Editing Simonides of Ceos (section)

===Middle career: Thessaly===
After the assassination of Hipparchus (514&nbsp;BC), Simonides withdrew to [[Thessaly]], where he enjoyed the protection and patronage of the [[Aleuadae#Historical Aleuadae|Scopadae and Aleuadae]]. These were two of the most powerful families in the Thessalian feudal aristocracy yet they seemed notable to later Greeks such as [[Theocritus]] only for their association with Simonides.<ref>Theocritus, 16.42–47, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 341</ref> Thessaly at that time was a cultural backwater, remaining in the 'Dark Ages' until the close of the 5th&nbsp;century. According to an account by [[Plutarch]], the Ionian poet once dismissed the Thessalians as "too ignorant" to be beguiled by poetry.<ref>Plutarch, ''aud. poet.'' 15c, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 341</ref>

Among the most colourful of his "ignorant" patrons was the head of the Scopadae clan, named Scopas. Fond of drinking, convivial company and vain displays of wealth, this aristocrat's proud and capricious dealings with Simonides are demonstrated in a traditional account related by [[Cicero]]<ref>Cicero, ''de orat.'' 2.86.351-3, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 375</ref> and [[Quintilian]],<ref>Quintilian, ''Inst.'' 11.2.11–16, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 377</ref> according to which the poet was commissioned to write a victory ode for a boxer. Simonides embellished his ode with so many references to the twins [[Castor and Pollux]] (heroic archetypes of the boxer) that Scopas told him to collect half the commissioned fee from them — he would only pay the other half.<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), pages 117–24</ref> Simonides however ended up getting much more from the mythical twins than just a fee; he owed them his very life (see [[Simonides#Miraculous escapes|Miraculous escapes]]). According to this story he was called out of the feast hall to see two visitors who had arrived and were asking for him – presumably Castor and Pollux. As soon as he left the hall, it collapsed, killing everyone within. These events were said to have inspired him to develop a system of mnemonics based on images and places called the [[method of loci]]. The method of loci is one component of the [[art of memory]].