Telesilla
Telesilla
- C. Carey
Subjects
- Greek Literature
Argive poet (see argos(1)) of the 5th cent. bce. Later tradition (probably of Argive origin, since her statue at Argos showed her putting on a helmet: Paus. 2. 20. 7) credited her with arming the women of Argos after its defeat by Cleomenes (1) I (Paus. 2. 20. 8; Plut. Mor. 245c–f). Herodotus(1) 6. 76 ff. does not mention her, and it has been suggested that the incident is a fabrication based on the oracle cited there. Nine fragments survive, possibly from hymns. Her songs, written in the choral lyric dialect, were composed for choirs of girls (PMG fr. 717); Artemis and Apollo are prominent in the meagre remains; mythic narrative was present, with a strong local colour. The Telesilleion, or acephalous glyconic, is called after her (see metre, greek, § 4 (h), cf. 4 (d)).
Bibliography
Text
- Page, Poetae Melici Graeci 372–4.
- D. Campbell, Greek Lyric (Loeb) 4 (1992), 70–83.
Criticism
- J. M. Snyder, The Woman and the Lyre (1989), 59 ff.
