Editing Simonides of Ceos (section)

===Career highlight: Persian Wars===
The Thessalian period in Simonides' career is followed in most biographies by his return to Athens during the [[Persian Wars]] and it is certain that he became a prominent international figure at that time,<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), page 147</ref> particularly as the author of commemorative verses. According to an anonymous biographer of [[Aeschylus]],<ref>''Vit. Aesch.'', cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), page 342-2</ref> the Athenians chose Simonides ahead of Aeschylus to be the author of an epigram honouring their war-dead at [[Battle of Marathon|Marathon]], which led the tragedian (who had fought at the battle and whose brother had died there) to withdraw sulking to the court of [[Hieron of Syracuse]] — the story is probably based on the inventions of comic dramatists<ref name="David Campbell 1982 page 378">David Campbell, ''Greek Lyric Poetry'', Bristol Classical Press (1982), page 378</ref> but it is likely that Simonides did in fact write some kind of commemorative verses for the Athenian victory at Marathon.<ref>John H. Molyneux, ''Simonides: A Historical Study'', Bolchazy-Caducci Publishers (1992), page 153</ref>

His ability to compose tastefully and poignantly on military themes put him in great demand among Greek states after their defeat of the second Persian invasion, when he is known to have composed epitaphs for Athenians, Spartans and Corinthians, a commemorative song for [[Leonidas]] and his men, a dedicatory epigram for [[Pausanias (general)|Pausanias]], and poems on the battles of [[Battle of Artemisium|Artemisium]], [[Battle of Salamis|Salamis]],<ref name="David Campbell 1982 page 378"/> and [[Battle of Plataea|Plataea]].<ref>D. Boedeker and D. Sider (eds), ''The New Simonides:contexts of praise and desire'', Oxford University Press (2001)</ref>

According to [[Plutarch]], the Cean had a statue of himself made about this time, which inspired the Athenian politician [[Themistocles]] to comment on his ugliness. In the same account, Themistocles is said to have rejected an attempt by the poet to bribe him, then likened himself as an honest magistrate to a good poet, since an honest magistrate keeps the laws and a good poet keeps in tune.<ref>Plutarch ''Them.'' 5.6–7, cited by D. Campbell, ''Greek Lyric III'', Loeb Classical Library (1991), pages 339, 353</ref> [[Suda]] mentions a feud between Simonides and the Rhodian lyric poet, [[Timocreon]], for whom Simonides apparently composed a mock epitaph that touches on the issue of the Rhodian's [[medism]]—an issue that also involved Themistocles.<ref>David Campbell, ''Greek Lyric IV'', Loeb Classical Library (1992), pages 84–97</ref>