Meleager of Gadara - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Meleager of Gadara was a poet and collector of epigram

Epigram

An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....

s. He wrote some satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

prose, now lost, and he wrote some sensual poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, of which, 134 epigrams survive. He also compiled numerous epigrams from diverse poets in an anthology

Anthology

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

known as the Garland, and although this does not survive, it is the original basis for the Greek Anthology
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...

.

Life

He was the son of Eucrates, born in the city of Gadara, now Umm Qais

Umm Qais

Umm Qais is a town in Jordan located on the site of the ruined Hellenistic-Roman city of Gadara . The town was also called Antiochia or Antiochia Semiramis and Seleucia...

in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, which was then a partially Hellenized community in northern Palestine and is identified Ramoth-Gilead

Ramoth-Gilead

Ramoth-Gilead, , is a city of refuge east of the Jordan river; called "Ramoth in Gilead"...

of the Old Testament. He was educated in Tyre and spent his later life in Cos

Cos

-Maths, science and technology:* Cosine, a trigonometric function* COS cells, a cell line used by biologists* Carbonyl sulfide, a chemical compound* Class of service , a 3 bit field within a layer two Ethernet frame header defined by IEEE 802.1p...

where he died at an advanced age. The scholiast to the Palatine manuscript of the Greek Anthology

Greek Anthology

The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...

says he flourished in the reign of Seleucus VI Epiphanes

Seleucus VI Epiphanes

Seleucus VI Epiphanes Nikator, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the oldest son of Antiochus VIII Grypus and his wife Tryphaena. In 96 BC, Seleucus defeated his half-uncle Antiochus IX Cyzicenus in revenge for his father's death...

(95 – 93 BCE). The uppermost date of his compilation of the Anthology is 60 BCE, as it did not include Philodemus

Philodemus

Philodemus of Gadara was an Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving to Rome, and then to Herculaneum. He was once known chiefly for his poetry preserved in the Greek anthology, but since the 18th century, many writings of his have been discovered...

of Gadara, though later editors added thirty-four epigrams.

Some writers classed him among the Cynics, and like his compatriot Menippus

Menippus

Menippus of Gadara, was a Cynic and satirist. His works, which are all lost, were an important influence on Varro and Lucian. The Menippean satire genre is named after him.-Life:...

, Meleager wrote what were known as spoudogeloia
Spoudaiogeloion
The mixture of serious and comical elements stylistically, from the Greek spoudaion, "serious", and geloion, "comical". The combination first appears in Aristophanes's Frogs....

(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 known as The Garland. Collections of monumental inscriptions, or of poems on particular subjects, had previously been created by Polemon of Ilium and others; but Meleager first did this comprehensively. His collection contained epigrams by forty-six poets, of all ages of Greek poetry, up to the most ancient lyric period. He entitled it The Garland , with reference to the common comparison of small beautiful poems to flowers; and in the introduction to his work, he attaches the names of various flowers, shrubs, and herbs, as emblems, to the names of the several poets. The Garland of Meleager was arranged in alphabetical order, according to the initial letters of the first line of each epigram. The Garland has not survived, but it forms the basis of the Greek Anthology
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...

.

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:

At 12 o'clock in the afternoon

In the middle of the street -

Alexis!

Summer had all but brought the fruit

To its perilous end:

And the summer sun and that boy's look

Did their work on me!

Life

The Garland of Meleager

Poetry

Further reading