As is usual with the early Greek poets, little sure is known about Simonides. Ceos was famous for its choral singing, which probably accounts for Simonides' interest in such verse. Apparently Pindar regarded him as a rival, comparing him and Bacchylides to ravens chattering against the holy bird of Zeus (Pindar himself, of course).
Born in 556, died in 468, buried in Acragas.