The ‘proem’, or introduction to a poem, is a traditional feature of epic hexameter poetry and typically begins with the poet invoking a divinity or the Muses for aid, while introducing its subject and perhaps explaining the source of the poet’s authority for telling it. Both Homer and Hesiod, for example, ask for aid in the singing and composition of their poems, and Hesiod in Theogony describes how he acquired his authority from the Muses. This notion of direct dependence on the Muses for the creation of poems, however, began slowly to wane, and in the Hellenistic period, poets would ask for other kinds of indirect help. Our proem has several singular features and intriguing ambiguities when viewed within this larger tradition.

A few notable proems from antiquity:

Homer - Iliad

Homer - Odyssey

Hesiod - Theogony

Hesiod - Works and Days

Callimachus - Aitia

Apollonius - Argonautica