Bacchylides (5th century BCE) is an Ancient Greek lyric poet.
Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets which included his uncle Simonides.
The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been a commonplace of Bacchylidean scholarship since at least Longinus (De Sublimitate 33,5).
Some scholars however have associated these qualities with superficial charm.
He has often been compared unfavorably with his contemporary, Pindar, as "a kind of Boccherini to Pindar's Haydn", yet the differences in their styles doesn't allow for easy comparison and "to blame Bacchylides for not being Pindar is as childish a judgment as to condemn...Marvel for missing the grandeur of Milton."
His career coincided with the ascendancy of dramatic styles of poetry, as embodied in the works of Aeschylus or Sophocles, and he is in fact one of the last poets of major significance within the more ancient tradition of purely lyric poetry.
The most notable features of his lyrics are their clarity in expression and simplicity of thought, making them an ideal introduction to the study of Greek lyric poetry in general and to Pindar's verse in particular.
