TheNine Lyric orMelic Poets were a canonical group ofancient Greek poets esteemed by the scholars ofHellenisticAlexandria as worthy of critical study. In thePalatine Anthology it is said that they established lyric song.[1]
They were:
In most Greek sources the wordmelikos (frommelos, "song") is used to refer to these poets, but the variantlyrikos (fromlyra, "lyre") became the regular form in both Latin (aslyricus) and in modern languages. The ancient scholars defined the genre on the basis of the musical accompaniment, not the content. Thus, some types of poetry which would be included under the label "lyric poetry" in moderncriticism, are excluded—namely, theelegy andiambus which were performed withflutes.
The Nine Lyric Poets are traditionally divided among those who primarily composedchoral verses, and those who composedmonodic verses. This division is contested by some modern scholars.[2]
Antipater of Thessalonica proposes an alternative canon of nine female poets.[3]