Theognis Biography
A 6th cenutry BC Greek poet, it has been estimated that Theognis was born around 540 BC and the last date mentioned in his work is 480 BC.
Theognis was an aristocrat who settled in Megara. A didactic poet, he wrote many of his poems for a young man named Cyrnus. Many of his works begin with the Greek for "O Boy" and are passionate in their descriptions of both hate and love.
Another theme of his work was his lament that those he considered 'unrighteous' were gaining power above those aristocrats, such as himself, who he considered deserved it more.
Amongst the ancient Greek poets, Theognis is rare in that much of his work has remained intact. However, of the 1,400 surviving lines attributed to him, it is now believed that some were the work of other writers.
My heart, display toward all your friends a changeful character,
Adding into it the disposition that each one has.
Adopt the disposition of the octopus, crafty in its convolutions, which takes on
The appearance of whatever rock it has dealings with.
...
Of all things it is poverty that most subdues a noble man,
More even than hoary old age, Kyrnos, or fever;
Indeed, to avoid it one should even throw oneself into the sea's
Deep gulfs, Kyrnos, or off sheer cliffs.
...
My boy, as long as your cheeks and chin are smooth, I shall never
Cease to praise you, not even if I am fated to die.
For you, the giver, it is still honorable, and for me as lover it is not shameful
To ask. But I beseech you, in the name of my parents:
...
Kyrnos, as I work my craft let a seal be set upon
These words of mine, and they will never be stolen unremarked,
Nor will anyone change the good that is there to something worse;
And this is what everyone will say: 'These are the lines of Theognis,
...
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