Portrait of Archilochus

Archilochus

Ancient Greek lyric poet

Lived
687 BC–644 BC

Updated September 2026

About Archilochus

Archilochus was an iambic poet of the Archaic period from the island of Paros. He is celebrated for his versatile and innovative use of poetic meters, and is the earliest known Greek author to compose almost entirely on the theme of his own emotions and experiences.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.