Epigram

An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement. They are among the best examples of the power of poetry to compress insight and wit.

Ancient Greek

The epigram originated in Greece as a form for inscription on a monument or grave, hence the word 'epigram' from the Greek words meaning 'to write on'. Epigrams were thus much shorter than lyric poetry which developed from forms designed for performance accompanied by musical instruments.

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One such monument inscription is Simonides's epitaph for the Spartan dead after the Battle of Thermopylae,which can be found in Herodotus' work The Histories (7.228), to the Spartans:

Related Topics:
Simonides's - Epitaph - Spartan - Battle of Thermopylae - Herodotus - The Histories

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:::ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε

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:::(O xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti täde/

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:::κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

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:::keimetha tois keinon rhämasi peithomenoi.)

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:Which to keep the poetic context can be translated as:

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:::Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by

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:::that here, obedient to their laws we lie

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:or more literally as:

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:::Oh foreigner, tell the Lacedaemonians

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:::that here we lie, obeying those words.

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Epigrams were not defined by their subject matter, however. The largest surviving collection, the Greek Anthology, contains poems on love, inscriptions dedicating gifts to the gods, moral or philosophical advice, and invective. Nor were epigrams required to be witty (though many, especially invectives and satirical ones, were). The defining characteristics of an epigram were its length, often restricted to a single couplet, and its meter, almost always the elegiac couplet.

Related Topics:
Greek Anthology - Gods - Meter - Elegiac couplet

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Many noted Greek writers composed epigrams, including some, who, like Plato, Solon and Aeschylus, were more famous for their work in other genres. The 'Anthology' contains examples from very early Greek history all the way into the Byzantine period, and even some examples by Christians. Epigrams were also written by women and other members of the less privileged classes. Nicarchus and Martial are two epigrammatists from the first century AD.

Related Topics:
Plato - Solon - Aeschylus - Byzantine - Christian - Nicarchus - Martial

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