High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 BC-468 BC), Greek lyric poet, was born at Ioulis on Kea. He was included, along with Sappho and Pindar, in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. He was uncle to Bacchylides, another of the nine lyric poets. He is the narrator and main character of Mary Renault's historical novel The Praise Singer. He is cited by Plato in The Republic. He wrote odes to victors and dirges. Also, he wrote songs of praise to the gods. His poems were usually about war along with many thoughtful topics. Of his poetry we possess two or three short elegies (Fr. 85 seems from its style and versification to belong to Simonides of Amorgos, or at least not to be the work of our poet), several epigrams and about 90 fragments of lyric and choral poetry.