Greek Anthology (Ἀνθολογία Ἑλληνική)

Life The Greek Anthology is not an author but a compilation of epigrammatic poetry assembled over many centuries. Its foundational collection, the Garland (Στέφανος), was compiled by Meleager of Gadara in the late 2nd or early 1st century BCE, containing poems from the Archaic through Hellenistic periods [1]. This corpus was expanded by later editors, including Philippus of Thessalonica in the 1st century CE and Agathias of Myrina, who compiled the Cycle (Κύκλος) in the 6th century CE [2]. The final major synthesis was made by Constantinus Cephalas in the 10th century CE, whose work is preserved in the key manuscript known as the Palatine Anthology [3][4].

Works The sole "work" is the Anthology itself, a vast collection of thousands of short poems by hundreds of poets spanning from the 7th century BCE to the 6th century CE. The core of the transmitted corpus is found in two primary manuscripts: the 10th-century Palatine Anthology and the 14th-century Planudean Anthology compiled by Maximus Planudes [3][4].

Significance The Anthology is the principal repository for the Greek epigram, preserving a diverse range of poetic voices, themes, and historical contexts across more than a millennium. It provides crucial evidence for the evolution of Greek poetry and profoundly influenced the revival of Greek studies in the Renaissance and the development of the European epigram [2][3].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: "Meleager of Gadara": https://www.britannica.com/biography/Meleager-of-Gadara 2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "The Greek Anthology": https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/greek-anthology/ 3. Perseus Digital Library: "A Brief History of the Greek Anthology": http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0471 4. World History Encyclopedia: "Greek Anthology": https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Anthology/