Virtually all we know about the life of Tyrtaeus is found two entries of the "Suda", a Byzantine encyclopedia redacted in the 10th century AD. Traditional accounts of his life were almost entirely deduced from his poetry or were simply fiction, such as the account by Pausanias of his supposed transformation from a lame and stupid school teacher in Athens to the mastermind of Spartan victories against the Messenians. Variations on his Athenian origin and deformity are found in numerous ancient sources, including Diogenes Laërtius, who said that the Athenians regarded him as deranged, Porphyry, who labelled him "one-eyed", or Justin, who believed that he was sent to the Spartans by the Athenians as a deliberate insult.The first of the entry of the "Suda" runs as follows: