The Nine Lyric or Melic Poets were a canonical group of ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language
Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek
Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the diale ...
poets esteemed by the scholars of Hellenistic
The Hellenistic period spans the period of History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 ...
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, الإسكندرية ; arz, اسكندرية ; Coptic language, Coptic: Rakodī; el, Αλεξάνδρεια ''Alexandria'') is the List of cities and towns in Egypt, third-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and Giza, ...
as worthy of critical study. In the Palatine Anthology
The ''Palatine Anthology'' (or ''Anthologia Palatina''), sometimes abbreviated ''AP'', is the collection of Greek poems and epigrams discovered in 1606 in the Palatine Library in Heidelberg. It is based on the lost collection of Constantinus Ceph ...
it is said that they established lyric song.
They were:
*Alcman
Alcman (; grc-gre, Ἀλκμάν ''Alkmán''; floruit, fl. 7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek Choral poetry, choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets.
Biography ...
of Sparta
Sparta (Doric Greek
Doric or Dorian ( grc, Δωρισμός, Dōrismós) was an . Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern as well as in , , , , , some islands in the southern and some cities on the south east coast of ...
(choral lyric, 7th century BC)
*Sappho
Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while a ...
of Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos (, also ; el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi is an elongated embayment
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly con ...
(monodic lyric, BC)
*Alcaeus of Mytilene
Alcaeus of Mytilene (; grc, Ἀλκαῖος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος, ''Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios''; – BC) was a Greek lyric, lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in th ...
(monodic lyric, BC)
*Anacreon
Anacreon (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἀνακρέων, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greece, Greek lyric poetry, lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Po ...
of Teos
Teos ( grc, Τέως) or Teo was an ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the used in and the from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: (), Dark Ages (), the period (), and ...
(monodic lyric, 6th century BC)
*Stesichorus
Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet
Lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not eq ...
of Metauros
Gioia Tauro () is a ''comune
The (; plural: ) is a of , roughly equivalent to a or .
Importance and function
The provides essential public services: of births and deaths, , and maintenance of local roads and public works.
It is head ...
(choral lyric, 7th century BC)
*Ibycus
Ibycus (; grc-gre, Ἴβυκος; fl. 2nd half of 6th century BC) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label=Central-Southern Calabrian, Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρ ...
of Rhegium
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label=Central-Southern Calabrian, Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, l ...
(choral lyric, 6th century BC)
*Simonides of Ceos
Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet
Greek lyric is the body of lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typ ...
(choral lyric, 6th century BC)
*Bacchylides
Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης, ''Bakkhylídēs''; c. 518 – c. 451 BC) was a Greek lyric poet
Greek lyric is the body of lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typic ...
of Ceos
Kea ( el, Κέα), also known as Tzia ( el, Τζια) and in antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
* Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before t ...
(choral lyric, 5th century BC)
*Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; c. 518 – 438 BC) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserv ...
of Thebes (choral lyric, 5th century BC)
In most Greek sources the word ''melikos'' (from ''melos'', "song") is used to refer to these poets, but the variant ''lyrikos'' (from ''lyra'', "lyre
The lyre () is a string instrument that dates back to 1400 BC in ancient Greece. It is known for its use in Ancient Greece, Greek classical antiquity and later periods. The instrument was created and used earlier around 2600BCE in the middle ...
") became the regular form in both Latin (as ''lyricus'') and in modern languages. The ancient scholars defined the genre on the basis of the musical accompaniment, not the content. Thus, some types of poetry which would be included under the label "lyric poetry
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
" in modern criticism
Critique is a wikt:method, method of disciplined, systematic study of a written or oral discourse. Although critique is commonly understood as fault finding and negative judgment,Rodolphe Gasché (2007''The honor of thinking: critique, theory, p ...
, are excluded—namely, the elegy
In English literature, an elegy is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometimes us ...
and iambus which were performed with flutes
The flute is a family of musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the ...
.
The Nine Lyric Poets are traditionally divided among those who primarily composed choral
A choir (; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental or vocal music, with the ensemble typi ...
verses, and those who composed monodic
Caccini, '' Le nuove musiche'', 1601, title page
In poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek language, Greek ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language—such as pho ...
verses. This division is contested by some modern scholars.
Antipater of Thessalonica
Antipater of Thessalonica ( grc-gre, Ἀντίπατρος ὁ Θεσσαλονικεύς) was the author of over a hundred epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is der ...
proposes an alternative canon of nine female poets.Fernandez Robbio, Matías S. (2014) «''Musas y escritoras: el primer canon de la literatura femenina de la Grecia antigua (AP IX 26)''». Praesentia, v. 15, 2014, pp. 1–9. ISSN (en línea): 1316–1857.online
See also
*Greek lyric
Greek lyric is the body of lyric poetry
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in ...
References
{{Lyric poets 1st-millennium BC births 1st-millennium BC deaths Ancient Greek poets Archaic Greece 9 Nine lyric poets