Archilochos in His Time

Whether expressed by the poet or a persona, Archilochos' warrior poems offer firsthand information about war and the war experience of the poet, his comrades, and his contemporaries. In fact, rather than merely shared memories, grim reports, or entertaining declarations, many such poems advise and educate a wider audience, as well as other warriors such as Archilochos' friend Glaukos. As such, like Hesiod's advice to other farmers in Works and Days, they constitute didactic (or “wisdom”) poetry based on the experiences and observations of the poet. In fact, both authors display a kind of protoscientific orientation to their environment, their poetry aimed at conveying practical wisdom to their contemporary audiences in the earlier seventh century BC. These poems of Archilochos should help lay to rest the notion that he was a sullen and marginalized outsider, disengaged from society.