Stesichorus

One of the nine canonical lyric poets of Greek antiquity, Stesichorus flourished in the sixth century BC. He is best known for composing epic stories in lyric metres and for the colourful ancient traditions concerning his life. Scholars at Alexandria divided his verses into 26 books, which now only survive in fragments. The extant titles suggest themes from the traditional epic heritage found in mainland Greece and Asia Minor, as well as in Italy and Sicily. Stesichorus’ poetry broke with the epic tradition, in which a single performer declaimed verse in dactylic hexameters, as his lyric verses in the Doric dialect were accompanied by a stringed instrument. He completed the form of the choral ode by adding the epode to the strophe and antistrophe. Delphi’s Ancient Classics series provides eReaders with the wisdom of the Classical world, with both English translations and the original Greek texts. This eBook presents Stesichorus’ fragments, with illustrations and an informative introduction. (Version 1)