gives him his father’s arms, and the ghost
of Achilles appears to him.
Eurypylus the son of Telephus arrives to aid the Trojans, shows his
prowess and is killed by Neoptolemus. The Trojans are now closely
besieged, and Epeius, by Athena’s instruction, builds the wooden horse.
Odysseus disfigures himself and goes in to Ilium as a spy, and there
being recognized by Helen, plots with her for the taking of the city;
after killing certain of the Trojans, he returns to the ships. Next he
carries the Palladium out of Troy with help of Diomedes. Then after
putting their best men in the wooden horse and burning their huts, the
main body of the Hellenes sail to Tenedos. The Trojans, supposing their
troubles over, destroy a part of their city wall and take the wooden
horse into their city and feast as though they had conquered the
Hellenes.
Fragment #2—Pseudo-Herodotus, Life of Homer: ‘I sing of Ilium and
Dardania, the land of fine horses, wherein the Danai, followers of
Ares, suffered many things.’
Fragment #3—Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and Aristophanes
ib: The story runs as follows: Aias and Odysseus were quarrelling as to
their achievements, says the poet of the _Little Iliad_, and Nestor
advised the Hellenes to send some of their number to go to the foot of
the walls and overhear what was said about the valour of the heroes
named above. The eavesdroppers heard certain girls disputing, one of
them saying that Aias was by far a better man than Odysseus and
continuing as follows:
‘For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus’ son:
this great Odysseus cared not to do.’
To this another replied by Athena’s contrivance:
‘Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue! Even a
woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her shoulder; but she
could not fight. For she would fail with fear if she should fight.’
Fragment #4—Eustathius, 285. 34: The writer of the _Little Iliad_ says
that Aias was not buried in the usual way 3101, but was simply buried
in a coffin, because of the king’s anger.
Fragment #5—Eustathius on Homer, Il. 326: The author of the _Little
Iliad_ says that Achilles after putting out to sea from the country of
Telephus came to land there: ‘The storm carried Achilles the son of
Peleus to Scyros, and he came into an uneasy harbour there in that same
night.’
Fragment #6—Scholiast on Pindar, Nem. vi. 85: ‘About the spear-shaft
was a hoop of flashing gold, and a point was fitted to it at either
end.’
Fragment #7—Scholiast on Euripides Troades, 822: ‘...the vine which the
son of Cronos gave him as a recompense for his son. It bloomed richly
with soft leaves of gold and grape clusters; Hephaestus wrought it and
gave it to his father Zeus: and he bestowed it on Laomedon as a price
for Ganymedes.’
Fragment #8—Pausanias, iii. 26. 9: The writer of the epic _Little
Iliad_ says that Machaon was killed by Eurypylus, the son of Telephus.
Fragment #9—Homer, Odyssey iv. 247 and Scholiast: ‘He disguised
himself, and made himself like another person, a beggar, the like of
whom was not by the ships of the Achaeans.’
The Cyclic poet uses ‘beggar’ as a substantive, and so means to say
that when Odysseus had changed his clothes and put on rags, there was
no one so good for nothing at the ships as Odysseus.
Fragment #10—3102 Plutarch, Moralia, p. 153 F: And Homer put forward
the following verses as Lesches gives them: ‘Muse, tell me of those
things which neither happened before nor shall be hereafter.’
And Hesiod answered:
‘But when horses with rattling hoofs wreck chariots, striving for
victory about the tomb of Zeus.’
And it is said that, because this reply was specially admired, Hesiod
won the tripod (at the funeral games of Amphidamas).
Fragment #11—Scholiast on Lycophr., 344: Sinon, as it had been arranged
with him, secretly showed a signal-light to the Hellenes. Thus Lesches
writes:—‘It was midnight, and the clear moon was rising.’
Fragment #12—Pausanias, x. 25. 5: Meges is represented 3103 wounded in
the arm just as Lescheos the son of Aeschylinus of Pyrrha describes in
his _Sack of Ilium_ where it is said that he was wounded in the battle
which the Trojans fought in the night by Admetus, son of Augeias.
Lycomedes too is in the picture with a wound in the wrist, and Lescheos
says he was so wounded by Agenor...
Pausanias, x. 26. 4: Lescheos also mentions Astynous, and here he is,
fallen on one knee, while Neoptolemus strikes him with his sword...
Pausanias, x. 26. 8: The same writer says that Helicaon was wounded in
the night-battle, but was recognised by Odysseus and by him conducted
alive out of the fight...
Pausanias, x. 27. 1: Of them 3104, Lescheos says that Eion was killed
by Neoptolemus, and Admetus by Philoctetes... He also says that Priam
was not killed at the heart of Zeus Herceius, but was dragged away from
the altar and destroyed off hand by Neoptolemus at the doors of the
house... Lescheos says that Axion was the son of Priam and was slain by
Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon. Agenor—according to the same poet—was
butchered by Neoptolemus.
Fragment #13—Aristophanes, Lysistrata 155 and Scholiast: ‘Menelaus at
least, when he caught a glimpse somehow of the breasts of Helen unclad,
cast away his sword, methinks.’ Lesches the Pyrrhaean also has the same
account in his _Little Iliad_.
Pausanias, x. 25. 8: Concerning Aethra Lesches relates that when Ilium
was taken she stole out of the city and came to the Hellenic camp,
where she was recognised by the sons of Theseus; and that Demophon
asked her of Agamemnon. Agamemnon wished to grant him this favour, but
he would not do so until Helen consented. And when he sent a herald,
Helen granted his request.
Fragment #14—Scholiast on Lycophr. Alex., 1268: ‘Then the bright son of
bold Achilles led the wife of Hector to the hollow ships; but her son
he snatched from the bosom of his rich-haired nurse and seized him by
the foot and cast him from a tower. So when he had fallen bloody death
and hard fate seized on Astyanax. And Neoptolemus chose out Andromache,
Hector’s well-girded wife, and the chiefs of all the Achaeans gave her
to him to hold requiting him with a welcome prize. And he put
Aeneas3105, the famous son of horse-taming Anchises, on board his
sea-faring ships, a prize surpassing those of all the Danaans.’