Bacchylide

Bacchylide , in Greek old Βακχυλίδης / Bakkhylídês (beginning of fifth century BC), Greek lyric poet.

Biography

Born with Ioulis, on the island of Céos, he is the nephew and raises of the poet Simonide de Céos. It follows it to the court of the Tyran Hiéron of Syracuse, from which it celebrates the victory in 476 with the Olympic Games, following the example Pindare ( First Olympic ), of which he is the large rival. It is then protected from the courses of Thessalie, Macedonia or of Sicily. Far from confining with the épinicie (ode with the winner of the Plays, it also composes of the Hymne S with the gods and the sovereigns, for example Alexandre, wire of the king Amnytas I {{er}}. It is fixed then at Athens where it gains many contests.

The end of its life is badly known for us. It perhaps returned in Céos, of which it sings the athlete Lachon, winner with the Olympic Games, in its Odes 6 and 7. According to certain authors, it is exiled and finds refuge with Sparte, assumption that seems to support the Ode 9 and the panegyric Idas .

Work

The tradition allots to Bacchylide six books anthems with the gods, three books of praises and a book of épinicies. Until 1897, only of the fragments remained us, when two rollers of papyrus, the {{Ier}} or 2nd century of our era, were found in Egypt. They proved to contain a score of the poems of Bacchylide, very lacunar nevertheless:

Ode 1: for Argéios de Céos, winner with the boxing match of the boys, Isthmian Plays, unknown date;
Ode 2: for same the, victorious one with the boxing match of the boys, isthmian Plays, unknown date;
Ode 3: for Hiéron of Syracuse, winner to the race of tanks, Olympic Games, 468;
Ode 4: for the same, winner with the race of tanks, Plays delphic, 470;
Ode 5: for the same one, winner with the horse-race, Olympic Games, 476;
Ode 6: for Lachon de Céos, victorious of the race on foot of the boys, Olympic Games, 452;
Ode 7: for same the, victorious one of the race on foot of the boys, Olympic Games, 452;
Ode 8: for Liparion de Céos (?) ;
Ode 9: in the honor of Automède of Phlionte, victorious of the Pentathlon to the Plays néméens;
Ode 10: for Pasias of Athens, victorious from the race on foot to the isthmian Plays, dates unknown;
Ode 11: for Alexidame of Métaponte, victorious from the fight of the boys to the Plays delphic, dates unknown:
Ode 12: for Tisias of Égine, victorious of the fight to the Plays néméens, unknown date;
Ode 13: for Pythéas d' Égine, victorious of the pancrace of the boys to the Plays néméns, 483 (?) ;
Ode 14: for Cléoptolème de Thessalie, victorious of the race of tanks to the Plays pétréens, unknown date;
Ode 14b: for Aristotèle of Larissa, victorious of a horse-race;
Ode 15 (Panegyric 1): wire of Anténor, or Helene claimed;
Ode 16 (Panegyric 2): Héraclès (or Déjanire), for the Delphiens;
Ode 17 (Panegyric 3): Thésée;
Ode 18 (Panegyric 4): Thésée;
Ode 19 (Panegyric 5): Io , for the Athenians;
Ode 20 (Panegyric 6): Idas , for the Spartans.

The art of Bacchylide is much easier of access than that of Pindare, which explains the great popularity of which he enjoys his time. It is then eclipsed by its rival with the eyes of the posterity. Nevertheless, Bacchylide is an elegant, skilful poet to handle the mythological reasons.

Editions

Jean Irigoin, Jacqueline Duchemin and Louis Bardollet, Bacchylide, panegyrics, épinicies, fragments , Beautiful Letters, Collection of the universities of France, 1993 (critical edition and translation);
H. Maechler, Die Lieder of Bakchylides , Leyde, 1982 (critical edition, comments and translation).

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