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Epicharmus of Kos or Epicharmus Comicus or Epicharmus Comicus Syracusanus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ Κῷος), thought to have lived between c. 550 and c. 460 BC, was a Greek dramatist and philosopher who is often credited with being one of the first
comic a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
writers, having originated the
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
or Sicilian comedic form.


Literary evidence

Most of the information about Epicharmus comes from the writings of
Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...
, '' Suda'' and
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...
, although fragments and comments come up in a host of other ancient authors as well. The standard edition of his fragments was made by Kaibel (1890) to which there has been various additions and emendments. There have also been some papyrus finds of longer sections of text, but these are often so full of holes that it is difficult to make sense of them. Plato mentions Epicharmus in his dialogue '' Gorgias''Plato, ''Gorgias'' 05e "So that, in Epicharmus's phrase, 'what two men spake erewhile' I may prove I can manage single-handed"

/ref> and in '' Theaetetus (dialogue), Theaetetus''. In the latter, Socrates refers to Epicharmus as "the prince of Comedy", Homer as "the prince of Tragedy", and both as "great masters of either kind of poetry"."Summon the great masters of either kind of poetry- Epicharmus, the prince of Comedy, and Homer of Tragedy", ''Theaetetus'', by Plato, section §152e

(translation by Benjamin Jowet

. There is some variability in translation of the passage. Words like "king", "chief", "leader", "master" are used in the place of "prince" in different translations. The basic Greek word in Plato is "akroi" from "akros" meaning topmost or high up. In this context it means "of a degree highest of its kind" or "consummate" (cf. Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon)

/ref> Aristotle (''Poetics'' 5.1449b5)Aristotle, ''Poetics'' 5.1449b

/ref> writes that he and
Phormis Phormis ( grc-gre, Φόρμις; fl. c. 478 BC) is one of the originators of Greek comedy, or of a particular form of it. Aristotle identified him as one of the originators of comedy, along with Epicharmus of Kos. He was said to be the first to int ...
invented comic plots (μῦθοι, ''muthoi'').cf. P. W. Buckham, p. 245 The 12th-century philosopher Constantine of Nicaea cites Epicharmus.


Life

All of his biographical information should be treated as suspect. Epicharmus' birthplace is not known, but late and fairly unreliable ancient commentators suggest a number of alternatives. The ''Suda'' (E 2766) records that he was either
Syracusan Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε� ...
by birth or from the Sikanian city of Krastos.
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...
(VIII 78) records that Epicharmus was born in Astypalea, the ancient capital of Kos on the
Bay of Kamari Kamari Bay is situated at the southwestern end of the Greek island of Kos. It is a popular tourist destination. The bay is overlooked by the ancient cliff-top village of Kefalos (Greek: Κέφαλος) and is often referred to as Kefalos Bay or ...
, near modern-day
Kefalos Kefalos (Κέφαλος) is the westernmost town on the Greek island of Kos, 43 km from Kos Town. It is situated on a peninsula, also known as Kefalos, at the south-west side of the island. The town is built on a stone height, dominated by t ...
. Diogenes Laërtius also records that Epicharmus' father was the prominent physician Helothales, who moved the family to Megara in Sicily, when Epicharmus was just a few months old. Although raised according to the Asclepiad tradition of his father, as an adult Epicharmus became a follower of Pythagoras.cf. P.W.Buckham, p.164, "But Epicharmus was a philosopher and a Pythagorean"; and Pickard-Cambridge, p. 232, "Epicharmus was a hearer of Pythagoras". It is most likely that sometime after 484 BC, he lived in
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas * Syracuse, Mi ...
, and worked as a poet for the tyrants Gelo and Hiero I. The subject matter of his poetry covered a broad range, from exhortations against intoxication and laziness to such unorthodox topics as mythological
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
, but he also wrote on philosophy, medicine, natural science, linguistics, and ethics. Among many other philosophical and moral lessons, Epicharmus taught that the continuous exercise of virtue could overcome heredity, so that anyone had the potential to be a good person regardless of birth. He died in his 90s (according to a statement in Lucian,Lucian, ''Macrobii'', 25 (cf

he died at ninety-seven). Diogenes Laërtius records that there was a bronze statue dedicated to him in Syracuse, by the inhabitants, for which
Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from h ...
composed the following inscription:Theocritus, ''Epigrams'', 17 (cf

As the bright sun excels the other stars,''
''As the sea far exceeds the river streams:''
''So does sage Epicharmus men surpass,''
''Whom hospitable Syracuse has crowned.
Theocritus' Epigram 18 (AP IX 60; Kassel and Austin Test. 18) was written in his honour. The cosmopolitan scientist and traveler
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, ...
turned Epicharmus into the protagonist of the only literary text he ever published; it appeared 1795 in Friedrich Schiller's journal Horen under the title "Die Lebenskraft oder der Rhodische Genius" 'The Vital Force or the Rhodian Genius'' Epicharmos figures here as a natural philosopher and interpreter of art.


