What is Tyrtaeus known for?

Tyrtaeus is known as a Greek lyric poet whose martial poetry was believed to have inspired and shaped Spartan military and civic spirit. His verses emphasized duty, discipline, and valor, aligning with the militaristic ideals of Sparta.

Was Tyrtaeus a real person or a legend?

While historical details about Tyrtaeus are sparse, he is generally accepted as a real figure from the 7th century BCE, although some aspects of his life may be shrouded in later mythologizing.

Where did Tyrtaeus live and work?

He is traditionally associated with Sparta, where his poetry was said to have played a role in reinforcing the city-state’s military culture.

What kind of poetry did Tyrtaeus write?

Tyrtaeus wrote elegiac and lyric poetry, often focused on themes of warfare, civic duty, and Spartan values. His works were set to music and performed publicly.

Are any of Tyrtaeus’s poems still available today?

Only fragments of his poetry survive, preserved through quotations in ancient sources such as Athenaeus and Plutarch. These fragments are considered among the earliest examples of Greek elegiac verse.

How did Tyrtaeus influence Spartan society?

His poetry was used to inspire soldiers and reinforce communal values, contributing to the development of Spartan military discipline and identity.

Tyrtaeus

Greek lyric poet

Person Human Q316094

Tyrtaeus — Gustave Moreau · Public Domain · Wikimedia

Facts

13 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[10]
Date of birth: 700 BC
Date of death: 700 BC
Place of birth: Athens, Sparta^[8]
Place of death: Sparta
Country of citizenship: Sparta^[9]
Occupation: poet, writer, elegist
Languages spoken, written or signed: Ancient Greek^[21]
Copyright status as a creator: copyrights on works have expired
Described by source: Nordisk familjebok, Pauly–Wissowa, Russian translation of Lübker's Antiquity Lexicon, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Library of the World's Best Literature, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890)^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]
Significant place: Mantineia
Writing language: Ancient Greek

🏷️ Also known as

en Tyrtæus en Tyrtaeus cs Tyrtaeus Aphidnaeus cs Tyrtaeus Elegiacus cs Tyrtaeus Lacedaemonius cs Tyrtaeus Lyricus cs Tyrtaios cs Tyrtaios Milesier cs Tirteo cs Tyrtaios ze Sparty cs Tyrtée cs Tyrtaios von Sparta cs Tyrtaeus de Tyrtäus de Tyrtäos de Tyrtaeus el Τυρταίος fr Tyrlée fr Tyrtee fr Tyrtée de Sparte

🔖 Identifiers · 97

ISNI: 0000000382895313
VIAF cluster ID: 585159234754.2B (49.3M–2057159478047.0B, n=14)
Library of Congress Authorities ID: nr93040686
GND ID: 11862492X
Academy of Athens authority ID: 51073, 75941
Alvin ID: alvin-person:52657
BHCL UUID: e66e3ed6-f189-4df2-9222-fe9127ebda6e
BIBSYS ID: 95005148
BVMC person ID: 67177
BiblioNet author ID: 12786
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12197453v
Biblissima authority ID: Б

Show all 97 identifiers +85

Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: tyrtaios
CERL Thesaurus ID: cnp00396741, cnp01330057
CIRIS author ID: 2209
CONOR.BG ID: 48994405
CONOR.SI ID: 69024611
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf10731999, ncf11945797
Central Library of Volos authority ID: 40701, 40702
CiNii Research ID: 1140282266585523456
DDB person (GND) ID: 11862492X
De Agostini ID: Tirtèo
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 11862492X
Digital Scriptorium Catalog item ID: Harry Haslam
Encyclopedia of China (Second Edition) ID: 233649
Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) ID (2026): 1nfjdZ
Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) old ID (2021): 206039
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Tyrtaeus
Encyclopædia Universalis ID: tyrtee
FAST ID: 329948
FES digital collections entity ID: 404050
FGrHist ID: 580
FID performing arts ID: agent/gnd_11862492X
Freebase ID: /m/015hn4
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: tirteu
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0066144
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Tyrtaios
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID (2017): 4193103
Great Russian Encyclopedia portal ID: tirtei-bc7f68
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 61443
IdRef ID: 067053955
J9U entity ID: 987007269284905171
KBR person ID: 14392468
KSW person ID: 42174
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 11862492X
Korrespondenzen der Frühromantik person ID: 8062
LAGL author ID: urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0266
LBT person ID: Tyrta600
Lex ID: Tyrtaios
Libris-URI: 86lnkdrs0b5czhq
Literary Encyclopedia ID: b-2751
LyricsTranslate ID: tyrtaeus-lyrics.html
MANTO ID: 11307798
Municipal Library of Trikala ID: 82231
Museum-digital person/organization ID: 60222
Münzkabinett ID: person/5245
NACSIS-CAT author ID: DA08435029
NE.se ID: tyrtaios
NL CR AUT ID: ola2012723276
NLP ID: a0000002530932
NUKAT ID: n02046022
National Library of Greece ID: 49704
National Library of Ireland ID: vtls001406321
National Library of Lithuania ID: LNB:CM4u;=Bf
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810556567205606
National Library of Portugal ID: 235585
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX1338509
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 06996551X
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3990597
Open Library ID: OL518350A
OpenMLOL author ID: 2538, 106929
Oxford Classical Dictionary ID: 6628
PACTOLS thesaurus ID: pcrtbe0IRZFTDH
PUG authority ID: 74916
Parsifal cluster ID: 71k (71k–757k, n=3)
Perseus author ID: 1442
Proleksis enciklopedija ID: 48876
RERO ID (legacy): A000164583
SAIA authority ID: 5a1d4d054ab9d081344c9ea4, 5ce3bbc53e91fcbd4d0016d2
SBN author ID: RAVV079242
SEARCH on line catalogue ID: 11196, 23802
SELIBR ID: 98094
SHARE Catalogue author ID: 439100
Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts name ID: 43462
TLG author ID: 0266
Topic's main category: Category:Tyrtaeus
ToposText person ID: 1032
Treccani ID: tirteo
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: tirteo
Trismegistos author ID: 948
Unione Romana Biblioteche Scientifiche ID: 2020
Unz Review author ID: Tyrtaeus
Vatican Library ID (former scheme): ADV11533777
Vatican Library VcBA ID: 495/44949
Wellcome Collection concept ID: r8sd36ma
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PCjF6MqxV9jPk4dkjYYv7f3
Yale LUX ID: person/2e363c0a-2f1a-46c4-b84b-3b33aefefec9

