description:  In the story of the great lyric poet Simonides, Mary Renault brings alive a time in Greece when tyrants kept an unsteady rule &amp; poetry, music &amp; royal patronage combined to produce a flowering of the arts. Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood thru a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. As they travel through 5th century B.C. Greece, Simonides learns not only how to play the kithara &amp; compose poetry, but also how to navigate the shifting alliances surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates &amp; to the fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way, he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers &amp; lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras &amp; Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination &amp; her formidable knowledge of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.
language: English
title: The Praise Singer
titlecomplete: The Praise Singer
characters: Simonides of Keos
genres: Classics, LGBT, Historical, Greek Mythology, Greece, Historical Fiction, Literature, Mythology, Fiction, Queer
ratings_count: 1466
places: Greece
publisher: Bantam Books