Greek Anthology, Volume I

A gathering of poetic blossoms.

The Greek Anthology contains some 4,500 short Greek poems in the sparkling and diverse genre of epigram, written by more than a hundred poets and collected over many centuries. To the original collection, called the Garland (Stephanus) by its contributing editor, Meleager of Gadara (first century BC), was added another Garland, by Philip of Thessalonica (mid-first century AD) and then a Cycle by Agathias of Myrina (AD 567/8). In about AD 900 these collections (now lost) and perhaps others (also lost, by Rufinus, Diogenianus, Strato, and Palladas) were partly incorporated and arranged into fifteen books according to subject by Constantine Cephalas; most of his collection is preserved in a manuscript called the Palatine Anthology. A second… Keep Reading