Poetry stands as one of humanity’s oldest art forms. It is the art of manipulating words into rhythm and meaning to elicit strong emotional responses, allowing us to experience the world in new ways. As one of the most enduring forms of literature, it has also been extensively studied by scholars, who determine which poetic voices will reverberate through the ages.
Over the centuries, poets—those masters of language—have frequently turned to antiquity for inspiration, with ancient Greece figuring as one of their well-loved “muses.” Poets often draw upon Greek history and mythology to explore themes of rebirth, truths of human existence, or, in more contemporary works, to highlight critical movements such as that of feminism, among others. Poetry that draws inspiration from ancient Greece also serves as a way to draw attention to the culture and remind us of our deep connections to the past.
In their criticism of poetry inspired by ancient Greece, scholars set apart some poets for their contributions to the genre. Amongst these are European and American poets, such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Louise Glück, whose works drawn from Greek myth have marked the poetic genre and transport us back to the classical age.
The top five poems inspired by ancient Greece, according to scholars
“We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power.”
“Archaic Torso of Apollo” is a poem in sonnet form by the Austrian writer and poet Rainer Maria Rilke. It captures the striking impact of encountering the fragmented torso of Apollo. The speaker is left in awe at the dazzling force of this inanimate object, and feels a strong desire to “change [his] life.” The poem reads as a sort of prayer in which the speaker seeks a connection to the god across time and space, and this connection changes him.
Rilke’s poem is a deeply enigmatic one and its meaning elusive. Despite its ambiguity, it has been praised by critics such as Charlie Louth, while philosopher Peter Sloterdijk has described the final line—“You must change your life”—as the “quintessential metanoetic command”. It is a poem inciting inner transformation.
“unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning”
The American poet William Carlos Williams took inspiration from a painting by Pieter Bruegel for his poem of the same name. As the title suggests, it reflects on the myth of Icarus, who, along with his father Daedalus, was exiled on the island of Crete during the reign of King Minos.
In planning their escape, Daedalus created wings from wax and feathers. Yet, despite his father’s warnings, Icarus flew too close to the sun, and the wax in his wings melted, sending him plunging into the sea, where he drowned. Williams captured the precise moment of Icarus’ fall in a poem of ekphrasis that echoes Bruegel’s painting. In both the poem and the painting, everyday life continues vibrantly while tragedy unfolds in the background—telling us that suffering is often a matter of perspective.
Williams’ poem inspired by ancient Greece has been praised by critics for its simplicity and depth, as well as for its moving interpretation of the painting, classifying him as a subversive figure in American poetry.
“This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:
the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons”
Margaret Atwood’s poetry is often sparked by ancient Greek mythology, and “Siren Song” is no exception. Her main inspiration was Sirens, those mythological creatures part bird and part women who lurked near ships and lured sailors to their doom with sweet, irresistible songs. The Sirens (Parthenope, Ligea, and Leucosia) famously appear in Homer’s Odyssey, wherein the sorceress Circe warns Odysseus to plug his crew’s ears with wax so they won’t fall victim to the deadly song.
Atwood here unravels the riddle behind the allure of the Sirens’ song. The answer, deceptively simple yet powerful, is revealed: “This song / is a cry for help: Help me! / Only you, only you can, / you are unique / at last.”
Atwood shifts perspective by making one of the Sirens the speaker, giving her agency and a voice. This clever reversal of roles positions the Sirens as the ones in control, while the sailors become helpless victims, prey to their own curiosity and desire for “uniqueness.” The Sirens, in turn, exploit this vulnerability, crafting a narrative poem with deep, subversive meaning.
“That’s what he felt, the lord of darkness,
looking at the world he had
constructed for Persephone.”
Louise Glück, whose celebrated work earned her numerous awards, including the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote several poems centered on the myth of Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Among them is “A Myth of Devotion,” alongside three others: “Persephone the Wanderer (I),” “Persephone the Wanderer (II),” and “A Myth of Innocence.”
In “A Myth of Devotion,” Glück reinterprets the Persephone myth, focusing on her abduction by Hades, the God of the Underworld, who falls in love with her and takes her to his dark abode. Written in contemporary language yet rich with metaphor and simile, the poem shifts its gaze to Hades.
At first portrayed as a gentle, thoughtful lover, Hades’ true nature gradually surfaces: the reader realizes that Persephone’s abduction was the culmination of years of meticulous planning—an obsession that overlooks her desires and fears, which isn’t actual love. Glück’s poem stirred by ancient Greece is haunting and melancholic. It lingers with the reader for a long time.
“When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’”
Though it doesn’t directly reference ancient Greece or its myths, “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a timeless Romantic poem rooted in classical antiquity. John Keats, a leading figure of British Romanticism, had a profound admiration for ancient Greek culture and its artifacts. In his “iconic” ode, Keats contemplates scenes engraved on an ancient Greek urn which he saw at the British Museum.
Keats’ poem praises the stunning beauty of the urn and the scenes it portrays: temples, priests, maidens, revelry, and a pair of lovers forever captured in time. The poet admires the eternal stillness of the urn, contrasting it with the fleeting nature of human life.
In these frozen moments, Keats finds a quiet envy, knowing that while people age and fade, the images on the urn will remain untouched forever. He also suggests a profound truth—that art, in its beauty, needn’t hide any deeper meaning.
“Ode on a Grecian Urn” has long been praised by scholars, critics, and poets as one of the finest odes in the English language. In particular, its enigmatic closing lines have sparked much debate. Despite this, it remains a magnum opus of Romantic poetry.
