Stesichorus

Stesichorus was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Himera in Sicily, active in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE. He is one of the earliest named figures in the Greek lyric tradition and is credited with shaping long, narrative choral poems that interwove myth with lyrical performance. His work is known primarily through fragments quoted or summarized by later authors, but it is clear that he treated epic-cycle myths—such as stories from the Trojan War and Theban lore—in a sustained, dramatized form within a choral framework. This approach helped expand the scope of lyric poetry beyond short, occasional pieces.

The most famous anecdote about Stesichorus concerns the Palinode. He is said to have revised or withdrawn an earlier poem about Helen of Troy after being reproved for his depiction, composing a Palinode to retract his portrayal and restore Helen’s honor. The term palinode later came to denote a poet’s formal retraction of a previous claim. The episode highlights both the moral dimensions attributed to poetic representation in antiquity and Stesichorus’ enduring association with mythic reinterpretation.

Stesichorus’ influence on Greek poetry was considerable, shaping the development of lyric narrative and informing later poets such as Pindar. Though only fragments survive, his audacious blend of epic storytelling with lyric form is recognized as a precursor to later Greek choral and narrative poetry, and his name remains a reference point for the early evolution of Greek mythographic lyric.