Arctinus of Miletus Arctinus of Miletus Arctinus of Miletus or Arctinus Milesius () was a Greek epic poet whose reputation is purely legendary, as none of his works survive. Traditionally dated between 775 BC and 741 BC, he was said to have been a pupil of Homer. Phaenias of Eresus placed him in the 7th century BC and claimed that he was defeated by Lesches of Pyrrha in competition. One of the "cyclic poets", Arctinus composed the epics "Aethiopis" and "Sack of Troy", which were contributions to the Trojan War cycle, and possibly "Naupactia". These poems are lost, but an idea of the
Siege of Segesta (397 BC) and Phoenician cities the ravages of war until 368 BC. The Elymians claimed to be refugees from Troy and they inhabited parts of north-western Sicily by 1100 BC, Segesta, Eryx and Entella being their main cities. The Elymian territory had several navigable rivers and was generally hilly, they were not seafarers and on the whole friendly with the Phoenician colonies of Motya, Panormus and Solus which bordered their domain. In some ways the Second Sicilian war stemmed from the refusal of the Elymians to accept Greek incursions and colonization attempts the same way the Sikans and Sicels had in Sicily.