Ibycus
Author
Who is Ibycus?
Ibycus was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium in Magna Graecia, probably active at Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates and numbered by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. He was mainly remembered in antiquity for pederastic verses but he also composed lyrical narratives on mythological themes in the manner of Stesichorus. His work survives today only as quotations by ancient scholars or recorded on fragments of papyrus recovered from archaeological sites in Egypt, yet his extant verses include some of the finest examples of Greek poetry. The following lines, dedicated to a lover, Euryalus, were recorded by Athenaeus as a famous example of amorous praise:
The rich language of these lines, in particular the accumulation of epithets, typical of Ibycus, is shown in the following translation:
This mythological account of his lover recalls Hesiod's account of Pandora who was decked out by the same goddesses so as to be a bane to mankind—an allusion consistent with Ibycus's view of love as unavoidable turmoil.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Ibycus." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/ibycus>.
Discuss this Ibycus biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In