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Described by source 5

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition, Nordisk familjebok, Pauly–Wissowa, The Nuttall Encyclopædia

Occupation 2

writer, poet

Place of birth 2

Athens, Sparta

Country of citizenship 1

Sparta

Digital Scriptorium Catalog item ID 1

Harry Haslam

Instance of 1

human

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

Ancient Greek

Place of death 1

Sparta

Sex or gender 1

male

Writing language 1

Ancient Greek

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Summary

Tyrtaeus was born in 700 BC^[1] in Athens^[2]. He died in 700 BC^[3] in Sparta^[4]. He worked as a poet^[5], writer^[6], and elegist^[7].

FAQs

Where was Tyrtaeus born?

Tyrtaeus was born in Athens^[2].

Where did Tyrtaeus die?

Tyrtaeus died in Sparta^[4].

What did Tyrtaeus do for work?

Tyrtaeus worked as a poet^[5], writer^[6], and elegist^[7].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Tyrtaeus — place of birth (P19): Athens. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Tyrtaeus — place of birth (P19): Sparta. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Tyrtaeus — place of death (P20): Sparta. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Tyrtaeus — sex or gender (P21): male. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Tyrtaeus — country of citizenship (P27): Sparta. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Tyrtaeus — occupation (P106): poet. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Tyrtaeus — occupation (P106): writer. Library of the World's Best Literature. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Tyrtaeus — occupation (P106): elegist. Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved 2020-01-10. catalog.perseus.tufts.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Tyrtaeus — date of birth (P569): 700 BC. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Tyrtaeus — date of death (P570): 700 BC. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Nordisk familjebok. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Pauly–Wissowa. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Russian translation of Lübker's Antiquity Lexicon. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Library of the World's Best Literature. bartleby.com. bartleby.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): The Nuttall Encyclopædia. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Tyrtaeus — described by source (P1343): Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890). wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Tyrtaeus — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): Ancient Greek. CONOR.SI. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Tyrtaeus. Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/tyrtaeus

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_tyrtaeus_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Tyrtaeus}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/tyrtaeus}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-10}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Tyrtaeus — https://4ort.xyz/entity/tyrtaeus (retrieved 2026-11-10)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/tyrtaeus · Last refreshed: November 10, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

6d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-06 view diff on Wikidata ↗

PUG authority ID → 74916

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #64217: add GND as source to unsourced or imported statements"
4w ago · Bargioni · 2026-10-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Parsifal cluster ID → 757424, 604713, 71444

"Created claim: Parsifal cluster ID: 71444"
16w ago · Pierrotrgr · 2026-07-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Biblissima authority ID → Б

"Created claim: Biblissima authority ID: Q16291, Import ID Biblissima V2 (details)"
17w ago · Nyuhn · 2026-07-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Encyclopedia of China (Third Edition) ID (2026) → 1nfjdZ

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #40849: ZGBK ID"
19w ago · Printstream · 2026-07-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗

KSW person ID → 42174

"Created claim: KSW person ID: 42174, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782930557898"
19w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

FES digital collections entity ID → 404050

"Created claim: FES digital collections entity ID: 404050, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
26w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗

CERL Thesaurus ID → cnp00396741, cnp01330057

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #30848: match CERL IDs on the basis of GND (5)"
26w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Parsifal cluster ID → 757424, 604713, 71444

"Created claim: Parsifal cluster ID: 604713, Matched to Tyrtaeus (#161489837) in Parsifal persons #mix"
26w ago · JBradyK · 2026-05-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Significant place → Mantineia

"Created claim: Significant place: Mantineia, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1778423652304"
27w ago · JBradyK · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Place of birth → Athens, Sparta

Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID (2017) → 4193103

Topic's main category → Category:Tyrtaeus

Described by source → Nordisk familjebok, Pauly–Wissowa, Russian translation of Lübker's Antiquity Lexicon +1

+ 9 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"Created claim: MANTO ID: 11307798, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1778162092118"

Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.