One of the greatest lyric poets of Greece. Little is known of his life, his probable date being about B.C. 520-440. He was born in the territory of Thebes, though whether in Thebes itself or at Cynoscephalae is uncertain. There is a tale that he was first attracted to poetry by a miraculous swarm of bees, which in his infancy settled on his lips, as he lay sleeping. Cf. Pausanias, ix, 23. 2: