Life Theognis was an archaic Greek poet from Megara, traditionally placed in the mid-6th century BCE. Ancient references, including by Plato, confirm his existence but leave his precise origin—mainland or Sicilian Megara—unsettled [1]. His poetry suggests he was an aristocrat who endured exile and loss of status during political turmoil in Megara, and he addresses much of his didactic verse to a youth named Cyrnus [1][2].

Works The surviving work is the Theognidea, a composite anthology of nearly 1,400 lines of elegiac verse. A core section (lines 19–254) addressed to Cyrnus is considered most authentic to Theognis. The larger corpus incorporates poetry by other archaic figures like Tyrtaeus and Solon, representing a broad collection of gnomic elegy compiled over centuries [1][2][3].

Significance The corpus is a vital source for archaic Greek aristocratic values, politics, and ethics, reflecting anxieties over social mobility and political strife. Used as a school text in antiquity and quoted by authors like Plato and Aristotle, it remains central to the study of archaic elegy and social history [1][3].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Theognis): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/theognis/ 2. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics (Theognis): https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6317 3. Encyclopædia Britannica (Theognis): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theognis