The Last Voyages of Odysseus: Narrative Reconstruction and Philological Edition of the Telegony

This volume presents a modern narrative reconstruction and philological edition of the Telegony, an ancient epic attributed to Eugammon of Cyrene and considered the closing poem of the Troy Epic Cycle. Almost entirely lost in antiquity, the Telegony is known primarily through Proclus's summary, scattered ancient testimonies, and two hexameter fragments of uncertain attribution. The edition clearly distinguishes four levels of textual material: the core ancient summary, compatible expansions from Pseudo-Apollodorus, Pausanias, and Eustathius, late or parallel variants from Hyginus and other sources, and modern narrative links created by the editor to provide literary continuity. The work covers the episodes following the Odyssey, including the burial of the suitors, Odysseus's voyages and sojourn among the Thesprotians, his relationship with Queen Callidice, the war against the Brygi, the arrival of Telegonus, the tragic combat between father and son, the death of Odysseus, and the final marriages and immortalization on the Isles of the Blessed. Philological appendices address the transmission and state of the text, the ancient summary, attributed verses, ancient testimonies, and a detailed account of the editorial methodology. The volume explicitly states that it does not reproduce a lost Greek original nor translate unpreserved verses, but rather offers a literarily readable and philologically honest reconstruction under human editorial direction, with assistance from artificial intelligence tools.