Telesilla

Telesilla was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Argos, active in the fifth century BC. She is known for her role in the defence of Argos in 494 BC. The historicity of this episode continues to be disputed. Only a few fragments of her poetry survive, several of which reference the gods Apollo and Artemis. The longest surviving fragment, only two lines, is quoted by the grammarian Hephaestion to illustrate the Telesillan metre, named after her. She was apparently famous in antiquity, included by Antipater of Thessalonica in his canon of women poets; in the twentieth century she inspired a poem by the imagist poet H.D.