Polymnestus
(Πολύμνηστος), the father of Battus, the founder of Cyrene. [Battus, p. 476a.]
(Πολύμνηστος), or Polymnastus, the son of Meles of Colophon, was an epic, elegiac, and lyric poet, and a musician. He flourished not long after Thaletas, in honour of whom he made a poem at the request of the Spartans (Paus. 1.14.3), and earlier than Alcman, who mentioned him (Plut. Mus. p. 1133a). It seems, therefore, that he was in part contemporary with both these poets, and the period during which he flourished may be roughly stated at B. C. 675-644. He belongs to the school of Dorian music, which flourished at this time at Sparta, where he carried on the improvements of Thaletas. He cultivated the orthian nomes, and invented a new kind of auloedic nome, which was named after him, Πολυμνήστιον (Plut. de Mus. pp. 1132-1135 ; Suid. s.v. Hesych. s. v. Πολυμνήστιον ᾄδειν). The Attic comedians attacked his poems for their erotic character. (Aristoph. Kn. 1287; Cratinus, apud Schol. ibid.) As an elegiac poet, he may be regarded as the predecessor of his fellow-coun-tryman, Mimnermus. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. p. 135; Bode, Gesch. d. Hellen. Dichtk. vol. ii. pt. 1, passim ; Ulrici, Gesch. d. Hell. Dichtk. vol. ii. pp. 291, 292, et alib. ; Clinton, F. H. vol. i. s. a. 665, 657, 644, and p. 365.) [P.S]
a statuary, whose name was first made known by the discovery of an inscription on a base in the Acropolis at Athens, in 1840, by Ross, who has thus restored it, [Π]ΟΛΥΜΝΗΣΤΟΣ ΚΕΝ[ΧΡΑΜΙΣ] ΕΠΟΙΗΣΑΝ. From the form of the letters, Ross supposes the inscription to be of about the time of Praxiteles or Lysippus. The only reason for the restoration of the name of the second of these artists, is the mention in Pliny (Plin. Nat. 34.8. s. 19.27) of a statuary named Cenchramis, among those who made comedians and athletes. (Raoul-Rochette, Lettre à M. Schorn, p. 390.) [P.S]
or Polymnastus (Πολύμνηστος). The son of Melos of Colophon. He was an epic, elegiac, and lyric poet, and a musician. He flourished B.C. 675-644. He belongs to the school of Dorian music, which obtained at this time at Sparta, where he carried on the improvements of Thaletas. The Attic comedians attacked his poems for their erotic character (Aristoph. Eq. 1287). As an elegiac poet, he may be regarded as the predecessor of his fellow-countryman, Mimnermus.
- father of the first Battus: Hdt. 4.150, Hdt. 4.155