Greek Lyric, Volume IV: Bacchylides, Corinna, and Others

Greek Lyric, Volume IV: Bacchylides, Corinna, and Others presents the captivating works of Bacchylides, a nephew of Simonides and a rival of Pindar, known for his choral poetry of various forms. This collection includes his victory odes, which celebrate athletic triumphs, along with dithyrambs and other hymns, showcasing his mastery of narrative.

Alongside Bacchylides, this volume features the Boeotian poet Corinna, whose compositions on local myths are more extensive than those of any other Greek woman poet except Sappho. Ancient sources often portray Corinna as a mentor to Pindar, but some modern scholars suggest she lived later, possibly in the third century BCE. Other notable women poets included in this collection are Myrtis of Boeotia; Telesilla of Argos, renowned for both military leadership and hymns; Charixena; and Praxilla of Sicyon, known for choral poems and drinking songs.

David Campbell provides all the extant verses of these poets, along with ancient accounts of their lives and works. In addition to the works of Bacchylides and Corinna, this fourth volume includes pieces by Timocreon of Rhodes, known for his pentathlon career and invective writing; Diagoras of Melos, a choral poet and purported atheist; and Ion of Chios. This collection also features fragments of Sophocles' paean Asclepius and the few surviving lines of Euripides' ode for Alcibiades’ stunning victory in the chariot race at Olympia.

This edition is the fourth in a five-volume series on Greek lyric poets. Volume I features Sappho and Alcaeus, celebrated for their contributions to the sixth-century Lesbos lyric. Volume II comprises the works of Anacreon, a solo song composer, the Anacreontea, and early choral poets like the seventh-century Spartans Alcman and Terpander. Volume III includes the verses of Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and other poets from the sixth century. The final volume in the series covers the new school of dithyrambic poets from the mid-fifth to mid-fourth century, alongside anonymous works such as drinking songs, children’s songs, cult hymns, and more.