Cynaethus or Cinaethus ( or Κίναιθος) of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

was a

rhapsode A rhapsode () or, in modern usage, rhapsodist, refers to a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry in the fifth and fourth centuries BC (and perhaps earlier). Rhapsodes notably performed the epics of Homer (''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey' ...

, a member of the

Homeridae The Homeridae (Ancient Greek: Ὁμηρίδαι) were a family, clan or professional lineage on the island of Chios claiming descent from the Greek epic poet Homer. The origin of the name seems obvious: in classical Greek the word should mean "ch ...

, sometimes said to have composed the ''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods ...

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

''. The main source of information on Cynaethus is a

Scholium Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammar, grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of a ...

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

's second Nemean ode. This tells us that the school of Cynaethus was prominent among the Homeridae and put out many of their own compositions under

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's name, Cynaethus himself composing the ''Hymn''. He was the first to recite the

ic poems at

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

, which he did during the 69th

Olympiad An olympiad (, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the Ancient Olympic Games, ancient and Olympic Games, modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Archaic Greece, Greece ...

(504-501 BC). It was once argued that the dating made no sense because the Homeric poems must have reached Syracuse much earlier. However, the original date corresponds well to a probable date of composition of the ''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'', 522 BC. No doubt basing himself on this or a similar text,

Eustathius of Thessalonica Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; ; ) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica and is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He is most noted for his stand against the sack of Thessalonica by the No ...

names Cynaethus as the first to disseminate the Homeric poems and as a forger of Homeric verses.Eustathius, ''Commentarii in Homeri Iliadem'' 1.10''sq''. (ed. Van der Valk)

Notes

References

* Burkert, Walter. "Kynaithos, Polycrates and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo" in ''Arktouros: Hellenic Studies Presented to B. M. W. Knox'' (edd. G. W. Bowersock, W. Burkert, M. C. J. Putnam). Berlin: De Gruyter, 1979, pp. 53–62. * West, M. L. "Cynaethus' Hymn to Apollo". ''{{ill, The Classical Quarterly, de'', New Series, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Dec. 1975), pp. 161–170. * West, M. L. "The Invention of Homer". ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 49, No. 2 (1999), pp. 364–382. Early Greek epic poets 6th-century BC Greek poets Ancient Chians Ancient Syracuse Ancient Greek musicians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 6th-century BC musicians