Mimnermus was a Greek elegiac poet from either Colophon or Smyrna in Ionia, who flourished about 632–629 BC. He was strongly influenced by Homer, yet he wrote short poems suitable for performance at drinking parties and was remembered by ancient authorities chiefly as a love poet. Mimnermus in turn exerted a strong influence on Hellenistic poets such as Callimachus and thus also on Roman poets such as Propertius, who even preferred him to Homer for his eloquence on love themes.
Mimnermus was one of several ancient Greek poets who composed verses about solar eclipses, and there was a total solar eclipse of his home town, Smyrna, on April 6, 648 BC. His poetry survives only as a few fragments yet they afford us a glimpse of his "brilliantly vivid" style.
The aulos was an instrument that might accompany the singing of elegies (Brygos Painter, Attic red-figured kylix, ca. 490 BC)
Weeping Stone, Mount Sipylos—associated with the tragic figure of Niobe.
Corinthian vase depicting Mimnermus's original account of Ismene's death. Tydeus is depicted in black (usual for a male), Ismene and her fleeing lover Theoclymenus are white (usual for females and appropriate for an adulterous male on the run).
Colophon was an ancient city in Ionia. Founded around the end of the 2nd millennium BC, it was likely one of the oldest of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. It was located between Lebedos and Ephesus. Its ruins are south of the town Değirmendere in the Menderes district of Izmir Province, Turkey.
Ruins of Colophon
