Aristocleidas ( grc, Ἀριστοκλείδης) was a celebrated musician and
citharode
A kitharode ( Latinized citharode)
:
(translit. Greek)
* citharode (Anglicised translit. Latin)
* kitharode (Anglicised translit. Greek)
:
* citharede (rare)
* citharoede (rare)
:
* citharist ( English translation Latin)
* kitharist ( English tr ...
of
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. He was known as a master of the
cithara
The kithara (or Latinized cithara) ( el, κιθάρα, translit=kithāra, lat, cithara) was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. In modern Greek the word ''kithara'' has come to mean "guitar", a word which etymolo ...
, and traced his descent from the renowned
Terpander
Terpander ( grc-gre, Τέρπανδρος ''Terpandros''), of Antissa in Lesbos, was a Greek poet and citharede who lived about the first half of the 7th century BC. He was the father of Greek music and through it, of lyric poetry, although his ...
. He lived around the time of the
Persian War. He was the teacher of
Phrynis
Phrynnis or Phrynis ( grc, Φρύννις or grc, Φρύνις) of Mytilene was a celebrated dithyrambic poet of ancient Greece, who lived roughly around the time of the Peloponnesian War. His career began no later than 446 BCE.
Phrynnis was bor ...
of Mytilene. Some claimed that he came from
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the n ...
and was the person identified in the saying "after the Lesbian poet", which arose out of a tradition in Spartan competitions that gave primacy to Lesbian poets .
The phrase was first referenced in a play by Cratinus and Aristotle also associated the poet in this saying with Terpander.
Aristocleides' fame as one of the notable Lesbian ''diadokhê (''along with Euainetidas and Phrynis of Mytilene) led some scholars to say that he was the subject of the proverb.
References
{{DGRBM, author=WS, title= Aristocleides , volume=1, page=302, url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/317
Ancient Greek musicians