Choerilus of Samos ( grc-gre, Χοιρίλος ὁ Σάμιος) was an

epic poet An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, who flourished at the end of the 5th century BC.

Biography

After the defeat of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

, Choerilus settled at the court of Archelaus, king of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

, where he was the associate of

Agathon Agathon (; grc, Ἀγάθων; ) was an Athenian tragic poet whose works have been lost. He is best known for his appearance in Plato's ''Symposium,'' which describes the banquet given to celebrate his obtaining a prize for his first tragedy a ...

Melanippides Melanippides of Melos ( el, Μελανιππίδης), one of the most celebrated lyric poets in the use of dithyramb, and an exponent of the "new music." Biography The life of Melanippides can only be fixed within rather uncertain limits. He is ...

, and

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

the

comic poet Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece (the others being tragedy and the satyr play). Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, an ...

. The only work that can with certainty be attributed to him is the Περσηίς (''Perseis'') or Περσικά (''Persika''), a history of the

struggle Struggle may refer to: Film and TV * ''Struggle'' (2003 film), an Austrian film * Struggle (2013 film) * ''Struggle'' (TV series), 2007 Chinese TV series Music * ''Struggle'' (Nonpoint album), 1999 release * Struggle (Woody Guthrie album), 1 ...

of the Greeks against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, the central point of which was the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

. His importance consists in his having taken for his theme national and contemporary events in place of the deeds of old-time heroes. For this new departure he apologizes in the introductory verses, where he says that the subjects of epic poetry being all exhausted, it was necessary to strike out a new path. The story of his intimacy with

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

is probably because he imitated him and had recourse to his history for the incidents of his poem. The ''Perseis'' was at first highly successful and was said to have been read, together with the

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic poems, at the

Panathenaea The Panathenaea (or Panathenaia) was a multi-day ancient Greek festival held annually in Athens that would always conclude on 28 Hekatombaion, the first month of the Attic calendar.Shear, Julia L. “Hadrian, the Panathenaia, and the Athenian Cal ...

, but later critics reversed this favorable judgment.

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, cites Aristotle, ''Topica'', viii. 1 calls Choerilus' comparisons far-fetched and obscure, and the Alexandrians displaced him by

Antimachus Antimachus of Colophon (city), Colophon ( el, Ἀντίμαχος ὁ Κολοφώνιος), or of Claros, was a Greece, Greek poet and grammarian, who flourished about 400 BC. Life Scarcely anything is known of his life. The Suda claims that ...

in the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of epic poets. The fragments are artificial in tone.

References

Sources

* In this article, he is the second poet named Choerilus discussed. This article cites: ** ** Another view of his relations with Herodotus. {{DEFAULTSORT:Choerilus Of Samos Ancient Greek epic poets 5th-century BC poets Ancient Samians Courtiers of Archelaus I of Macedon Battle of Salamis Metics in Classical Athens