cyclic poems from which Virgil's Aeneid also drew, in particular the Aethiopis (Coming of Memnon) and the Iliupersis (Destruction of Troy) of Arctinus of Miletus, the now-lost Heleneis of Philodoppides and the Ilias Mikra (Little Iliad) of Lesches. Quintus's work is closely modelled on Homer. For a long time, Quintus' work was considered inferior to Homer; however, it is now understood how inventively and creatively Quintus is responding to Homeric epic. Pre-Islamic Persia Ayadgar-i Zariran Although its author is unknown, Ayadgar-i Zariran meaning "Memorial of Zarer", is a war poem which was preserved by Zoroastrian priests after the Muslim conquest of Persia. In its surviving manuscript form, "The Memorial of Zarer" represents one of the earliest surviving works of Iranian literature and the only surviving epic poem in Pahlavi. Historically, Iranian epic poems such as this one were composed and sung by travelling minstrels, who in pre-Islamic and Zoroastrian times were a fixture of Iranian society. The poem of about 346 lines is a tale of the death in battle of the mythical hero Zarer (< Avestan Zairivairi), and of the subsequent revenge for his death. The figures and events of the poem's story expand upon mythological characters and events alluded to in the Gathas, which are the autobiographical hymns that are attributed to the prophet Zoroaster. The story of Memorial of Zarer takes place long before the Achaemenid Dynasty was founded by Cyrus the Great and during the mythological time of the Kayanid monarch Wishtasp, the patron and protector of the prophet Zoroaster. The story opens with the arrival of messengers at the Wishtasp's court. The message is from the daeva-worshipping King of the Non-Iranian Khyonas (< Av. Hyaona), Arjasp (< Avestan Arjat.aspa), who demands that Wishtasp abandon the new Zoroastrian religion and moral code of following the Threefold Path of Asha: Humata, Huxta, Huvarshta ("Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds") and of Ashem Vohu; being good for the sake of goodness and without the hope of reward. Although Wishtasp has received these new teachings from the creator deity Ahura Mazda through Zoroaster, Arjasp further demands that Wishtasp become once more of the same religion as himself. Arjasp threatens Wishtasp with a brutal war if he refuses to submit. Zarer, who is Wishtap's brother and the command-in-chief of Wishtasp's army, pens a reply in which Arjasp's demands are rejected and a site for battle is selected. In preparation for