Cercops (Ancient Greek: Κέρκωψ) was a poet to whom Orphic writings were attributed. He was called a Pythagorean by Clement of Alexandria1 who also states that Epigenes of Alexandria said that he was the author of an Orphic epic poem entitled the "Descent to Hades" and ἱερός λόγος (English "Holy Discourse"), which seem to have been extant in the Alexandrian period. Others attribute the latter work to Prodicus of Samos, or Herodicus of Perinthus, or Orpheus of Camarina.2 According to Cicero,3 the Pythagoreans ascribe the Orphic poem to a certain Cercops. According to Aristotle, Cercops could not have been a Pythagorean, as the poet was a contemporary of Hesiod.4
Notes
Notes
- Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, I.
- Suda, Orpheus; "Suda". Suda On-line. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- Cicero De Natura Deorum I. 38
- Burkert, 114, 130 n. 60; cf DK I, 106.6f
Further reading
Further reading
- Leonid Zhmud (2012). Pythagoras and the Early Pythagoreans. Translated by Kevin Windle and Rosh Ireland. Oxford University Press. pp. 116, 120, 223, 393. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199289318.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-928931-8.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Cercops". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.