Pamphos

Pamphos Ancient Greek Πάμφως (Pamphos) is an Athenian poet, and contemporary of Linus of Thrace, inventor of the ialémos.

History

An Athenian poet with sad and melancholy verses, considered the oldest hymn-poet by some,[1] and first to sing an iaemos on the tomb of Linus. Previous to Homer, he had written a poem about Eros,[2] about the Charites,[3] without mentioning their number or their names, and Zeus after Philostratus and several hymns, including one to Demeter; he was one of the first to sing the kidnapping of Persephone, in which he speaks of Narcissus, and the journeys of Demeter that followed.[4]

References

1. Macmillan and Company A History of Classical Greek Literature: pt. 1. The poets [epic and lyric with an appendix on Homer by Prof. Sayce-V. I, pt, II. The dramatic poets-V. 2, pt.1. The prose writers, from Herodotus to Plato.-V. 2, pt. II. The prose writers, from Isocrates to Aristotle p.14 quotation:

   After Linus came the Lycian Olen, the oldest composer of Greek hymns known (Paus. Ix. 27, 2), whose style was adopted by Orpheus, and also by Pamphos, the oldest hymn-poet among the Athenians. A hymn of this Pamphos to Eros was sung at the mysteri3e3s by the Lycomidae, along with those of Orpheus.

2. "Pausanias Description of Greece 9.27.2". Tufts University, Perseus Digital Library Project.
3. "Kharites Cult". Theoi Greek Mythology – Exploring Mythology in Classical Literature and Art.
4. "Origines kalendariæ Hellenicæ; or, The history of the primitive calendar among the Greeks, before and after the legislation of Solon by Edward Greswell". Classic Reprint Series Oxford: At the University Press M.DCCC.LXII.

Pausanias, Description of Greece Books I (21), VII (31, 7) and IX (29–31) Papyrus Larousse Brittanika t.48os, article 48