Theognis

▪ Greek poet

flourished 6th century BC, Megara [Greece]

      ancient Greek elegiac (elegy) poet whose work preserved a glimpse into Greek society in a time of turmoil. More than half of all surviving elegiac poetry in ancient Greek was transmitted under his name, preserved in a collection of elegiac couplets in two books, or papyrus rolls, consisting of 1,389 verses, some of which are variants of each other. The collection includes poems by other authors, such as Tyrtaeus, Mimnermus (both 7th century BC), and Solon (early 6th century BC). One elegy mentions the “war with the Medes,” which could refer either to the conquest of Ionia by Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) (547 or 546 BC) or, more likely, to one of the Persian invasions of Greece (490 or 480/479 BC).

      The elegiacs of the Theognidean collection are independent both stylistically and thematically. The collection is an anthology, originally intended for use at symposia, or dinner parties, and characterized by a moralizing and educational attitude. The nucleus of the anthology is authentic poems by Theognis, but it is not possible to distinguish with certainty the genuine poetry of Theognis from later additions. Evidence suggests that the first 254 verses of the first book are his, judging from the quality, tone, and subjects of the poetry. Several of the elegies are addressed to Cyrnus, a boy who was said to be loved by Theognis and to whom some of the poet's works were dedicated. The second book, consisting of 159 verses, was preserved in a single medieval manuscript. It is believed that the Byzantine compilers selected the verses from a larger corpus of pederastic poems.

      Most ancient sources consider Theognis a native of Megara Nisaea, in Greece, and date his maturity to the middle of the 6th century BC. Plato (4th century BC) thought he came from Megara Hyblaea, a Sicilian colony of Greek Megara. Some tried to reconcile the two accounts by speculating that Theognis went to Sicily after being exiled from Megara.

      From a literary perspective the Theognidean corpus, although a composite, expresses a unified worldview, pessimistic and deeply rooted in an aristocratic milieu that was in crisis in the 6th century BC. (The pederastic poems have the same moral tone and worldview as the others.) As depicted in the works, society is divided into noble and base according to ethical, social, and political principles. The newly rich are described as vulgar, faithless, and arrogant. Virtue is innate and inherited, and the highest values are loyalty to friends and enmity to enemies.

Additional Reading

Useful essays are collected in Thomas J. Figueira and Gregory Nagy (eds.), Theognis of Megara: Poetry and the Polis (1985). General studies with significant treatment of Theognis include Martin L. West, Studies in Greek Elegy and Iambus (1974); and Jeffrey Walker, Rhetoric and Poetics in Antiquity (2000).

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