Theagenes of Rhegium

Theagenes of Rhegium (Greek: Θεαγένης ὁ Ῥηγῖνος, Theagenēs ho Rhēginos; fl. 529–522 BC) was a Greek literary critic of the 6th century BC from Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria), in Magna Graecia.

Theagenes's writings are lost, the only information about his life or his doctrines must be reconstructed from summaries, fragments and characterizations of his work in later authors.^[1] Theagenes was one of the earliest proponents of the allegorical method of reading texts, defending the mythology of Homer from more rationalist attacks,^[2] possibly as a response to the criticisms of early Greek philosophers such as Xenophanes.^[3][4] It has also been argued that Pherecydes of Syros anticipated Theagenes.^[5]