Archilochus Handbook

PREFACE: This edition of Archilochus is intended to be a general introduction for an educated reader. It does not contain new scholarship, findings, arguments, and/or insight into Archilochus and his works. This edition does however provide the general reader with an eminently readable volume, background on the poet, elucidation of points of interest, unique images, and easy to read content from credible sources.

Archilochus was a Greek poet living in the Seventh Century BC. He originated from the island of Paros but spent considerable time on Thasos, the Thracian colony of Paros. Archilochus' relationship with Thasos and the idea of Greek colonization is explored in his poetry. He is unique in being the first Greek author to compose almost entirely based on his own emotions and experiences. Previous poets, namely Homer and Hesiod, used Greek myth and legend as the basis of their poetry. Archilochus made much of his poetry personal, basing it on a specific point of view. Traditional epic tended to be more detached from its material. Throughout his poetry, Archilochus explores what it means to be a person trying to make terms with the world and events surrounding him.