Hipponax of Ephesus (Ἱππῶναξ ὁ Ἐφέσιος)

Life Hipponax was an iambic poet from Ephesus active in the 6th century BCE. Exiled from his city, he settled in Clazomenae [1]. His poetry presents a persona of poverty and misfortune, and ancient sources report he used his verse for vicious personal attacks, most famously driving the sculptor Bupalus to suicide [1][2].

Works His work survives only in fragments. Hipponax is credited with inventing the "scazon" or choliambic meter, a limping iambic trimeter suited to his abusive tone [1][2][3]. The fragments, composed in the Ionic dialect, feature explicit invective, scatological humor, and themes of beggary and theft [1][3].

Significance A foundational figure in the Greek iambic tradition of blame poetry, Hipponax, alongside Archilochus, established invective as a core poetic mode. His choliambic meter influenced later satirical poetry, including the Hellenistic mimes of Herodas [1][2]. His fragments provide a valuable glimpse into the coarse, personal dimensions of Archaic Greek literature [1][3].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Hipponax (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hipponax/) 2. Encyclopædia Britannica: Hipponax (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hipponax) 3. Perseus Digital Library: Hipponax, Fragments (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0210:text=Hipponax)