In addition to the Epic Cycle relating the story of the Trojan War, there was at least one other about the city of Thebes, birthplace of the unfortunate Oedipus. One very ancient song that predates The Iliad and The Odyssey had an Ethiopian warrior called Memnon as its protagonist. If the conjectures about its age are right, this would mean, surprisingly, that the oldest known song of heroic deeds in Europe chronicled the exploits of a Black man.

— Papyrus by Irene Vallejo, Charlotte Whittle (Translator), Sophie Roberts (Narrator)