Theagenes of Rhegium (, ''Theagenēs ho Rhēginos''; ''fl.'' 529–522 BC) was a Greek literary critic of the 6th century BC from

Rhegium Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

(modern

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

), in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

. Theagenes's writings are lost, the only information about his life or his doctrines must be reconstructed from summaries, fragments and characterizations of his work in later authors. Theagenes was one of the earliest proponents of the

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

method of reading texts, defending the mythology of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

from more rationalist attacks, possibly as a response to the criticisms of early Greek philosophers such as

Xenophanes Xenophanes of Colophon ( ; ; – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer. He was born in Ionia and travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early classical antiquity. As a poet, Xenophanes was known f ...

. It has also been argued that Pherecydes of Syros anticipated Theagenes.

Notes

Ancient sources

In the Diels-Kranz numbering for testimony and fragments of

Pre-Socratic philosophy Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...

, Theagenes of Rhegium is catalogued as number 8. The most recent edition of this catalogue is: . His fragments are reprinted with notes and an Italian translation in Giuliana Lanata, ''Poetica Pre-platonica: Testimonianze e Frammenti'' (Florence 1963) 104-111. *1. *1a. *2. *3. *4.

References

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theagenes Of Rhegium Ancient Greek grammarians Ancient Rhegians 6th-century BC Greek people Writers of Magna Graecia Philosophers of Magna Graecia Presocratic philosophers