Hipponax

thumb|right Hipponax (Ancient Greek: Ἱππῶναξ, Hippônax), of Ephesus and later Clazomenae, was an Ancient Greek poet who composed verses depicting the vulgar side of life in Ionian society in the sixth century BC. He was celebrated by ancient authors for his malicious wit, and ancient literary critics credited him with inventing literary parody and "lame" poetic meters suitable for expressing vigorous abuse. Little of his work survives despite its interest to Alexandrian scholars, who collected it in two or three books. Quotes Greek text cited from M. L. West, Iambi et Elegi Graeci ante Alexandrum cantati, vol. I (Oxford, 21989). τίς ὀμφαλητόμος σε τὸν διοπλῆγαἔψησε κἀπέλουσεν ἀσκαρίζοντα; What navel-snipper wiped and washed you as you squirmed about, you crack-brained creature? Frg. 19 IEG (tr. D. E. Gerber, 1999) ἐμοὶ δὲ Πλοῦτος—ἔστι γὰρ λίην τυφλός—ἐς τᾠκί᾿ ἐλθὼν οὐδάμ᾿ εἶπεν "Ἱππῶναξ,δίδωμί τοι μνέας ἀργύρου τριήκοντακαὶ πόλλ᾿ ἔτ᾿ ἄλλα"· δείλαιος γὰρ τὰς φρένας. But never came there Plutus, the blind one,Unto my house, nor spake thus: 'Hippônax,Minas of silver give I thee thirty.' Frg. 36 IEG (tr. J. M. Edmonds, 1938) δύ᾿ ἡμέραι γυναικός εἰσιν ἥδισται,ὅταν γαμῇ τις κἀκφέρῃ τεθνηκυῖαν. Two days are best of a man's wedded life,The days when he marries and buries his wife. Frg. 68 IEG (tr. J. M. Edmonds, 1938) Cf. the (apparently anonymous) English-language joke "The two best days in a boat owner’s life are the day they buy a boat and the day they sell it." Reuven Perlman, "The Best Days of a Boat Owner's Life", The New Yorker (13 January 2021) Quotes about Hipponax ὁ μουσοποιὸς ἐνθάδ᾿ Ἱππῶναξ κεῖται.εἰ μὲν πονηρός, μὴ ποτέρχευ τῷ τύμβῳ·εἰ δ᾿ ἐσσὶ κρήγυός τε καὶ παρὰ χρηστῶν,θαρσέων καθίζευ, κἢν θέλῃς, ἀπόβριξον. Here lies the poet Hipponax. If you are a scoundrel, do not approach the tomb; but if you are honest and from worthy stock, sit down in confidence and, if you like, fall asleep. Theocritus, Epigram 19 (tr. D. E. Gerber, 1999) External links Category:Poets from Greece Category:BCE deaths