Margites

The Margites (Greek: Μαργίτης) is a comic mock-epic of Ancient Greece that is largely lost. From references to the work that survived, we know that its central character is an exceedingly dumb man named "Margites" (from ancient Greek μάργος, margos, "raving, mad; lustful") who was so dense he did not know which parent had given birth to him. His name gave rise to the recherché adjective margitomanēs (μαργιτομανής), "mad as Margites", used by Philodemus. Margites was famous in the ancient world, but only these following lines passed from Medieval tradition:

Margites

The Margites (Greek: Μαργίτης) is a comic mock-epic of Ancient Greece that is largely lost. From references to the work that survived, we know that its central character is an exceedingly dumb man named "Margites" (from ancient Greek μάργος, margos, "raving, mad; lustful") who was so dense he did not know which parent had given birth to him. His name gave rise to the recherché adjective margitomanēs (μαργιτομανής), "mad as Margites", used by Philodemus. Margites was famous in the ancient world, but only these following lines passed from Medieval tradition: