Polyeidos (poet)
Encyclopedia
Polyeidos (ca. 400 BCE) was an ancient Greek
dithyramb
ic poet who was also skillful as a painter
; he seems to have been esteemed almost as highly as Timotheus, whom one of his pupils, Philotas, once conquered in competition. It seems from a passage of Plutarch
(De Mm. 21, p. 1138, b.), that Polyeidus outdid Timotheus in those intricate variations, for the introduction of which the musician
s of this period are so frequently attacked by contemporaries. Aristotle
, in Poetics 17, notes the example of "Polyeidos the Sophist" in bringing the action vividly before the hearer in an example drawn from the myth of Orestes
, his recognition: "On his coming he was arrested, and about to be sacrificed, when he revealed who he was—either as Euripides
puts it, or (as suggested by Polyeidos) by the not improbable exclamation, ’So I too am doomed to be sacrificed, as my sister was’".
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
dithyramb
Dithyramb
The dithyramb was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god: Plato, in The Laws, while discussing various kinds of music mentions "the birth of Dionysos, called, I think, the dithyramb." Plato also...
ic poet who was also skillful as a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
; he seems to have been esteemed almost as highly as Timotheus, whom one of his pupils, Philotas, once conquered in competition. It seems from a passage of Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(De Mm. 21, p. 1138, b.), that Polyeidus outdid Timotheus in those intricate variations, for the introduction of which the musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s of this period are so frequently attacked by contemporaries. Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, in Poetics 17, notes the example of "Polyeidos the Sophist" in bringing the action vividly before the hearer in an example drawn from the myth of Orestes
Orestes
Orestes was the son of Agamemnon in Greek mythology; Orestes may also refer to:Drama*Orestes , by Euripides*Orestes, the character in Sophocles' tragedy Electra*Orestes, the character in Aeschylus' trilogy of tragedies, Oresteia...
, his recognition: "On his coming he was arrested, and about to be sacrificed, when he revealed who he was—either as Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
puts it, or (as suggested by Polyeidos) by the not improbable exclamation, ’So I too am doomed to be sacrificed, as my sister was’".