Stesichorus (; , Stēsichoros; c. 630 – c. 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of Metauros (Gioia Tauro today). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres,Charles Segal, "Archaic Choral Lyric" in The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature, P. Easterling and B. Knox (eds.), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 186 and for some ancient traditions about his life, such as his opposition to the tyrant Phalaris, and the blindness he is said to have incurred and cured by composing verses first insulting and then flattering to Helen of Troy.
He was ranked among the nine lyric poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria, and yet his work attracted relatively little interest among ancient commentators,D.A. Campbell (ed.), Greek Lyric Vol 3, Loeb Classical Library (1991) page 5 so that remarkably few fragments of his poetry now survive. As David Campbell notes: "Time has dealt more harshly with Stesichorus than with any other major lyric poet."David Campbell, Greek Lyric Poetry, Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 253, reprinted from 1967 Macmillan edition Recent discoveries, recorded on Egyptian papyrus (notably and controversially, the Lille Stesichorus),P.J. Parsons, "The Lille Stesichorus", Zeitschreift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik Vol. 26 (1977), pages 7–36 have led to some improvements in our understanding of his work, confirming his role as a link between Homer's epic narrative and the lyric narrative of poets like Pindar.Charles Segal, "Archaic Choral Lyric" in The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature, P. Easterling and B. Knox (eds.), Cambridge University Press (1985), page 187; Steve Reece, "Homeric Influence in Stesichorus' Nostoi," Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 25 (1988) 1-8.
Stesichorus also exercised an important influence on the representation of myth in 6th-century art,C.M. Bowra, Greek Lyric Poetry, Oxford University Press (1961), pages 119–26 and on the development of Athenian dramatic poetry.Richard Jebb, Bacchylides: The poems and fragments Cambridge University Press (1905), page 32 Google digitalized version
Biography Stesichorus was born in Metauros (modern Gioia Tauro) in Calabria, Southern Italy c. 630 BC and died in Katane (modern Catania) in Sicily in 555 BC. Some say that he came from Himera in Sicily, but that was due to him moving from Metauros to Himera later in life. When exiled from Pallantium in Arcadia he came to Katane (Catania) and when he died there was buried in front of the gate which is called Stesichorean after him. In date he was later than the lyric poet Alcman, since he was born in the 37th Olympiad (632/28 BC). He died in the 56th Olympiad (556/2 BC). He had a brother Mamertinus who was an expert in geometry and a second brother Helianax, a law-giver. He was a lyric poet. His poems are in the Doric dialect and in 26 books. They say that he was blinded for writing abuse of Helen and recovered his sight after writing an encomium of Helen, the Palinode, as the result of a dream. He was called Stesichorus because he was the first to establish (stesai) a chorus of singers to the cithara; his name was originally Tisias.
Chronology The specific dates given by the Suda for Stesichorus have been dismissed by one modern scholar as "specious precision"M.L.West, 'Stesichorus', The Classical Quarterly, New Series Vol.21, No.2 (Nov. 1971) page 302 its dates for the floruit of Alcman (the 27th Olympiad), the life of Stesichorus (37th–56th Olympiads) and the birth of Simonides (the 56th Olympiad) virtually lay these three poets end-to-end, a coincidence that seems to underscore a convenient division between old and new styles of poetry.Charles Segal, 'Archaic Choral Lyric' – P. Easterling and E. Kenney (eds), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature, Cambridge University Press (1985), page 186-7 Nevertheless, the Suda'''s dates "fit reasonably well" with other indications of Stesichorus's life-span for example, they are consistent with a claim elsewhere in Suda that the poet Sappho was his contemporary, along with Alcaeus and Pittacus, and also with the claim, attested by other sources, that Phalaris was his contemporary.Campbell in Loeb page 3 Aristotle quoted a speech the poet is supposed to have made to the people of Himera warning them against the tyrannical ambitions of Phalaris.Aristotle Rhet. 2.20.1393b, cited by David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 39 The Byzantine grammarian Tzetzes also listed him as a contemporary of the tyrant and yet made him a contemporary of the philosopher Pythagoras as well.Tzetzes Vit.Hes. 18, cited by David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 33 According to Lucian, the poet lived to 85 years of age.Lucian Macr., cited by David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 33 Hieronymus declared that his poems became sweeter and more swan-like as he approached death,Hieronymus Epistles 52.3, David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 33 and Cicero knew of a bronzed statue representing him as a bent old man holding a book.Cicero Verr. 2.2.86, cited by David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 45 Eusebius dated his floruit in Olympiad 42.2 (611/10 BC) and his death in Olympiad 55.1 (560/59 BC).Eusebius Chron., cited by David A.Campbell, Greek Lyric III: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides and Others, Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 31
