Archilochus (
GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
: ) (
c.Circa means "in approximately" , referring to a date...
680 BC – c. 645 BC) was a
Classical GreekClassical Greece was a culture that was highly advanced and which heavily influenced the cultures of Ancient Rome and still has an enduring effect on Western Civilization. Much of modern politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this ancient society...
poet and supposed
mercenaryA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
.
Life and poetry
The details of his life are inferred from his poetry, doubtless including details that were traditional in Antiquity: "it is often easiest and certainly entertaining to imagine that the words spoken in a poem are those of real persons, or at least a stylized description of an actual encounter in the poet's life," remarks John Van Sickle in assessing the extent of biographical subject matter in a fragment of an
epodeEpode, in verse, is the third part of an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement.At a certain point in time the choirs, which had previously chanted to right of the altar or stage, and then to left of it, combined and sang in unison, or permitted the...
containing an erotic dialogue, which was discovered in a
papyrusPapyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
now at Cologne. Archilochus was born on the island of
ParosParos is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. Today, Paros is one of the most popular European tourist hotspots...
. His father, Telesicles, who was from a noble family, had conducted a colony to
ThasosThasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia.-Prehistory:...
, in obedience to the command of the
Delphic oracleDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis...
. To this island, Archilochus himself, hard pressed by poverty, afterwards removed. Another reason for leaving his native place was personal disappointment and indignation at the treatment he had received from Lycambes, a citizen of
ParosParos is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. Today, Paros is one of the most popular European tourist hotspots...
, who had promised him his daughter Neobule in marriage but had afterwards withdrawn his consent. Archilochus, taking advantage of the license allowed at the feasts of
DemeterDemeter , in Greek mythology, is the Goddess of grain and fertility, the pure...
, poured out his wounded feelings in unmerciful
satireSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
. He accused Lycambes of
perjuryPerjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the matter lied about would affect the outcome of the case...
and recited such verses against his daughters that Lycambes and his daughters are said to have hanged themselves.
A series of archaeological discoveries on Paros have added to our knowledge of Archilochus. Two stones inscribed in the 3rd century B.C. tell the story of a legend concerning a meeting between Archilochos and the Muses. According to the stones, "the young Archilochos was sent to town by his father to sell a cow, and met on his way a group of jolly women, who asked if the cow was for sale; when told that it was, they said they would give him a good price, whereupon they and the cow disappeared and Archilochos found a lyre before his feet. Soon after, his father was told by
ApolloIn Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Olympian deities...
at
DelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis...
that his son would be immortal and famous." Another inscription, which is in fragmentary form, tells of Archilochos's introduction to Paros of a new form of worship of
DionysusIn classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos is the god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, amongst whom Greek mythology treated him as a late arrival...
, for which he was punished by his fellow citizens, but ultimately vindicated by Apollo. The later choral poet
PindarPindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, Pindar is the one whose work is best preserved...
had a low opinion of Archilochus.
1) Colonized
ThasosThasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia.-Prehistory:...
; was part of general ‘colonization’ efforts of his era (750-550 B.C.;
2) Was a
mercenaryA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
soldier by profession—typical of many landless, rootless ‘younger’ or illegitimate sons (no inheritance) in Archaic Greece, when ‘overpopulation’ was a major problem;
3) Was a ‘
LyricLyric poetry usually refers nowadays to a short poem that expresses personal feelings. It need not be set to music. Aristotle, in Poetics 1447a, merely mentions lyric poetry along with drama, epic poetry, dancing, painting and other forms of mimesis...
’ = ‘personal’ topics, poet; the 1st of the known Lyric poets, who broke with Homeric Epic poetry style to write of their own lives, experiences, feelings, attitudes. Other sig. Lyric poets included
SapphoSappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
,
AlcmanAlcman was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrinian canon of the nine lyric poets.- Family :...
, etc
Along with the epics of
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
and
HesiodHesiod was a Greek oral poet. His date is uncertain but leading scholars , agree that Hesiod lived in the latter half of the eighth century BCE. Since at least Herodotus's time , Hesiod and Homer have generally been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived, and they are often...
