Ancient History Competition 7

Manolis thought that the previous competition was way too easy. So, he decided to ask you something a bit more difficult. This is for specialists of the Hellenistic period who also know modern Athens.

It is a poem of the Hellenistic period. It is also the name of a modern-day suburb of Athens. Which poem is it?

Economic historian and numismatic consultant


  1. Moschus’ Megara: A.S.F. Gow, Bucolici Graeci. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952 (repr. 1969): 146-150.

  2. Strictly speaking, Megara is not a suburb of Athens. Besides, I think that the name of Moschus’ poem “Megara” is feminine, i.e. it refers to the woman Μεγάρα (Hercules’ wife, note the accent), not to the city of Megara (Μέγαρα). Try something else.

  3. I have to say Chuck, your answer is very good. However, I should agree with Manolis that Megara is not a suburb of modern Athens. It is another city in Attica but very close to Corinth. Let me give you a clue. Try the rich northern suburbs.

  4. I knew I should have paid a bit more attention to the literature and not just history :) This one has me completely stumped. I like it 😀

  5. Time to give you the answer: it’s “Hekale”, or “Ekali” as it is now pronounced, a poem by Callimachos. But just for the record, I have to say that Chuck Jones’ answer was great.

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