BACCHYLIDES, (Gk. flatcxv iicbie, BakehylidPs). A Greek lyric poet, born at lulls on Cells, at the end of the Sixth Century, n.c., who flourished between n.c. 490 and 460. He was a nephew and pupil of Simonides and the rival of Pindar, according to well-established tra dition. He lived for a time at the court of Iliero, tyrant or Syracuse. who greatly admired him, and whom he celebrated in three of his poems. When exiled from his native town, presumably by political opponents, Bacchylides resided in Peloponnesus, and records of many of his victo ries in dithyrambic contests at Athens have been preserved. As the youngest, he was placed last in the list of nine lyric poets deemed worthy of immortality by the canon of the Alexandrian critics, who admired his grace and sweetness. Ile shared the fate of the canonized poets, whose works, with the exception of Pindar's, were all lost to posterity. Only 107 lines were preserved in quotations, the longest one of 12 verses only. In 1597, the British Museum acquired, in Egypt, 200 fragments of a papyrus of Bacehylides. Pieced together they formed 1070 lines. Thus 6 poems were recovered practically entire, S others with lacunas, and 6 in considerable fragments.
Fourteen are cpinikia, of which 2 in honor of Hiero and 1 in honor of Pythias of 2Egina, dupli cate odes of Pindar for the same occasions. The remaining 6 are the unique extant specimens of one department of Greek lyric dithyrambs, and hymns. One poem (XVII.) is the first recovered literary treatment of a subject common on vases—the descent of Theseus to the depths of the sea to prove his sonship to Posei don. Not so powerful, brilliant, or original as Pindar, lie is a true and typical Greek poet in his smoothness, grace, and finish. His language has less of the rEolic admixture on the founda tion of Doric than is the ease with Pindar. The MS., in fine uncials, belongs to the First Century B.C., and the accents and breathings are generally carefully marked. The text was first edited by Kenyon (London, 1897), with an introduction and extensive notes. Another is by Blass (Leip zig, 1898 ) . Consult : Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, Bakchy/ides ( Berlin, 1898 ) ,and Jehb, Bacchylidee (London, 1893).