Anacreon was a Greek lyric poet who lived during the 6th century BCE. He was born in the city of Teos in Asia Minor. When the Persian Empire expanded, he left with fellow citizens to help found a new colony in Thrace. He spent much of his career as a court poet for powerful patrons, first for the tyrant Polycrates on the island of Samos and later for the ruling family in Athens.

His poetry was composed for performance, often at aristocratic drinking parties. The surviving fragments of his work focus on themes of love, wine, and the enjoyment of life, delivered with a light and witty tone. He also wrote playful parodies of epic poetry. Although his poems were collected into multiple books in antiquity, only fragments survive today. A later collection of poems called the Anacreontea was written in imitation of his style but is not his own work.

Anacreon is counted among the most important lyric poets of ancient Greece. According to modern scholars, his significance lies in his elegant and technically skilled verses, which helped define the genre of sympotic poetry focused on personal pleasure and social refinement. His work was widely admired and imitated, influencing later Greek and Roman writers. His poetry offers a valuable window into the social life and artistic culture of the late Archaic period.