The Fragments of Stesichorus Illustrated

By Stesichorus of Metauros and Delphi Classics

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)

* Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Stesichorus’ life and works
* Features the fragments of Stesichorus, in both English translation and the original Greek
* Concise introduction to the text
* Includes J. M. Edmonds’ 1924 translation, previously appearing in the Loeb Classical Library
* Excellent formatting of the texts
* Easily locate the fragments you want to read with individual contents tables
* Features two bonus biographies — discover Stesichorus’ ancient world
* Ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres

CONTENTS:

The Translations
The Fragments

The Greek Texts
List of Greek Texts

The Biographies
Stesichorus (1873) by William Smith
Stesichorus (1911)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Delphi Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Apr 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9781801701815

Book preview

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The Fragments of

STESICHORUS

(c. 630-555 BC)

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Contents

The Translations

The Fragments

The Greek Texts

List of Greek Texts

The Biographies

Stesichorus (1873) by William Smith

Stesichorus (1911)

The Delphi Classics Catalogue

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© Delphi Classics 2024

Version 1

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Browse Ancient Classics

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The Fragments of

STESICHORUS OF METAUROS

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By Delphi Classics, 2024

COPYRIGHT

The Fragments of Stesichorus

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First published in the United Kingdom in 2024 by Delphi Classics.

© Delphi Classics, 2024.

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

ISBN: 978 1 80170 181 5

Delphi Classics

is an imprint of

Delphi Publishing Ltd

Hastings, East Sussex

United Kingdom

Contact: [e-mail]

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www.delphiclassics.com

The Translations

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Gioia Tauro, a comune in Calabria, Southern Italy, on the Tyrrhenian coast – Stesichorus was born in Metauros (modern Gioia Tauro) in c. 630 BC.

The Fragments

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Translated by J. M. Edmonds, Loeb Classical Library, 1924

Regarded by the scholars of the Hellenistic age as one of the canonical nine lyric poets, 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, such as his opposition to the tyrant Phalaris and the blindness he is said to have incurred and cured by composing verses first insulting and then flattering Helen of Troy. Although his work attracted relatively little interest among ancient commentators, resulting in a low number of extant fragments, Stesichorus exerted an important influence on the representation of myth in sixth century art and on the development of Athenian dramatic poetry.

He was born in Metauros (modern-day Gioia Tauro, southern Italy) in c. 630 BC. Some commentators claimed that he came from Himera in Sicily, but this is now believed to be false. When exiled from Pallantium in Arcadia he came to Katane (Catania) in Sicily, where he is believed to have died in 555 BC.  There is still much confusion regarding the dates and events of his life. We do know that he was later than the lyric poet Alcman, since he was born in the 37th Olympiad (632/28 BC). He died in the 56th Olympiad (556/2 BC). He had a brother, Mamertinus, who was an expert in geometry and a second brother, Helianax, who served as a law-giver. More importantly, he was called ‘Stesichorus’ as he was believed to be the first poet to establish a chorus of singers to the cithara; his name was originally Teisias.

The Suda (a large tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient world) claims that Stesichorus was the son of Hesiod, though this has been largely dismissed as fantasy. Still, the legend is also mentioned by Tzetzes and the Hesiodic scholiast Proclus. According to another tradition known to Cicero, Stesichorus was the grandson of Hesiod, yet even this verges on anachronism since Hesiod was composing verses in c. 700 BC, long before Stesichorus’ birth. Certainly, he can be regarded as Hesiod’s literary heir, as his treatment of Helen in the Palinode, for example, may have owed much to Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women, which may explain the original source of confusion about their relationship. According to Stephanus of Byzantium and the philosopher Plato, Stesichorus’ father was named Euphemus, but an inscription on a herm from Tivoli lists him as Euclides.

Stesichorus’ lyrical treatment of epic themes was well-suited to a western Greek audience, owing to the popularity of hero-cults in southern Italy and Magna Graecia at the time; for example, the cults of Philoctetes at Sybaris, Diomedes at Thurii and the Atreidae at Tarentum. It was also a sympathetic