Meropis (Greek poem)

Meropis
Original title	ΜΕΡΟΠΙΣ
Written	c. 6th century BC[1]
Country	Ancient Greece
Language	Ancient Greek

Meropis (Ancient Greek: ΜΕΡΟΠΙΣ) is an Ancient Greek epic poem of unknown authorship, known only from fragments and references. The fragments describe Heracles among the Meropes, a battle with the giant Asteron, and how the goddess Athena intervenes to aid Hercules.^[2][3] The use of ambrosia in this poem recalls a similar episode in the Odyssey.^[4] The episode in which Athena skins Asteron evokes the analogous episode involving Pallas, as described by Pseudo-Apollodorus.

Synopsis

The fragments describe Heracles among the Meropes; arrows repeatedly fail to wound a giant named Asteron. Athena descends from the clouds, strips Asteron's hide, and sprinkles it with ambrosia, apparently preparing it for further use.^[5][6][7]

References

1. Bulloch; Gruen; Long; Stewart. "Images and Ideologies: Self-definition in the Hellenistic World". University of California Press. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
2. Poetae Epici Graeci: Testimonia Et Fragmenta. Pars I. / Ed. Albertus Bernabé. B. G. Teubner Stuttgart und Leipzig. 1996. p. 132. ISBN 3-8154-1706-6.
3. Bulloch; Gruen; Long; Stewart. "Images and Ideologies: Self-definition in the Hellenistic World". University of California Press. pp. 188–189. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
4. Odyssey, Book IV, 445-446.
5. Poetae Epici Graeci: Testimonia Et Fragmenta. Pars I. / Ed. Albertus Bernabé. B. G. Teubner Stuttgart und Leipzig. 1996. p. 133-135. ISBN 3-8154-1706-6.
6. Prioux, Évelyne (13 February 2020). Géants et gigantomachie dans la poésie hellénistique. OpenEdition. pp. 143–172. ISBN 978-2-38050-017-2. Archived from the original on 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2023-12-01. - Full text of the poem in the Greek language
7. Bulloch; Gruen; Long; Stewart. "Images and Ideologies: Self-definition in the Hellenistic World". University of California Press. pp. 190–191. Retrieved 2025-10-04. - A summary of the poem