Panyassis

Marble portrait bust of Panyassis. Roman 1st century AD copy of the Greek original. Naples National Archaeological Museum.

Panyassis of Halicarnassus, sometimes known as Panyasis (Ancient Greek Πανυάσις), was a 5th century BC Greek epic poet, famous for the Heracleia and the Ionica. It is believed that he also wrote other works which have since been lost. He was critically unappreciated during his lifetime, but was posthumously recognised as one of the greatest poets of archaic Greece. He was either Herodotus' uncle or cousin. In 454 BC, Panyassis was executed for political activities by the tyrant Lygdamis.