Theognis and the Ambivalence of Aristocracy

Abstract

The article focuses on the vexed methodological problem of how to establish a relationship between the historical tradition of Megara on the one hand and the content of the Theognidea on the other. The uncertainties concerning the author’s identity, place of birth, and date notwithstanding, the poems permit a cursory glimpse of a polis community which was characterized by a fierce competition for wealth, social recognition, and sheer power.