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:''For the elegiac poet, see Semonides of Amorgos''. Simonides of Ceos (; ; c. 556 – 468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born at Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets, along with Bacchylides (his nephew) and Pindar (reputedly a bitter rival). Both Bacchylides and Pindar benefited from his innovative approach to lyric poetry and he was more involved than either of them in the major events and personalities of their times.〔John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers (1992), page 3〕 His fame owes much to traditional accounts of his colourful life, as one of the wisest of men, as a greedy miser, as an inventor of a system of mnemonics and also of some letters of the Greek alphabet ().〔David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), pages 380-81〕 Such accounts include fanciful elements yet he had a real influence on the sophistic enlightenment of the classical era.〔Charles Segal, ''Choral lyric in the fifth century'', 'The Cambridge History of Classical Literature: Greek Literature' (1985), P.Easterling and B.Knox (eds), pages 223, 226〕 His fame as a poet rests largely on his ability to present basic human situations with affecting simplicity.〔 In the words of the Roman rhetorician Quintilian: :"Simonides has a simple style, but he can be commended for the aptness of his language and for a certain charm; his chief merit, however, lies in the power to excite pity, so much so that some prefer him in this respect to all other writers of the genre."〔Quintilian, ''Inst.''10.1.64, translated by David A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 359〕 He is popularly associated with epitaphs commemorating fallen warriors, as for example the Lacedaemonians at The Battle of Thermopylae: :: :::. This was translated by F L Lucas as an English heroic couplet: ::Tell them in Lacedaimon, passer-by / That here, obedient to their word, we lie Today only glimpses of his poetry remain, either in the form of papyrus fragments or quotations by ancient literary figures, yet new fragments continue to be unearthed by archaeologists at Oxyrhynchus.〔(Poxy Oxyrhynchus )〕 His general fame as a wise and colourful personality has led to his inclusion in narratives as diverse as Mary Renault's historical novel ''The Praise Singer'' (where he is depicted as the narrator and main character), Plato's ''Protagoras'' (where he is a topic of conversation), and some verses in Callimachus' ''Aetia'' (where he is amusingly represented as a ghost complaining about the desecration of his own tomb in Acragas).〔Callimachus ''fr.'' 64. 1-14, cited by D. A. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library, pages 344-6〕 == Biography == Few clear facts about Simonides' life have come down to modern times in spite of his fame and influence. Ancient sources are uncertain even about the date of his birth. According to the Byzantine encyclopaedia, Suda: "He was born in the 56th Olympiad (556/552 BC) or according to some writers in the 62nd (532/528) and he survived until the 78th (468/464), having lived eighty-nine years."〔''Suda'', Simonides (1st notice), translated by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 331〕 Modern scholars generally accept 556-468 BC for his life in spite of some awkward consequences—for example it would make him about fifty years older than his nephew Bacchylides and still very active internationally at about 80 years of age. Other ancient sources also have awkward consequences. For example, according to an entry in the Parian Marble, Simonides died in 468/7 BC at the age of ninety yet, in another entry, it lists a victory by his grandfather in a poetry competition in Athens in 489/488 BC—this grandfather must have been over a hundred years old at that time if the birth dates for Simonides are correct. The grandfather's name, as recorded by the Parian Marble, was also Simonides, and it has been argued by some scholars that the earliest references to Simonides in ancient sources might in fact be references to this grandfather. However, the Parian Marble is known to be unreliable and possibly it was not even the grandfather but a grandson that won the aforementioned victory in Athens.〔John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Balchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), pages 26, 67-8〕 According to the Suda, this grandson was yet another Simonides and he was the author of books on genealogy.〔''Suda'', Simonides (4th notice),cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 335〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Simonides of Ceos」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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