Short answers, pulled from the story.
Bacchylides uncle was Simonides, a poet whose fame already shadowed the young man's future. Simonides introduced him to ruling circles in Thessaly and Syracuse where Hieron of Syracuse hosted a glittering court that attracted artists like Aeschylus and Pindar.
Hieron commissioned Bacchylides again in 470 BC to mark triumphs in chariot racing at the Pythian Games. The most prestigious honor came in 468 BC when Hieron chose Bacchylides over Pindar for Olympic chariot victories.
Only sixty-nine fragments totaling 107 lines remained before the papyrus discovery. Frederic Kenyon reassembled 1382 lines from the Egyptian find and restored 1070 of them to perfect or near-perfect condition.
By 476 BC he competed directly with Pindar for commissions from leading families on Aegina. That same year Bacchylides composed an ode celebrating Hieron's first victory at the Olympian Games.
Ancient authorities confirm his visits to Hieron's court between 478 and 467 BC. Plutarch later described a period where the poet faced exile from his native home and spent this time in Peloponnesus.