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 thought to have flourished around the middle of the 5th-century BC. He was younger than Lasus of Hermione (Plut. Mus. p. 1141, c.), and younger than

Diagoras of Melos Diagoras "the Atheist" of Melos ( el, Διαγόρας ὁ Μήλιος) was a Greek poet and sophist of the 5th century BC. Throughout antiquity, he was regarded as an atheist, but very little is known for certain about what he actually believed. ...

. He was a contemporary of the comic poet Pherecrates. He lived for some time at the court of Archelaus of Macedon, and died there in around 412 BC. His high reputation as a poet is intimated by

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

, who makes

Aristodemus In Greek mythology, Aristodemus (Ancient Greek: Ἀριστόδημος) was one of the Heracleidae, son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Temenus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attac ...

give him first place among dithyrambic poets, alongside

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 ...

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

Polykleitos Polykleitos ( grc, Πολύκλειτος) was an ancient Greek sculptor in bronze of the 5th century BCE. Alongside the Athenian sculptors Pheidias, Myron and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the most important sculptors of classical an ...

and Zeuxis, as the chief masters in their respective arts, and by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, who mentions him, with

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed ...

and

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

, as among the most distinguished masters of music. Melanippides did not, however, escape the censures which the old comic poets so often heap upon their lyric contemporaries for their corruption of the severe beauties of the ancient music. Pherecrates places him at the head of such offenders and charges him with relaxing and softening the ancient music by increasing the chords of the lyre to twelve (or perhaps ten) and thus paving the way for the further licences introduced by Cinesias, Phrynis, and

Timotheus of Miletus Timotheus of Miletus ( grc, Τιμόθεος ὁ Μιλήσιος; c. 446 – 357 BC) was a Greek musician and dithyrambic poet, an exponent of the "new music." He added one or more strings to the lyre, whereby he incurred the displeasure of the S ...

. According to

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 ph ...

, he altogether abandoned the antistrophic arrangement, and introduced long preludes (''anabolai'') in which the union, which was considered essential in ancient times, between music and the words of poetry, seems to have been severed. Plutarch (or the author of the essay on music which bears his name) said that in his flute-music he subverted the old arrangement by which the flute-player was hired and trained by the poet, and was entirely subordinate to him. But there is probably some mistake in this, as the fragment of Pherecrates, which the author quotes in confirmation of his statement, contains not a word about flute-music, but attacks only the alterations in the lyre. On the other hand, Athenaeus cites a passage from the ''

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

'' of Melanippides, which seems to show that he rejected and despised flute-music altogether. According to the Suda, Melanippides wrote lyric songs and dithyrambs. Several verses of his poems are still preserved. The titles of the poems ''Marsyas, Persephone ''and'' The Danaïdes'' have misled Fabricius and others into the supposition that Melanippides was a tragic poet, a mistake which has been made with respect to the titles of the dithyrambs of other poets. The fragments are collected by Bergk. We learn from

Meleager of Gadara Meleager of Gadara ( grc-gre, Μελέαγρος ; fl. 1st century BC) was a poet and collector of epigrams. He wrote some satirical prose, now lost, and some sensual poetry, of which 134 epigrams survive. Life Meleager was the son of Eucrates, ...

that some of the hymns of Melanippides had a place in his Garland.''Greek Anthology'' 4.1 v.7

References

* {{Authority control Ancient Greek musicians Ancient Greek lyric poets Dithyrambic poets Courtiers of Archelaus I of Macedon Metics in Classical Athens Ancient Melians 5th-century BC poets