Stesichorus

6th-century BC Greek lyric poet

Stesichorus(/stəˈsɪkərəs/; Greek: Στησίχορος, Stēsikhoros; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet. He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres[1] but he is also famous for some ancient traditions about his life, such as his opposition to the tyrant Phalaris, and the blindness he is said to have incurred and cured by composing verses first insulting and then flattering to Helen of Troy.

A scene from the Tabula Iliaca, bearing the inscription "Sack of Troy according to Stesichorus"

Quotes

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  • This tale is not true: you [Helen} did not even board the well-benched ships, and you did not go to the citadel of Troy.
    • Fragment 41
    • Stesichorus allegedly went blind after writing an account of Helen's perfidy to Menelaus in his Helen, but he was cured after he composed a palinode denying that Helen ever went to Troy and blaming Homer for the story.
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