Works

Epicharmus wrote between thirty-five and fifty-two comedies, though many have been lost or exist only in fragments. Along with his contemporary
Phormis Phormis ( grc-gre, Φόρμις; fl. c. 478 BC) is one of the originators of Greek comedy, or of a particular form of it. Aristotle identified him as one of the originators of comedy, along with Epicharmus of Kos. He was said to be the first to int ...
, he was alternately praised and denounced for ridiculing the great mythical heroes. At the time it would have been dangerous to present comedies in Syracuse like those of the Athenian stage, in which attacks were made upon the authorities. Accordingly, the comedies of Epicharmus are calculated not to give offence to the ruler. They are either mythological travesties or character comedies. His two most famous works were ''Agrōstīnos'' ("The Country-Dweller," or "Clodhopper"), which dealt humorously with the rustic lifestyle, and ''Hebes Gamos'' ("The Marriage of Hebe"), in which Heracles was portrayed as a glutton. He also depicted Odysseus as an unheroic figure of burlesque by parodying the Homeric image for comic effect in his ''Odysseùs Autómolos'' (Ulysses the Deserter). Additional works include *''Alkyon'' *''
Amykos In Greek mythology, Amykos ( grc, Ἄμυκος), Latinized as Amycus, was the king of the Bebryces, a mythical people in Bithynia. Family Amycus was the son of Poseidon and the Bithynian nymph Melia. Mythology Amycus was a doughty man but ...
'' ("Amycus") *''Harpagai'' *''Bakkhai'' *''Bousiris'' ("Busiris") *''Ga Kai Thalassa'' ("Earth and Sea") *''Deukalion'' (" Deucalion") *''Dionysoi'' ("The Dionysuses") *''Diphilus'' *''Elpis'' ("Hope"), or ''Ploutos'' ("Wealth") *''Heorta kai Nasoi'' *''Epinikios'' *''Herakleitos'' (" Heraclitus") *''Thearoi'' ("Spectators") *''Hephaistos'' ("
Hephaestus Hephaestus (; eight spellings; grc-gre, Ἥφαιστος, Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire (compare, however, with Hestia), and volcanoes.Walter B ...
"), or ''Komastai'' ("The Revelers") *''Kyklops'' ("The Cyclops") *''Logos kai Logeina'' *''Megaris'' ("Woman From Megara") *''Menes'' ("Months") *''Odysseus Nauagos'' ("Odysseus Shipwrecked") *'' Orya'' ("The Sausage") *''Periallos'' *''Persai'' ("The Persians") *''Pithon'' ("The Little Ape" or "Monkey") *''Seirenes'' ("Sirens") *''Skiron'' *''Sphinx'' *''Triakades'' *''Troes'' ("Trojan Men") *''Philoktetes'' ("
Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonas ...
") *''Choreuontes'' ("The Dancers") *''Chytrai'' ("The Pots") Reproducing a mid-4th century BC accusation from
Alcimus Alcimus (from grc-gre, Ἄλκιμος ''Alkimos'', "valiant" or Hebrew אליקום ''Elyaqum'', "God will rise"), also called Jakeimos, Jacimus, or Joachim (), was High Priest of Israel for three years from 162–159 BCE. He was a moderate Hell ...
,
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...
in his ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers''
Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal sourc ...
, '' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'', iii. 9
conserves a late opinion that Plato plagiarized several of Epicharmus's ideas. "
lato Lato ( grc, Λατώ, Latṓ) was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the village of Kritsa. History The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay betwee ...
derived great assistance from Epicharmus the Comic poet, for he transcribed a great deal from him, as
Alcimus Alcimus (from grc-gre, Ἄλκιμος ''Alkimos'', "valiant" or Hebrew אליקום ''Elyaqum'', "God will rise"), also called Jakeimos, Jacimus, or Joachim (), was High Priest of Israel for three years from 162–159 BCE. He was a moderate Hell ...
says in the essays dedicated to Amyntas f Heracleahellip;." Laërtius then lists, in III, 10, the several ways that Plato "employs the words of Epicharmus."


Quotations

*"A mortal should think mortal thoughts, not immortal thoughts." *"The best thing a man can have, in my view, is health." *"The hand washes the hand: give something and you may get something." *"Then what is the nature of men? Blown-up bladders!"Humanistictexts.org
*"Don't forget to exercise incredulity; for it is the sinews of the soul."


Notes


References

*Philip Wentworth Buckham
''Theatre of the Greeks''
1827. *P.E. Easterling (Series Editor),
Bernard M.W. Knox Bernard MacGregor Walker Knox (November 24, 1914 – July 22, 2010Wolfgang Saxon ''The New York Times'', August 16, 2010.) was an English classicist, author, and critic who became an American citizen. He was the first director of the Center ...
(Editor), ''Cambridge History of Classical Literature'', v.I, Greek Literature, 1985. , cf. Chapter 12, p. 367 on Epicharmus and others. *Rudolf Kassel, C. Austin (Editor) ''Poetae Comici Graeci: Agathenor-Aristonymus (Poetae Comici Graeci)'', 1991. * Lucía Rodríguez-Noriega Guillén, ''Epicarmo de Siracusa: testimonios y fragmentos'', Oviedo: Universidad de Oviedo, Servicio de Publicaciones, 1996. (lxiv, 247 pages) ISBN 847468935X *A. W. Pickard-Cambridge, ''Dithyramb, Tragedy, and Comedy'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1927, (repr. 1962). *Plato, ''Theaetetus''. *William Ridgeway, contrib. ''The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915. *Xavier Riu, ''Dionysism and Comedy'', 1999

*Lucia Rodríguez-Noriega Guillén, ''Epicarmo de Siracusa. Testimonios y Fragmentos. Edición crítica bilingüe.''; Oviedo: Universidad de Oviedo, Servicio de Publicaciones, 1996
Reviewed by Kathryn Bosher, University of Michigan, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2005.10.24
* William Smith (lexicographer), Smith, William, '' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', 1870, article on Epicharmus

*Theocritus, ''Idylls and Epigrams''. (''Theocritus translated into English Verse'' by C.S. Calverley


External links


An article on Epicharmus
at Theatrehistory.com *
Epicharmus Fragments
a
demonax.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epicharmus Of Kos 540s BC births 450s BC deaths Sicilian Greeks Pythagoreans Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights Ancient Greek poets Ancient Koans Doric Greek poets Old Comic poets