Note 232 — Chapter XXI · THE ANTHOLOGY.
Reading edition
A certain Cyril gives this as his definition of a good epigram (ii. 75; compare No. 342 on p. 69):
πάγκαλόν ἐστ' ἐπίγραμμα τὸ δίστιχον· ἢν δὲ παρέλθῃς τοὺς τρεῖς, ῥαψῳδεῖς κοὐκ ἐπίγραμμα λέγεις. Two lines complete the epigram—or three: Write more; you aim at epic poetry.
Here the essence of this kind of poetry is said to be brevity. But nothing is said about a sting. And on the point of brevity, the Cyril to whom this couplet is attributed is far too stringent when judged by the best Greek standards. The modern notion of the epigram is derived from a study of Martial, whose best verses are satirical and therefore of necessity stinging.