Cynaethus or Cinaethus ( el, Κύναιθος or Κίναιθος) of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

was a

rhapsode A rhapsode ( el, ῥαψῳδός, "rhapsōidos") or, in modern usage, rhapsodist, refers to a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry in the fifth and fourth centuries BC (and perhaps earlier). Rhapsodes notably performed the epic ...

, a member of the

Homeridae The Homeridae ( grc, Ὁμηρίδαι) were a family, clan or professional lineage on the island of Chios claiming descent from the Greek epic poet Homer. The origin of the name seems obvious: in classical Greek the word should mean "children of ...

, sometimes said to have composed the ''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter—dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'', ...

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

''. The main source of information on Cynaethus is a

Scholium Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of th ...

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...

's second Nemean ode. This tells us that the school of Cynaethus was prominent among the Homeridae and put out many of their own compositions under

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 ...

's name, Cynaethus himself composing the ''Hymn''. He was the first to recite the

ic poems at

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, which he did during the 69th

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...

(504-501 BC). It was once argued that the dating made no sense because the Homeric poems must have reached Syracuse much earlier. However, the original date corresponds well to a probable date of composition of the ''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'', 522 BC. No doubt basing himself on this or a similar text,

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the sa ...

names Cynaethus as the first to disseminate the Homeric poems and as a forger of Homeric verses.Eustathius, ''Commentarii in Homeri Iliadem'' 1.10''sq''. (ed. Van der Valk)

Notes

References

* Burkert, Walter. "Kynaithos, Polycrates and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo" in ''Arktouros: Hellenic Studies Presented to B. M. W. Knox'' (edd. G. W. Bowersock, W. Burkert, M. C. J. Putnam). Berlin: De Gruyter, 1979, pp. 53–62. * West, M. L. "Cynaethus' Hymn to Apollo". ''{{ill, The Classical Quarterly, de'', New Series, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Dec. 1975), pp. 161–170. * West, M. L. "The Invention of Homer". ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 49, No. 2 (1999), pp. 364–382. Early Greek epic poets 6th-century BC poets Ancient Chians Ancient Syracuse Ancient Greek musicians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown