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[German version] Epigram poet in the early 1st cent. AD (cf. Anth. Pal. 7,391 on the death of Germanicus in AD 19), born perhaps in Smyrna (according to the lemma of Anth. Pal. 11,72; the poem's authorship is, however, not certain). At least nine poems by B. are extant from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus (with the addition of several incerta, cf. Anth. Pal. 9,30 as well), all of which rather mediocre, most of them either epideictic (9,236 is a panegyrical poem about imperial Rome, ‘the home of the entire universe’) or funeral epigrams (7,372 = GVI 1580 is possibly an actual inscription). Degani, Enz…

(Ἐπίγονος; Epígonos). [German version] [1] Sculptor in Pergamum Sculptor in Pergamum, who participated in building the victory monuments for the Attalids according to Pliny. Signatures are preserved on the following bases for Attalus I (241-197 BC): the so-called ‘Small Battle Bathron’ of the strategos Epigenes [2]; round base of the so-called ‘Great Anathema’ ( c. 228 BC; the attribution of the ‘Ludovisi Gaul’ remains in dispute); the so-called ‘Great Bathron’ ( c. 223 BC) with the ‘Dying Trumpeter’, which is documented in writing and was recognized in a copy on t…

(Ἆγις; Âgis). [German version] [1] I, eponymous hero of the  Agiads A. I, eponymous hero of the  Agiads, son of Eurysthenes and father of Echestratus, according to another version father of the legendary lawgiver Lycurgus (Hdt. 7,204; Paus. 3,2,1). The institution of the perioikia and of the  Helots by him (Ephorus, FGrH 70 F 117) is historical fiction. Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) [German version] [2] II, Spartan king (427-400 BC) A. II, Eurypontid, Spartan king 427/26-400 BC, son of Archidamus [1] II and stepbrother of Agesilaus [2] II, in 426 and 425 led troo…

(Δημήτριος; Dēmḗtrios). Well-known personalities: the Macedonian King D. [2] Poliorketes; the politician and writer D. [4] of Phalerum; the Jewish-Hellenistic chronographer D. [29]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Officer under Alexander the Great Officer under Alexander [4], fought at Gaugamela as commander of a troop ( ile) of  Hetairoi and in India he commanded a hipparchy. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 256. [German version] [2] D. Poliorketes Son of  Antigonus [1], born 337/6 BC (Diod. Sic. 19,96,1). In 320 he m…

(Ἀμώνιος; Ammónios). [German version] [1] Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas), middle of the 2nd cent. BC Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas); ruled in his place in Syria, executed relatives and followers of (the deceased) Demetrius I and oppressed the Antiochenes. When he attempted an attack on Ptolemy VI, certainly Alexander's most important supporter, and Ptolemy demanded that A. be handed over, Alexander actually declined to do this, so Ptolemy broke with Alexander: despite dressing as a woman, A…

(Ἀντίοχος; Antíochos). [German version] [1] Helmsman in the fleet of  Alcibiades [3] Helmsman in the fleet of  Alcibiades [3]. His indiscipline led to the Athenian defeat at Notion in 407 BC and the subsequent removal of Alcibiades as strategos (Hell. Oxy. 8 Chambers; Xen. Hell. 1,5,11 ff.; Diod. Sic. 13,71; Plut. Alcibiades 10; 35 f.; Lysander 5). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Bibliography W. M. Ellis, Alcibiades, 1989, 31, 91-93. [German version] [2] I. Soter King of the Seleucids, 281-261 BC Called Soter (‘Saviour’) for his victory over the Galatians -- perhaps the …

[German version] (Ἀρχίμηλος; Archímēlos) The writer of a long epigram that describes a gigantic ship, which Hieron II had built: according to the testimony of the historian and paradoxographer Moschion (FGrH 575 IIIB p. 677), whom Athenaeus (5,209b-c) quotes directly, the ruler is said to have paid the poet by sending him 1, 000 medimnoi of grain ‘to the Piraeus’. If this correct, then A. is to be dated to the second half of the 3rd cent. BC, however, the unreliable nature of the source leaves room for justifiable doubt. The poem is of poor quality…

(Διόδωρος, Διόδορος; Diódōros, Diódoros). Well-known representatives of the name: the philosopher D. [4] Kronos, the mathematician D. [8] of Alexandria, the universal historian D. [18] Siculus, the early Christian theologian D. [20] of Tarsus. [German version] [1] Athenian fleet commander in the Peloponnesian War Athenian, fleet commander with Mantitheus at the end of 408-407 BC at the Hellespont with a sufficient number of ships, so that Alcibiades [3] was able to sail to Samos and Thrasyllus and Theramenes to Athens (Diod. Sic. 13,68,2). (Traill, PAA 329550; Develin 171). Kinzl, …

[German version] A. Definition This antonomasia generally designates the great collection preserved from antiquity of Greek epigrams, i.e., the Anthologia Palatina (so named after the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg, where at the end of the 16th cent. the only MS, the Palatinus 23, was discovered) and also the Anthologia Planudea, which supplements it, which was compiled in 1301 by the monk Maximus Planudes (codex Marcianus graecus 481). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) [German version] B. Anthologia Palatina A collection of c. 3,700 epigrams with nearly 23,000 verses: in this t…

(Ἀνδρόνικος; Andrónikos). [German version] [1] from Olynthus Macedonian officer (2nd half of the 4th cent. BC) Participated in all campaigns of  Alexander [II 4]. 315 BC officer of  Antigonus [1] at Tyre, then advisor of  Demetrius [2], whom he advised 312 to decline the battle at Gaza. In the battle he commanded the cavalry at the right flank and escaped after the defeat to Tyre, where he took over command and was able to hold the city for a time. At the end, delivered by the garrison to  Ptolemaeus [1], by whom he was honoured as a friend. Diod. Sic. 19. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliograph…

[German version] (Έννοιος; Énnoios) Author of an epitaph on a marble block that was rediscovered in Catania (Anth. Pal. append. 2,491 Cougny = GVI 883) and is to be dated in the 3rd-4th cents. AD. The name of the poet, which stands under the three insipid as well as damaged distichs, is not otherwise documented. Degani, Enzo (Bologna)

(Διονύσιος; Dionýsios). Famous personalities: D. [1], the tyrant of Syracuse; the historian D. [18] of Halicarnassus. Dionysios (month),  Months, names of the. The chronicle of Ps.-D. by Tell Maḥre see D. [23]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] D. I. Notorious tyrant in Syracuse c. 400 BC of Syracuse, son of Hermocritus, born in c. 430 BC, died in 367 BC. Founder of the ‘greatest and longest tyrannical rule in history’ (Diod. Sic. 13,96,4; appearance: Timaeus FGrH 566 F 29). Possessing a sophist education (Cic. Tusc. 5,63), D. had enormous ambitions a…

[German version] [1] Son of Tiber and Manto, founder of Mantua Son of the Tiber and Manto, daughter of Teiresias or Hercules. B., also named Ocnus (Aucnus) (Verg. Aen. 10,198), is said to have founded the city of Mantua and named it after his mother. According to others (Serv. Aen.) B. founded Felsina, later to become Bononia (Bologna); Virgil (Ecl. 9,60) mentions B.'s grave. Bloch, René (Berne) Bibliography F. E. Brenk, War and the shepherd. The tomb of B. in Vergil's ninth Eclogue, in: AJPh 102, 1981, 427-430. [German version] [2] Writer of epigrams in the ‘Garland’ of Philippus Writer of …

[No German version] I. Greek Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography GA 2,1,11 f.; 2,2,13-16. [German version] [I 1] Epigrammatic poet of Nicaea. Author of three interesting epigrams from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus: the astounding lament of a ship that -- having escaped shipwreck -- returns to port ‘with a cargo of corpses’ (Anth. Pal. 9,218), and two descriptions of works of art, the first (Anth. Pal. 7,623) a famous painting by Aristides of Thebes (Plin. HN 35,98), the second (Anth. Pal. 9,756) seems to illustrate …

[German version] Epigrammatic poet from the time of Hadrian, author of 24 satirical poems (the allocation of a further four is disputed), in which he shows himself to be a (seldom faithful) Lucillius imitator. Of interest are the points made against the conceited and bearded philosophers (above all against the Cynics), who do not know that the beard ‘nourishes fleas, and not ideas’ (Anth. Pal. 11,156), and against the orators (11,180-181: these especially have set their sights on Antonius Polemon)…

(Ἐρατοσθένης; Eratosthénēs). [German version] [1] Athenian, active in the Peloponnesian War An Athenian of rich family. In 411 BC he was serving as a trierarch in the Hellespont, but left his ship in order to support the oligarchs in Athens (Lys. 12,42). After the capitulation of Athens in the Peloponnesian War (404 BC), E. belonged to an action group ─ the five ephors ─ working for an oligarchic coup. After the abolition of the democratic order, E. was on the ruling committee of the Thirty, and after its …

[German version] (Εὐπίθιος; Eupíthios). Writer of an epigram that consists of an expressive curse of Herodian's work ‘The General Pronunciation of Greek’ (Ἡ καθόλου προσῳδία; hē kathólou prosōidía) (Anth. Pal. 9,206). The otherwise unknown poet was, as we gather from the heading, an Athenian; he should either be considered a contemporary of Herodian (2nd half of the 2nd cent. AD) or lived after him. Degani, Enzo (Bologna)

(Χαιρήμων; Chairḗmōn). [German version] [1] Tragedian, middle of the 4th cent. BC Tragedian; mentioned by the comedy writers Eubulus (Ath. 2,43c) and Ephippus (Juv. fr. 9 Kock in Ath. 11,482b), which locates him in the middle of the 4th cent. BC. Performed again 276-19 at the Naïa in Dodona (DID B 11,13); titles: Alphesiboea, ‘Achilles killer of Thersites (Apulian vase, Boston 03.804 [1. 166]), Dionysus, Thyestes, Io, The Centaur, The Minyae, Odysseus, Oeneus and more than 40 fragments. Aristot. Rhet. 3,12,1413b8) counts him among those writers whose plays are full…

[German version] (Δαμάγητος; Damágētos). Mediocre epigrammatic poet of the ‘Garland’ of Meleager (Anth. Pal. 4,1,21), probably to be classified as part of the Peloponnesian School; he lived at the time of the war between the Achaean and the Aetolian Leagues (220-217 BC). Almost all of his 12 epigrams can be traced back directly (7,438; 541) or indirectly (praise of Sparta and its allies: 7,432; 540f., and in doricizing language 7,231; 16,1) to this event (perhaps also 6,277 to Arsinoe, the daughter…

(Αὐτομέδων; Automédōn). [German version] [1] Charioteer to Achilles and Patroclus Son of Diores of Scyrus (Hyg. Fab. 97). Charioteer to Achilles and Patroclus (Hom. Il. 9,209; frequent references in books 16 and 17 of the Il.). He is often depicted in this role in vase paintings. In Virgil (Aen. 2,476f.) he is Neoptolemus' charioteer. From the time of Varro (Men. 257), in Rome automedo is used to denote the reliable personal charioteer (e.g. Cic. Rosc. Am. 98; Juv. 1,61). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography A. Kossatz-Deissmann, s.v. A., LIMC 3.1, 56-63. [German version] [2] Greek …

[German version] [1] [...]us C. s. M.  Arruntius Claudianus Hofmann, Heinz (Tübingen) [German version] [2] Claudius C. Graeco-Latin poet, c. AD 400 Graeco-Latin poet (about AD 400) from Alexandria. C. first wrote Greek poetry of which the opening of a ‘gigantomachy is preserved, whose praefatio in elegiac distichs indicates recitation in Alexandria. Of the seven epigrams in the  Anthologia Palatina attributed to a Klaudianos (see Claudius  Claudianus [3]), four were written by this C. (5,86,, 9,140. 753f.). He may also be the writer of (lost) epic poems…

Plebeian family name, documented in Rome since the 1st cent. BC (on the derivation of asinus [1], on Etruscan parallels [2]). The family, whose most famous name-bearer was Asinus Pollio, originally came from Teate Marrucinorum (modern Chieti), was a member of the patrician class since the Augustan period and was particularly prominent in the 1st cent. AD. I. Republic [German version] [I 1] A. Senator (mid-1st cent. BC) Senator, supporter of Antony at Mutina in 43 BC (Cic. Phil. 13, 28). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) Bibliography 1 A. Hug, s.v. Spitznamen, RE 3 A, 1829 2 Schulze, 129. …

[German version] (Δαμόστρατος; Damóstratos). Author of an epigram on Meleager's ‘Garland’ (Anth. Pal. 9,328): a ‘Damostratus, son of Antilas’ (v. 3) dedicates wooden statues and boar skins to the Naiads. The attribution seems questionable as does the very existence of the otherwise unknown author (D. of Apamea, author of Halieutiká (Ἁλιευτικά), dates from a time post-Meleager, i.e. after the first half of the first cent. BC). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography GA I,1,80; 2,230f.

(Ἀρχίας; Archías). [German version] [1] Corinthian, founder of Syracuse 733 BC Son of Euagetes of Corinth, probably belonging to the family of the  Bacchiadae. He left Corinth following a serious dispute, and, on the instruction of the Delphian oracle, led colonists to lower Italy. In about 733 BC, he founded  Syracusae in Sicily (Thuc. 6,3,2; Str. 6,2,4; Plut. Mor. 772e-773b).  Colonization Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography W. Leschhorn, Gründer der Stadt, 1984, 13-16 H.-P. Drögemüller, s. v. Syrakus, RE Suppl. 13, 817-819. [German version] [2] Politician from C…

(Δωριεύς; Dorieús). [German version] [1] Spartan, son of Anaxandridas II Spartan, Agiad, son of Anaxandridas II and his first wife, older brother of the kings Leonidas and Cleombrotus, younger half-brother of Cleomenes I, who was born before D., but to the second wife of Anaxandridas, whom he due to the initial infertility of his first wife had additionally married at the direction of the ephors and gerontes. After Cleomenes as the eldest son had succeeded to the throne (Hdt. 5,41f.; Paus. 3,3,9f.), D. organized ─ allegedly due to outrage over this ruling ─ a colonist campaign to Libya c. 51…

[German version] (Ἀνύτη; Anýtē). Epigrammatic poetess of the ‘Garland’ of Meleager (Anth. Pal. 4,1,5), acclaimed representative of the Peloponnesian School. Born in Tegea, Arcadia, (not in Mytilene, as the lemmata of Anth. Pal. 7,492 erroneously states, cf. Poll. 5,48; Steph. Byz. 610,16), she lived in all probability at the turn of the 4th to the 3rd cent. BC and was also the author of lost epic and lyric poems (SH 80 f.). At least 19 epigrams (in addition, the following are uncertain or disputed;…

(Δημόκριτος; Dēmókritos). [1] of Abdera Atomist philosopher, 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC [German version] A. Life and Writing D. was active in the 2nd half of the 5th cent. and one of the main representatives of ancient  Atomism, which he adopted from  Leucippus. Their respective contributions to the theory of the atom are difficult to differentiate. It is characteristic in this context that the ‘Great World Order’ (Μέγας διάκοσμος; Mégas diákosmos) listed in an index of D.'s writings (by Diog. Laert. 9,45 = 68A33 DK) was a treatise by Leucippus according to Theoph…

[German version] [1] Macedonian commander (320-319 BC) Son of Iolaus,  399/398 BC, was certainly already active militarily and diplomatically under  Philippus and under his father  Amyntas and brothers. He was especially connected with  Alexander [4] and secured his throne after the murder of Philippus. During Alexander's invasion in Asia he remained with half of the Macedonian army as governor of Europe. He monitored Greece and sent mercenaries and Macedonian contingents during the first year of the …

[German version] (Ἀγαθίας; Agathías). Historian and poet from Myrina in Asia Minor, son of the rhetor Memnon. Born c. 532, died shortly after 580 AD. He studied rhetoric in Alexandria and law in Constantinople, where he then successfully practised as a lawyer (and this is why he was named Σχολαστικός; Scholastikós). His historical work continues that of Procopius, recounts in five books -- with long ethnographic and chronological digressions (up until 579) -- events of the years AD 552-559. He attempts to imitate Herodotus and Thucydides, meticu…

(Διοκλῆς; Dioklês). [German version] [1] Hero in Megara Hero in Megara. He supposedly died in battle, bravely covering a youth with his shield. At his grave boys competed for who could give the sweetest kiss. This agon, which took place every spring, was called Dioclea (Schol. Pind. Ol. 7,157; 13,156a; Theoc. 12,27-33 with Schol.: Aition). Perhaps the kisses represented farewell kisses repeated in the cult of the hero ([1]; to the contrary [2]). According to Schol. Aristoph. Ach.774 the agon was founded…

[German version] (Ερύκιος; Erýkios) Author of 14 epigrams in the ‘Garland’ of Philippus: dedicatory, funerary and epideictic epigrams treating traditional (often bucolic, cf. Anth. Pal. 6,96; 255; 7,174 etc.) themes with remarkable elegance. Internal evidence assigns him to the 2nd half of the 1st cent. BC and suggests that he probably visited Rome (cf. 6,96,2 Ἀρκάδες ἀμφότεροι and Verg. Ecl. 7,4 Arcades ambo). The heading of 7,230 attests to his having come from Cyzicus (that of 7,397, Ἐρυκίου Θετταλοῦ, seems to confirm the existence of a second E.); he i…

(Ἀλφειός; Alpheiós). [German version] [1] River in the Peloponnese At 110 kms it is the longest river with the largest volume of water flow of the  Peloponnese, which, with its tributaries (especially the  Ladon,  Erymanthus,  Lousius) drains a large part of  Arcadia and  Elis. The eastern spring, called A. surfaces on the valley watershed near the Eurotas (483 m above sea level at Ambelakion; possibly some tapping of the water flow). The A. has so far for the most part preserved the character of a mount…

(Ἀντίγονος; Antígonos). [German version] [1] Monophthalmus Diadoch (‘The One-eyed’), 382-301 BC.  Hetairos of  Philippus and  Alexander [4], married to  Stratonice, was the father of  Demetrius. During Alexander's invasion of Asia, commander of the Greek hoplites, satrap of Greater Phrygia from 333 until Alexander's death [323]. He defeated rebels and remnants of Persian troops, he gained Lycaonia and in 331 he received in addition the administration of Lycia-Pamphylia. In Priene he was honoured for an achievement, the nature of which is unknown. (IPriene 2). After Alexander's…

(Ἀντιφάνης; Antiphánēs). [German version] [1] Attic comic poet, 4th cent. BC Attic writer of comedies; concerning his family and lineage the information is quite contradictory [1. test. 1, 2]. His father as well as his son were called Stephanus, (his son as a writer of comedies, staged works of his father [1. test 1]). A. was born in the 93rd Olympiad (between 408 and 404 BC) [1. test. 1] and is said to have already begun his stage activity at 20 years, (‘after the 98th Olympiad’ [1. test. 2]). He is said …

[German version] with the epithet Γραμματικός ( Grammatikós). Epigram poet of the ‘ kyklos’ of Agathias, lived in the 6th cent. AD, author of 12 reasonable, for the most part ecphrastic and epideictic epigrams (some uncertainty remains, furthermore, concerning Anth. Pal. 7,555-555b and 9, 628f.; the first are titled Ἰωάννου Ποιητοῦ, the others Ἰωάννου Γραμματικοῦ). Noteworthy are the epigrams about the destruction of Berytus (Beirut) by the earthquake of 551 (9,425-427; the influence of Nonnus, Dion. 41 is obvious in 426,1f.). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography Av. & A. Cameron, …

(Βασιλεῖος; Basileîos). [German version] [1] Basil the Great Theologian and bishop of Caesarea/Cappadocia. Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) [German version] A. Biography B. (born around 329/330 as the son of a Christian senatorial family who owned large estates) together with his younger brother  Gregorius of Nyssa and his friend  Gregorius of Nazianze were called the three great Cappadocians. His grandmother gave him his first introduction to the Bible and theology along the lines of Origenism. His education contin…

