Meleager of Gadara ( grc-gre, Μελέαγρος ; fl. 1st century BC) was a poet and collector of
epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mill ...
s. He wrote some
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...
prose, now lost, and some sensual
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...
, of which 134 epigrams survive.
Life
Meleager was the son of Eucrates, born in the city of
Gadara
Gadara ( el, Γάδαρα ''Gádara''), in some texts Gedaris, was an ancient Hellenistic city, for a long time member of the Decapolis city league, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see.
Its ruins are today located at Umm ...
, now
Umm Qais
Umm Qais or Qays ( ar, أم قيس , , Mother of Qais) is a town in northern Jordan principally known for its proximity to the ruins of the ancient Gadara. It is the largest city in the Bani Kinanah Department and Irbid Governorate in the extre ...
in
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, which was then a partially Hellenized community noted for its "remarkable contribution to
Greek culture
The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cul ...
". He was educated in
Tyre and spent his later life in
Cos
Cos, COS, CoS, coS or Cos. may refer to:
Mathematics, science and technology
* Carbonyl sulfide
* Class of service (CoS or COS), a network header field defined by the IEEE 802.1p task group
* Class of service (COS), a parameter in telephone syst ...
where he died at an advanced age, perhaps at 70. According to short autobiographical poems he wrote, Meleager was proud of his hometown and identified himself as
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
, being both "Attic" (i.e.
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
) and
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
, and also praised Tyre for having "made
ima man" and Cos for taking "care of
imin
isold age".
The
scholiast to the Palatine manuscript of the ''
Greek Anthology
The ''Greek Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia Graeca) is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ' ...
'' says he flourished in the reign of
Seleucus VI Epiphanes (95 – 93 BC). The uppermost date of his compilation of the Anthology is 60 BC, as it did not include
Philodemus
Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before movin ...
of Gadara, though later editors added thirty-four epigrams.
Some writers classed him among the
Cynics, and according to historian
Benjamin Isaac Meleager's belief that "all men are equal and compatriots" strengthens this view, as some Cynics already held such a world view possibly as early as the 5th century BC. Like his compatriot
Menippus
Menippus of Gadara (; el, Μένιππος ὁ Γαδαρεύς ''Menippos ho Gadareus''; fl. 3rd century BC) was a Cynic satirist. The Menippean satire genre is named after him. His works, all of which are lost, were an important influence ...
, Meleager wrote what were known as ''
spoudogeloia'' (Greek singular: ), satirical prose essays putting philosophy in popular form with humorous illustrations. These are completely lost. Meleager's fame is securely founded on the one hundred and thirty-four epigrams of his own which he included in his Anthology. The manuscripts of the ''Greek Anthology'' are the sole source of these epigrams.
''The Garland'' of Meleager
Meleager is famous for his anthology of poetry entitled ''The Garland'' ( el, Στέφανος).
Polemon of Ilium
Polemon of Athens ( grc-gre, Πολέμων ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, fl. 2nd century BC) was an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher and geographer. Of Athenian citizenship, he was most widely known as Polemon of Athens, but he was born either in Ilium, ...
and others had created collections of monumental inscriptions, or of poems on particular subjects earlier, but Meleager first did so comprehensively. He collected epigrams by 46 Greek poets, from every lyric period up to his own. His title referred to the commonplace comparison of small beautiful poems to flowers, and in the introduction to his work, he attached the names of various flowers, shrubs, and herbs—as emblems—to the names of the several poets.
[Smith]
"Planudes"
1867, p. 385. The ''Garland'' itself has survived only as one of the original constituent roots to the
Greek Anthology
The ''Greek Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia Graeca) is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ' ...
.
Poetry
Meleager's poetry is concerned with personal experience and emotions, frequently with love and its discontents. He typically describes himself not as an active and engaged lover, but as one struck by the beauty of a woman or boy. The following is an example:
References
Bibliography
Texts and translations
*
''The Greek Anthology I'' (Loeb Classical Library) W. R. Paton (1916) Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press; London: Heinemann)
riginal Greek with facing page English translations*''Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology.'' J. W. Mackail (1890) Longmans, Green & Co.
nglish translationsbr>
''The Greek Anthology'' Charles Neaves (1874) New York: John B. Alden
nglish translations and commentary
Secondary sources
*
*Smith, Philip (1867
"Meleager""Planudes" In William Smith (ed.)
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...
. 3. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
Further reading
* ''The Greek Anthology: Hellenistic Epigrams Edited by A.S.F. Gow and D.L. Page'' (2 vols., 1965 Cambridge U.P.)
ncient Greek text, English translations, detailed commentary*''The Greek Anthology and Other Ancient Greek Epigrams.'' Peter Jay (1974) Ann Arbor MI: University of Michigan Press
nglish translations* Meleager, ''The Poems of Meleager'' Tr. Peter Wigham, Peter Jay. (1975. Anvil Press)
* Meleager, ''Meleager: The Poems'' Tr. Jerry Clack (1992. Bolchazy-Carducci)
External links
Meleager of Gadara: translation of all surviving epigramsat ''attalus.org''; adapted from W. R. Paton (1916–18)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meleager of Gadara
1st-century BC poets
Ancient Greek anthologists
Ancient Greek poets
Cynic philosophers
Hellenistic-era people
Roman-era Greeks
Epigrammatists of the Greek Anthology