Pindar was a lyric poet from Cynoscephalae in Boeotia. He may have come from an aristocratic family of the Aegeidae. He was born around 518 BC and was still writing by 446 BC. Herodotus considered him to be one of the classic authors. Many consider Pindar to be one of the "nine poets of the lyric canon."
Pindar's works have been divided into seventeen books. He wrote hymns, paeans, dithyrambs (2 books), prosodia or processional songs (2 books), partheneia or maiden-songs (3 books), hyporchemata or dance songs (2 books), encomia, threnoi or dirges, and epinicia or victory songs (4 books). Many ruling families commissioned Pindar to write choral victory songs for popular athletes.
Sources:
Whos's Who in the Classical World, ed. Simon Hornblower and Tony Spawforth, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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