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ALCAEUS (ALKAIOS), Greek lyric poet, an older contemporary of Sappho, was a native of Mytilene in Lesbos and flourished about 600 B.C. His life was greatly mixed up with |
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Alcaeus (ALKAIOS), Greek lyric poet, an older contemporary of Sappho, was a native of Mytilene? in Lesbos? and flourished about 600 b.c. His life was greatly mixed up with |
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his poems, which were composed in the Aeolic dialect, were of various kinds: some were hymns to the gods |
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his poems, which were composed in the Aeolic? dialect, were of various kinds: some were hymns to the gods; others were of a martial or political character; others breathed an ardent love of liberty and hatred of tyrants; lastly, some were love-songs. Alcaeus was allotted the second place among the nine lyric poets in the [Alexandrian canon]?. The considerable number of fragments extant, and the well-known imitations of Horace, who regarded Alcaeus as his great model, enable us to form a fair idea of the character of his poems. A new fragment has recently been discovered, together with some fragments of Sappho (Classical Review, May 1902). See Bergk, Poetae Lyrici Graeci (1882); also The Songs of Alcaeus, by J. Easby-Smith (Washington, 1901); Plehn, Lesbiacorum Liber (1826); Flach, Geschichte der griechischen Lyrik (1883-1884); Farnell, Greek Lyric Poets (1891). Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed |
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