Unity of Plot in Epic Poetry Versus History — Aristotle, Poetics 23.1–23.7, Greek & English

§23.1

περὶ δὲ τῆς διηγηματικῆς καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ μιμητικῆς, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς μύθους καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις συνιστάναι δραματικοὺς καὶ περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν ὅλην καὶ τελείαν ἔχουσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ μέσα καὶ τέλος, ἵν’ ὥσπερ ζῷον ἓν ὅλον ποιῇ τὴν οἰκείαν ἡδονήν, δῆλον,¹ καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίαις τὰς συνθέσεις εἶναι,² ἐν αἷς ἀνάγκη οὐχὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ποιεῖσθαι δήλωσιν ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς χρόνου, ὅσα ἐν τούτῳ συνέβη περὶ ἕνα ἢ πλείους, ὧν ἕκαστον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.

Concerning narrative and metrical imitation, it is clear that one must construct the plots in a dramatic way, just as in tragedies, and around a single action, whole and complete, having a beginning, middle, and end, so that, like a single whole living organism, it may produce its own proper pleasure, and that their compositions should not be like histories, in which it is necessary to make a representation not of a single action but of a single period of time, representing all the things that happened in this period concerning one or more persons, each of which has only a casual relation to the others.

§23.3

ὥσπερ γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἥ τ’ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐγένετο ναυμαχία καὶ ἡ ἐν Σικελίᾳ Καρχηδονίων μάχη οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ συντείνουσαι τέλος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς χρόνοις ἐνίοτε γίνεται θάτερον μετὰ θάτερον, ἐξ ὧν ἓν οὐδὲν γίνεται τέλος.

For just as at the same time both the sea-battle at Salamis and the battle of the Carthaginians in Sicily took place, without tending to the same end, so also in successive times one thing sometimes happens after another, from which no single end results.

§23.4

σχεδὸν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦτο δρῶσι.

And nearly most of the poets do this.

§23.5

διὸ ὥσπερ εἴπομεν ἤδη καὶ ταύτῃ θεσπέσιος ἂν φανείη Ὅμηρος παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον·³ λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας καὶ οὐκ εὐσύνοπτος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι ὁ μῦθος, ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ.⁴ νῦν δ’ ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβὼν ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται αὐτῶν πολλοῖς, οἷον νεῶν καταλόγῳ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπεισοδίοις διαλαμβάνει τὴν ποίησιν.

Therefore, as we have already said, in this respect too Homer would appear divine compared to the others, in that he did not attempt to make the war as a whole his subject, although it had a beginning and an end; for the plot was bound to be too large and not easily taken in at a glance, or, if he kept it moderate in size, it would have been bewildered by its variety. But as it is, he took only one part, and has made use of many episodes from the other parts, such as the Catalogue of Ships, and he variegates his poem with these other episodes.

§23.6

οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι καὶ περὶ ἕνα χρόνον καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πολυμερῆ, οἷον ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα.

But the other poets write about one person, or about one period of time, or about a single action which has many parts, such as the author of the Cypria and of the Little Iliad.

§23.7

τοιγαροῦν ἐκ μὲν Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας μία τραγῳδία ποιεῖται ἑκατέρας ἢ δύο μόναι, ἐκ δὲ Κυπρίων πολλαὶ καὶ τῆς μικρᾶς Ἰλιάδος.

Consequently, from the Iliad and the Odyssey only one tragedy is made from each, or at most two; whereas from the Cypria many are made, and from the Little Iliad.

Syntax notes4 items

1459aπερὶ δὲ τῆς διηγηματικῆς καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ μιμητικῆς, ὅτι δεῖ... δῆλον
The entire clause introduced by ὅτι δεῖ... serves as the subject of the predicate adjective δῆλον (with the copula ἐστίν omitted) at the end of the sentence. The initial phrase περὶ δὲ... functions as a topical hang-up or pendens setting up the subject matter.
1459a20καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίαις τὰς συνθέσεις εἶναι
The infinitive εἶναι depends on the impersonal verb δεῖ from the preceding section (§23.1). τὰς συνθέσεις is the subject accusative of this infinitive, and ὁμοίας ἱστορίαις functions as its complement.
1459a30τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον
The articular infinitive τῷ ... ἐπιχειρῆσαι in the dative case expresses cause or respect, explaining the specific reason why Homer is considered "divine" (θεσπέσιος) compared to others.
1459a30ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ
The accusative participles μετριάζοντα and καταπεπλεγμένον modify an omitted subject in the accusative case (namely, τὸν μῦθον, the plot). They function conditionally: "or [the plot], even if kept moderate in size, [would have been] entangled by its variety."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg034.humanitext-grc2:23.1-23.7