kids encyclopedia robot

Archilochus facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Archilochus
Bust of a bearded man (Archilochus?). Roman copy (c. 2nd century BC) of Greek original (4th century BC)
Bust of a bearded man (Archilochus?). Roman copy (c. 2nd century BC) of Greek original (4th century BC)
Native name
Ἀρχίλοχος
Born c. 680 BC
Paros
Died c. 645 BC
Paros
Occupation Poet
ArchilochusCapital
Ionic capital from the grave of Archilochus, with inscription: "Here lies Archilochus, son of Telesicles", Archaeological Museum of Paros

Archilochus ( Greek: Ἀρχίλοχος Arkhílokhos; c. 680 – c. 645 BC) was a Greek lyric poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his use of poetic meters, and is the earliest known Greek author to compose almost entirely on the theme of his own emotions and experiences.

Biography

A considerable amount of information about the life of Archilochus has come down to the modern age via his surviving work, the testimony of other authors, and inscriptions on monuments, yet it all needs to be viewed with caution.

Snippets of biographical information are provided by ancient authors such as Tatian, Proclus, Clement of Alexandria, Cicero, Aelian, Plutarch, Galen, Dio Chrysostom, and Aelius Aristides.

Archilochus was born to a notable family on Paros. Some sources suggest that his mother was a slave, named Enipo, and that Archilochus left Paros to escape poverty. However, reports of his slave background are questionable and are probably stem from a misreading of his verses. Archaeology indicates that life on Paros, which he associated with "figs and seafaring", was quite prosperous; and though he frequently refers to the rough life of a soldier, warfare was a function of the aristocracy in the archaic period and there is no indication that he fought for pay.

Cumulus23 - NOAA
"Look Glaucus! Already waves are disturbing the deep sea and a cloud stands straight round about the heights of Gyrae, a sign of storm; from the unexpected comes fear."
The trochaic verse was quoted by the Homeric scholar Heraclitus, who said that Archilochus used the image to describe war with the Thracians.

He joined the Parian colony on Thasos and battled the indigenous Thracians, expressing himself in his poems as a cynical, hard-bitten soldier fighting for a country he doesn't love ("Thasos, thrice miserable city") on behalf of a people he scorns. Later he returned to Paros and joined the fight against the neighbouring island of Naxos. A Naxian warrior named Calondas won notoriety as the man that killed him. The Naxian was punished for it by the gods: He had gone to the temple of Apollo at Delphi to consult the oracle and was rebuked with the memorable words: "You killed the servant of the Muses; depart from the temple."

Poetry

The earliest meter in extant Greek poetry was the epic hexameter of Homer. Homer did not create the epic hexameter, however, and there is evidence that other meters also predate his work. Thus, though ancient scholars credited Archilochus with the invention of elegy and iambic poetry, he probably built on a "flourishing tradition of popular song" that pre-dated Homer. His innovations however seem to have turned a popular tradition into an important literary medium.

The Alexandrian scholars included Archilochus in their canonical list of iambic poets.

Archilochus was much imitated even up to Roman times and three other distinguished poets later claimed to have thrown away their shields – Alcaeus, Anacreon and Horace.

Style

Like other archaic Greek poets, Archilochus relied heavily on Homer's example for his choice of language, particularly when using the same meter, dactylic hexameter (as for example in elegy), but even in other meters the debt is apparent.

θυμέ, θύμ᾽ ἀμηχάνοισι κήδεσιν κυκώμενε,
ἄνα δέ, δυσμενέων δ᾽ ἀλέξευ προσβαλὼν ἐναντίον
στέρνον, ἐν δοκοῖσιν ἐχθρῶν πλησίον κατασταθείς
ἀσφαλέως· καὶ μήτε νικῶν ἀμφαδὴν ἀγάλλεο
μηδὲ νικηθεὶς ἐν οἴκωι καταπεσὼν ὀδύρεο.
ἀλλὰ χαρτοῖσίν τε χαῖρε καὶ κακοῖσιν ἀσχάλα
μὴ λίην· γίνωσκε δ᾽ οἷος ῥυσμὸς ἀνθρώπους ἔχει.

My Soul, my Soul, all disturbed by sorrows inconsolable,
Bear up, hold out, meet front-on the many foes that rush on you
Now from this side and now that, enduring all such strife up close,
Never wavering; and should you win, don't openly exult,
Nor, defeated, throw yourself lamenting in a heap at home,
But delight in things that are delightful and, in hard times, grieve
Not too much – appreciate the rhythm that controls men's lives.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Arquíloco para niños

kids search engine
Archilochus Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.