Tyrtaeus
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Tyrtaeus
(tərtē`əs), fl. 7th cent. B.C. at Sparta, Greek elegiac poet. Fragments of his martial elegies in Dorian Greek, which were written to spur Spartan soldiers to victory, are extant. An Athenian legend relates that Athens sent Tyrtaeus, a lame schoolmaster, to Sparta when Sparta needed help in war.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Tyrtaeus
Ancient Greek poet of the second half of the seventh century B.C. Born in Athens or Laconia. Lived in Sparta.
In his elegies, written in the Ionic dialect, Tyrtaeus condemned cupidity and discord, called for unity, and extolled Sparta’s past glory and bravery in battle. Tyrtaeus was among the first to speculate on the origins of the state in its existing form and on ways to preserve it for the welfare of the entire citizenry.
WORKS
Anthologia lyrica Graeca, fase. 1. Edited by E. Diehl. Leipzig, 1954.In Russian translation:
In V. V. Latyshev. Na dosuge. St. Petersburg, 1898.
REFERENCES
Iarkho, V., and K. Polonskaia. Antichnaia lirika. Moscow, 1967. Pages 26–28.Snell, B. Tyrtaios und die Sprache des Epos. Göttingen, 1969.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tyrtaeus
(fl. 7th century B.C.) elegist; roused Spartans to Messenian triumph. [Gk. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1111]
See: Inducement
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.