Bacchylides
Bacchylides
The lyric poet of Ceos
c. 518 BC – c. 451 BC
Bacchylides was born around 518 BC on the island of Ceos, the nephew of the poet Simonides. He was a contemporary and rival of Pindar, composing choral lyric poetry — victory odes, dithyrambs, and paeans — for patrons across the Greek world.
His work was almost entirely lost until 1896, when a papyrus containing twenty poems was discovered in Egypt. The recovery revealed a poet of grace, clarity, and narrative power — less dense and demanding than Pindar, but with a gift for storytelling and vivid imagery that is sometimes more immediately appealing. His dithyramb on Theseus and the dialogue between the hero and King Minos is a masterpiece of dramatic lyric.
Works (2)
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1
Dithyrambs prose
Choral poems for festivals, including narratives of Heracles, Theseus, and the daughters of Proetus. Rediscovered on papyrus in 1896.
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2
Epinicians prose
Victory odes for athletic champions, a contemporary and rival of Pindar. Bacchylides' style is more narrative and accessible — his account of Theseus'...