, the satires of Archilochus were one of the mainstays of itinerant
rhapsodeA rhapsode or, in modern usage, rhapsodist, refers to a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry in the fifth and fourth centuries BC . Rhapsodes notably performed the epics of Homer but also the wisdom and catalogue poetry of Hesiod and the satires of Archilochus and others...
s, who made a living declaiming poetry at both religious festivals and private homes.
In the historical and poetic imagination, Archilochus represents the romantic intersection of the fighting and the poetic spirits; this dual aspect of his personality is captured with brevity in the following poetic fragment, wherein he describes himself as both a warrior and a poet:
- Although I am a servant of Lord Enyalios [Ares, god of war],
- I also know well the lovely gift of the Muses.
Though it is thought by some that at
ThasosThasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia.-Prehistory:...
the poet passed some unhappy years or that his hopes of wealth were disappointed, one can interpret quite the opposite from the following fragment which suggests that Archilochus cares little for materialistic things, nor does he have any kind of intense lust for power. The following fragment suggests Archilochus acknowledges the rationality of stoic philosophy:
- These golden matters
- Of Gyges
Gyges can be:* A figure from Greek mythology, one of the Hecatonchires* King Gyges of Lydia...
and his treasuries
- Are no concern of mine.
- Jealousy has no power over me,
- Nor do I envy a god his work,
- And I do not burn to rule.
- Such things have no
- Fascination for my eyes.
According to him, Thasos was the meeting-place of the calamities of all Hellas. The inhabitants were frequently involved in quarrels with their neighbors, and in a war against the Saians— a
ThracianThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
tribe— he threw away his shield and fled from the field of battle. He does not seem to have felt the disgrace very keenly, for, like
AlcaeusAlcaeus may refer to several ancient Greek figures, notably:*Alcaeus , the son of Perseus and the father of Amphitryon*Alcaeus of Mytilene, a lyric poet of the archaic period...
, he commemorates the event: in a surviving fragment he congratulates himself on having saved his life, and says he can easily procure another shield:
- Some barbarian is waving my shield,
- since I was obliged to
- leave that perfectly good piece of equipment behind
- under a bush.
- But I got away, so what does it matter?
- Life seemed somehow more precious.
- Let the shield go; I can buy another one equally good.
After leaving Thasos, he is said to have visited
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars...
, but to have been at once banished from that city on account of his cowardice and the licentious character of his works (
Valerius MaximusValerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He flourished in the reign of Tiberius.-Personal History of Valerius Maximus:...
vi. 3, externa 1). He next visited
Magna GraeciaMagna Græcia is the name of the coastal areas of Southern Italy on the Tarentine Gulf that was extensively colonized by Greek settlers, especially the Achaean collonies of Tatentium, Crotone and Sybaris but also, more loosely, the cities of Cumae and Neopolis to the north...
, Hellenic southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, of which he speaks very favorably. He then returned to his native home on
ParosParos is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. Today, Paros is one of the most popular European tourist hotspots...
, and was slain in a battle against the Naxians by one Calondas or Corax, who was cursed by the oracle for having slain a servant of the Muses.
The writings of Archilochus consisted of
elegiesAn elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The term "elegy" originally denoted a type of poetic meter . It commonly describes a poem of mourning, from the Greek elegeia derived from elegos —a reflection on the death of someone...
,
hymnA hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek , "a song of praise"...
s— one of which used to be sung by the victors in the
Olympic gamesThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
— and of poems in the iambic and trochaic measures. Greek rhetors credited him with the invention of iambic poetry and its application to satire. The only previous measures used in Greek poetry for which we have extant, literary testimony had been the
epicAn epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
hexameterHexameter is a literary and poetic form, a line consisting of six metrical feet, as in the Iliad. It was the standard epic metre in Greek and became standard for Latin too. It was also used in other types of composition -- in Horace's satires, for instance, and Ovid's Metamorphoses...
