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Of Samos, though some [say] Iasos,[1] and others report that he was from Halikarnassos. [It is recorded that] he was born in the times of Panyasis,[2] and that at the time of the Persian wars, in the 75th Olympiad,[3] he was already a young man; [and that] he became the slave of a certain Samian, being extremely handsome in his prime; [and that] he fled from Samos, and having spent time with Herodotos the historian he fell in love with stories; and they say he became his lover. He devoted himself to poetry and died in Macedonia at the court of Archelaos, the then king of that region.[4] And he wrote these works: The Victory of the Athenians over Xerxes, for which poem he received a gold stater per line and was voted a public recitation alongside the [works] of Homer;[5] [also] Lamiaka;[6] and certain other poems by him are mentioned.

*xoiri/los, *sa/mios, tine\s de\ *)iase/a, a)/lloi de\ *(alikarnase/a i(storou=si. gene/sqai de\ kata\ *panu/asin toi=s xro/nois, e)pi\ de\ tw=n *persikw=n, o)lumpia/di oe#, neani/skon h)/dh ei)=nai: dou=lo/n te *sami/ou tino\s au)to\n gene/sqai, eu)eidh= pa/nu th\n w(/ran: fugei=n te e)k *sa/mou kai\ *(hrodo/tw| tw=| i(storikw=| paredreu/santa lo/gwn e)rasqh=nai: ou(=tinos au)to\n kai\ paidika\ gegone/nai fasi/n. e)piqe/sqai de\ poihtikh=| kai\ teleuth=sai e)n *makedoni/a| para\ *)arxela/w|, tw=| to/te au)th=s basilei=. e)/graye de\ tau=ta: th\n *)aqhnai/wn ni/khn kata\ *ce/rcou: e)f' ou(= poih/matos kata\ sti/xon stath=ra xrusou=n e)/labe kai\ su\n toi=s *(omh/rou a)naginw/skesqai e)yhfi/sqh: *lamiaka/: kai\ a)/lla tina\ poih/mata au)tou= fe/retai.

Late C5 BCE. See generally OCD(4) p.311, under Choerilus(2).
[1] Confusion with a later homonym from Iasos: see OCD(4) p.311, under Choerilus(3).
[2] Another epic poet (pi 248).
[3] 480-477 BCE.
[4] Archelaos (reigned 413-399 BCE) was a noted patron of Greek culture.
[5] It is unlikely that his works received their weight in gold or were read with Homer at the Panathenaea, although they may have had a public performance in Athens.
[6] So the mss.; Adler notes (but does not adopt) the attractive emendation Samiaka.

David Whitehead (augmented notes; added keywords; cosmetics) on 4 August 2002@05:19:48.
Catharine Roth (cosmetics, note, bibliography) on 21 April 2003@20:54:16.
Catharine Roth (cosmetics) on 22 April 2003@20:54:21.
David Whitehead (more keywords) on 1 April 2008@03:34:45.
David Whitehead (another note; tweaking; raised status) on 14 November 2013@05:34:09.
David Whitehead (updated OCD refs) on 1 August 2014@06:36:28.
Catharine Roth (coding) on 9 July 2023@01:14:23.

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