Simonides of Ceos

Simonides of Ceos was a Greek lyric poet active in the late archaic and early classical periods. He was associated with epigrams, victory odes and the poetic commemoration of events such as the Persian Wars.

For Historical Bookshelf, this entry is best treated as a historical or literary figure rather than a fictional character. It can support pages where novels refer to writers, playwrights, philosophers or scholars as part of a period’s intellectual background.

In Mary Renault’s The Praise Singer, Simonides of Ceos remembers a childhood in which physical appearance and family discipline made music his clearest route to independence.