, and its offshoot the elegiac meter; but the slow measured structure of hexameter verse was utterly unsuited to express the quick, light motions of satire. There is good reason to believe that the lyric meters are just as old as that of epic (dactylic hexameter). Just as Homer did not create his own meter, the lyric poets did not create their meter but employed the meter of past poets. Evidence for this can be seen in Homer, particularly in the Iliad (1.472-74; 16.182-83; 18.493). Thus, Archilochus had options when choosing his meters. Tradition may have been as important a factor in Archilochus' selection of verse as it was for Homer, and his decision may have been influenced by his relationship to Demeter and Dionysus and rituals surrounding these particular deities (as is briefly alluded to above). These rituals would have strengthened cultural mores through a demonstration of the opposite. The connection is tied to the definition of ἵαμβος (iambos). Iambos was a type of poetry not simply a metric device, and an expected subject matter accompanied the performance of this type of poetry. There were of course common meters of iambos/iambic poetry.
Archilochus made use of the iambus and the
trocheeA trochee or choree, choreus, is a metrical foot used in formal poetry consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one...
, and organized them into the two forms of meter known as the
iambic trimeterIambic trimeter is a meter consisting of three iambic units per line.In Ancient Greek, iambic trimeter was a quantitative meter in which a line consisted of three iambic metra; and each metron consisted of two iambi...
and the
trochaic tetrameterTrochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The word "tetrameter" simply means that the poem has four trochees...
. The trochaic meter he generally used for subjects of a vicarious nature; the iambic for satires. He was also the first to make use of the arrangement of verses called the
epodeEpode, in verse, is the third part of an ode, which followed the strophe and the antistrophe, and completed the movement.At a certain point in time the choirs, which had previously chanted to right of the altar or stage, and then to left of it, combined and sang in unison, or permitted the...
.
HoraceThis article is about the Roman poet Horace. For other uses, see Horace .Quintus Horatius Flaccus, , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:Born in the small town of Venusia in the border region between Apulia and Lucania...
in his meters to a great extent follows Archilochus. All ancient authorities unite in praising the poems of Archilochus, in terms that appear exaggerated. His verses seem certainly to have possessed strength, flexibility, nervous vigor, and, beyond everything else, impetuous vehemence and energy: Horace speaks of the "rage" of Archilochus, and
HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
calls his verses "raging iambics." His countrymen reverenced him as the equal of Homer, and statues of these two poets were dedicated on the same day. The hero cult of Archilochus on
ParosParos is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. Today, Paros is one of the most popular European tourist hotspots...
had a history of 800 years. His poems were written in the old
Ionic dialectIonic Greek was a sub-dialect of the Attic-Ionic dialectal group of Ancient Greek .Ionic dialect appears to have spread originally from the Greek mainland across the Aegean at the time of the Dorian invasions, around the 11th Century B.C.By the end of the Greek Dark Ages in the 5th Century B.C,...
.
Archilochus' poetry survives only in fragments, most of which come from Egyptian papyri.
Recent discoveries
Thirty lines of a previously unknown poem in the
elegiacElegiac refers either to those compositions that are like elegies or to a specific poetic meter used in Classical elegies. The Classical elegiac meter has two lines, making it a couplet: a line of dactylic hexameter, followed by a line of dactylic pentameter...
meter by Archilochos describing events leading up to the
Trojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, in which Achaeans battled
TelephusA Greek mythological figure, Telephus or Telephos was one of the Heraclidae, the sons of Heracles, who were venerated as founders of cities...
king of
MysiaMysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...
, have recently been identified among the unpublished manuscripts from
OxyrhynchusOxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
and published in
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Volume LXIX (Graeco-Roman Memoirs 89).
Quotes
- "For 'tis thy friends that make thee choke with rage". (1)
- "The fox knows many things; the hedgehog one great thing." (cf. The Hedgehog and the Fox
"The Hedgehog and the Fox" is the title of an essay by Isaiah Berlin, regarding the Russian author Leo Tolstoy's theory of history.-Origins:The title is a reference to a fragment attributed to the ancient Greek poet Archilochus:...
)
- "Wretched I lie, dead with desire, pierced through my bones, with the bitter pains the Gods have given me."
External links