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157 Melanippides Melanippides A famous dithyrambic poet of his time Born on Melos (and hence a Dorian) he was active during the middle of the fifth century bce and died at the court of Perdikkas in Macedonia. A comic poet attributed to Melanippides the first innovations which led to the decadence of choral lyric. One innovation was the introduction of lyric solos into the dithyramb. In addition to dithyrambs, Melanippides wrote epics, elegies and epigrams. Like his grandafther he was a lyric poet. He made great innovations in the dithyramb and spent part of his life at the court of the Macedonian king Perdikkas, where he died. He wrote lyric poems and dithyrambs. Suda Lexicon “Tell me, Aristodemos,” he asked, “are there any men whose art you esteem?” “Yes,” he said. “Tell us their names,” Sokrates asked. “For the epic I especially admire Homer, for the dithyramb Melanippides. . . .” Xenophon, Recollections of Sokrates The Danaïds They were not shaped like handsome men nor was their voice womanly, but they trained naked driving in chariots about the sunny treelands. Often they were happy in hunting; often they sought the holy tear of the dripping frankincense, the good smell of dates or smooth seeds of Syrian cassia. ...

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