The ''Margites'' ( grc-gre, Μαργίτης) is a comic mock-epic ascribed to

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

that is largely lost. From references to the work that survived, it is known that its central character is an exceedingly stupid man named Margites (from

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

, ''margos'', "raving, mad; lustful"), who was so dense he did not know which parent had given birth to him. His name gave rise to the recherché adjective ''margitomanēs'' (), "mad as Margites", used by

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before movin ...

. It was commonly attributed to

, as by

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

(''Poetics'' 13.92): "His ''Margites'' indeed provides an analogy: as are the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' to our tragedies, so is the ''Margites'' to our comedies"; but the work, among a mixed genre of works loosely labelled "

Homerica Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of t ...

" in antiquity, was attributed to Pigres, a Greek poet of

Halicarnassus Halicarnassus (; grc, Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός ''Halikarnāssós'' or ''Alikarnāssós''; tr, Halikarnas; Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 ''alos k̂arnos'') was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was locate ...

, in the massive medieval Greek encyclopaedia called the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souida ...

''. Harpocration also writes that it is attributed to Homer.

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Cae ...

writes that the work is attributed to Homer but he states that he is unsure regarding this attribution. It is written in mixed

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

and iambic lines, an oddity characteristic also of the ''

Batrachomyomachia The ''Batrachomyomachia'' ( grc, Βατραχομυομαχία, from , "frog", , "mouse", and , "battle") or ''Battle of the Frogs and Mice'' is a comic epic, or a parody of the ''Iliad'', commonly attributed to Homer, although other authors ha ...

'' (likewise attributed to Pigres), which inserts a pentameter line after each hexameter of the ''Iliad'' as a curious literary game. ''Margites'' was famous in the ancient world, but only these following lines are transmitted in medieval sources: :Him, then, the Gods made neither a delver nor a ploughman, :Nor in any other way wise; he failed every art. ::as quoted by

:He knew many things, but he knew them badly ... ::as quoted by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

:There came to Colophon an old man and divine singer, :a servant of the Muses and of far-shooting Apollo. :In his dear hands he held a sweet-toned lyre ... ::as quoted by

Atilius Fortunatianus Atilius Fortunatianus (flourished in the 4th century A.D.) was a Latin grammarian. He was the author of a treatise on metres, dedicated to one of his pupils, a youth of senatorial rank, who desired to be instructed in the Horatian metres. The ma ...

:The fox knows many a wile; :but the hedgehog's one trick can beat them all. ::as quoted by Zenobius (attributed simply to "Homer") A few additional fragments (P.Oxy 2309, 3693 and 3694) were found among the

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cai ...

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to ...

es and published in volume II of ''Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati'' by

M. L. West Martin Litchfield West, (23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015) was a British philologist and classical scholar. In recognition of his contribution to scholarship, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 2014. West wrote on ancient Greek music, Gree ...

. Due to the Margites character, the Greeks used the word to describe fool and useless people.

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pr ...

called

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

Margites in order to insult and degrade him.Harpokration, Lexicon of the Ten Orators, § m6
/ref>Aeschines, Against Ctesiphon, §160
/ref>Plutarch, Life of Demosthenes, §23
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Smith, William. ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

'', 1870, article on Margites
v. 2, page 949
*West, M.L. ''Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati'', vol. II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. . {{Authority control Ancient Greek mock-heroic poems Lost poems Homer Greek words and phrases Ancient Greek epic poems