Challenging Gender Roles: Corinna, Greek Poet: Suda K.2087

Corinna the Poet Defeats Pindar Five Times!

Name:    The Suda Date:      10th century CE      Region:    Unknown   Citation:    Suda K.2087

   Corinna: The daughter of Achelodorus and Procratia. She was either Theban or Tanagrean. She was a student of Myrtis. Her nickname was Myia (“The Fly”). She was a lyric poet. It is said that she beat the poet Pindar five times in a competition. She wrote five books of poetry, both of epigrams and pastoral poems.

Κορίννα, Ἀχελωοδώρου καὶ Προκρατίας, Θηβαία ἢ Ταναγραία, μαθήτρια Μύρτιδος: ἐπωνόμαστο δὲ Μυῖα: λυρική. ἐνίκησε δὲ πεντάκις, ὡς λόγος, Πίνδαρον. ἔγραψε βιβλία ε#, καὶ ἐπιγράμματα καὶ νόμους λυρικούς.

Corinna, Achelodori & Procratiae filia, Thebana vel Tanagrea, discipula Myrtidis, Myia cognominata: Lyrica. Quinquies, ut ferunt, Pindarum vicit. Scripsit (carminum) libros V. itemque epigrammata & cantica lyrica. Translated into Latin by Christianus Wolff

The Suda is a literary encyclopedia created in the 10th century CE by an anonymous Byzantine scholar.