Family The Sudas claim that Hesiod was the father of Stesichorus can be dismissed as "fantasy"Cambell, Loeb page 35 yet it is also mentioned by TzetzesTzetzes Vit.Hes. 18, cited by Campbell, Loeb page 35 and the Hesiodic scholiast ProclusProclus Hes. Op. 271a, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 35 (one of them however named the mother of Stesichorus via Hesiod as Ctimene and the other as Clymene). According to another tradition known to Cicero, Stesichorus was the grandson of HesiodCicero De Rep. 2.20, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 37 yet even this verges on anachronism since Hesiod was composing verses around 700 BC.Jasper Griffin, "Greek Myth and Hesiod", J. Boardman, J. Griffin and O. Murray (eds), The Oxford History of the Classical World, Oxford University Press (1986), page 88 Stesichorus might be regarded as Hesiod's literary "heir" (his treatment of Helen in the Palinode, for example, may have owed much to Hesiod's Catalogue of Women)Charles Segal, "Archaic Choral Lyric" in The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature, Cambridge University Press (1985), page 191 and maybe this was the source of confusion about a family relationship.Richard Lattimore translation, "Hesiod" Intro. pp. 5, The University of Michigan Press, 1959 According to Stephanus of ByzantiumStephanus of Byzantium s.v. , cited by Campbell in Loeb page 35 and the philosopher PlatoPlato Phaedrus 244a, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 37 the poet's father was named Euphemus, but an inscription on a herm from Tivoli listed him as Euclides.Inscriptiones Graecae xiv 1213, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 37 The poet's mathematically inclined brother was named Mamertinus by the Suda but a scholiast in a commentary on Euclid named him Mamercus.Proclus in Euclid Prolog. 2, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 37
Background Stesichorus's lyrical treatment of epic themes was well-suited to a western Greek audience, owing to the popularity of hero-cults in southern Italy and Magna Graeca, as for example the cult of Philoctetes at Sybaris, Diomedes at Thurii and the Atreidae at Tarentum.Richard Jebb, Bacchylides: The poems and fragments Cambridge Uni Press (1905), page 32 It was also a sympathetic environment for his most famous poem, The Palinode, composed in praise of Helen, an important cult figure in the Doric diaspora.Charles Segal, 'Archaic Choral Lyric' – P. Easterling and E. Kenney (eds), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature, Cambridge University Press (1985), page 191 On the other hand, the western Greeks were not very different from their eastern counterparts and his poetry cannot be regarded exclusively as a product of the Greek West .G.O.Hutchinson, Greek Lyric Poetry: a commentary on selected larger pieces, Oxford University Press (2001), page 113 His poetry reveals both Doric and Ionian influences and this is consistent with the Suda'''s claim that his birthplace was either Metauria or Himera, both of which were founded by colonists of mixed Ionian/Doric descent.Charles Segal, 'Archaic Choral Lyric' – P. Easterling and E. Kenney (eds), The Cambridge History of Classical Literature I: Greek Literature, Cambridge University Press (1985), page 186 On the other hand, a Doric/Ionian flavour was fashionable among later poets it is found in the 'choral' lyrics of the Ionian poets Simonides and Bacchylides and it might have been fashionable even in Stesichorus's own day.G.O.Hutchinson, Greek Lyric Poetry: a commentary on selected larger pieces, Oxford University press (2001), page 115 His poetry included a description of the river HimeraVibius Sequester, de fluminibus fontibus etc, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 181 as well as praise for the town named after it,Himerius Orationes 27.27, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 181 and his poem Geryoneis included a description of Pallantium in Arcadia.Pausanias 8.3.2, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 89 His possible exile from Arcadia is attributed by one modern scholar to rivalry between Tegea and Sparta.W.G.Forrest, A History of Sparta 950–192 BC, page 76, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 28, note 4 Traditional accounts indicate that he was politically active in Magna Graeca. Aristotle mentions two public speeches by Stesichorus: one to the people of Himera, warning them against Phalaris, and another to the people of Locri, warning them against presumption (possibly referring to their war against Rhegium).Aristotle Rhet. 2.21. 1394b-95a, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 39 Philodemus believed that the poet once stood between two armies (which two, he doesn't say) and reconciled them with a song but there is a similar story about Terpander.Phildemus Mus. 1.30.31ss, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 41 According to the 9th century scholar Photius, the term eight all (used by gamblers at dice) derives from an expensive burial the poet received outside Catana, including a monument with eight pillars, eight steps and eight corners,Photius Lexicon, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 45 but the 3rd century grammarian Julius Pollux attributed the same term to an 'eight all ways' tomb given to the poet outside Himera.Pollux 9.100, cited by Campbell in Loeb page 43
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