Limenius (; ) was an

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

composer of

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice ( monody). It comes from the Greek (also or ), "song ...

s and prosodia. As creator of the Second Delphic Hymn in 128 BC, he is the earliest known composer in

recorded history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world h ...

for a surviving piece of music, or one of the two earliest, or the second-earliest, depending first on whether one accepts the proposition of Bélis, Bélis, Annie. 1988. "A proposito degli 'Inni delfici' ad Apollo", In ''La musica in Grecia: Convegno internazionale su la musica greca antica (1985: Urbino)'', edited by Bruno Gentili, Roberto Pretagostini, and Andrew Barker. Storia e Società. Rome-Bari: Editori Laterza. . that the composer of the First Delphic Hymn is named

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

and, second, whether that hymn was composed in the same year as the Second Hymn, or ten years earlier. Limenius was a performer on the

kithara The kithara (), Latinized as cithara, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. It was a seven-stringed professional version of the lyre, which was regarded as a rustic, or folk instrument, appropriate for teaching mu ...

and, as a professional musician performing in the Pythaïs (the liturgical embassy to the cult centre of Pythian Apollo at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

), he was required to belong to one of the guilds of the Artists of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * 2nd-century BC Athenians Ancient Greek composers 2nd-century BC musicians {{AncientGreece-bio-stub