ArkhilokhosArchilochus

(circa 650 BCE) A Greek poet and mercenary.

The poems of Arkhilokhos survive only in fragments and range from tender verses of love to brutal tales of battle and brawling; he is assumed to have come from the Aegean island of Paros and earned his living as a mercenary soldier.

His caustic wit earned him both grudging recognition and bitter resentment; his scorn of bravery caused him to be banned from Sparta.

Of the surviving fragments, my personal favorite may be rendered “Hot tears cannot drive misery away, Nor banquets and dancing make it worse.”

His name may also be rendered as Arkhilokhus or Archilochos.

For the complete collection of these extant poems I suggest the book 7 Greeks by Guy Davenport (ISBN 0811212882); this excellent book can be found at your library in section 881 or you can order this book through the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.