(Ἀσκληπιάδης; Asklēpiádēs) [German version] [1] of Samos Epigrammatic poet Epigrammatic poet of the ‘Garland’ of Meleager, who addresses him in the preface by the dark pseudonym Σικελίδης (Anth. Pal. 4,1,46; cf. Hedylus, GA I 1, 101 6, 4; Theoc. 7,40); an outstanding representative of the Ionian-Alexandrianschool, he lived around the turn of the 4th/3rd cent. BC. A. was highly praised by Theocritus (7,39-41), but attacked by Callimachus (schol. Flor. Callim. Fr.1,1). From the latter he differed, among other things, through a diametrically opposed appraisal of the Lyde of Antimach…

[German version] [1] Poet of epigrams of unknown dating Epigram poet of an unknown period (with a peculiar, otherwise undocumented name), author of an insignificant distich on Hesiod (Anth. Pal. 7,52). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography FGE 38. [German version] [2] Union of craftsmen and officials Dēmiourgoí (δημιουργοί, ‘public workers’) were occupied with public matters at various levels, depending on time and place. 1. In the Linear B tablets from Pylos dḗmos is found but not demiourgoi; it has been suggested [2] but not universally accepted that in the Mycenaean world demiourgoi…

[German version] Son of the sister of Chrysippus and his pupil; Chrysippus dedicated a number of works to him (Diog. Laert. 7,185; 196 f.; 202). After the death of his uncle (207 BC) A. honoured his memory with a text Χρυσίππου ταφαί (Ind. Stoic. Herc. 46,3) and -- according to the witness of Plutarch (De Stoicorum repugnantibus 2,1033e) -- with the erecting of a bronze statue: on this he had a distich (= Anth. Pal. append. 1,129 Cougny) engraved (ἐπέγραψε), in which Chrysippus is wittily called ‘…

(Ἀντίφιλος; Antíphilos). [German version] [1] Athenian strategos of hoplites (323/22 BC) The Athenian A. was elected Athenian strategos of hoplites ( Hoplites) after the death of Leosthenes 323/322 BC, whose successor he became. He took over the command of the land forces of the Hellenic League in the Lamian or Hellenic War and distinguished himself through military skills and courage (Plut. Phoc. 24,1-2; Diod. Sic. 18,13,6). He lifted the siege of  Antipater at  Lamia, in 322 defeated a Macedonian army under Le…

[German version] (Βησαντῖνος; Bēsantînos). Writer in Hadrian's era, possibly from Rhodes (according to the heading in Anth. Pal. 15,27, a poem that in any case belongs not to him but to Simias of Rhodes; also wrongly attributed to him: 9,118 = Thgn. 527f., cf. Stob. 4,50,44). MSS F and Y of the Bucolics attribute a βωμός ( bōmós) to him, a pattern poem in the shape of an altar: 26 verses in different metres forming the eulogizing acrostic Ὀλύμπιε πολλοῖς ἔτεσι θυσείας, that is certainly addressed to Hadrian (cf. ThGL 5,1924A). It is also transmitted a…

(Δοῦρις; Doûris) [German version] [1] Poet of epigrams Epigrammatic poet from Elea (in Aeolis); author of a remarkable poem on the flood that destroyed Ephesus c. 300 BC (Anth. Pal. 9,424, cf. Steph. Byz. 289,3-16), in all probability from the ‘Garland’ of Meleager. The city was rebuilt shortly afterwards by Lysimachos, who renamed it Arsinoeia after his wife: this happened before 289/8 (cf. Syll.3 368, 24), after the epigram had been written. Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography GA I,1, 97; 2, 280f. [German version] [2] Painter of Attic red-figure bowls, c. 505-465 BC One of the most p…

[German version] [1] Marcus Epigrammatic poet Writer of epigrams, probably identical with the rhetor of the same name who, in the Augustan era, was a pupil of Cestius Pius, and who is described by Seneca maior as a man of eloquence and caustic humour (contr. 2,6,11; suas. 7,7,12 etc.). Generally, his 37 mainly erotic-sympotic epigrams from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus are successful and elegant variations of conventional themes (notably Anth. Pal. 10,4 on the return of spring, cf. Leonidas, Anth. Pal. 1…

(Ἀρίστων; Arístōn). [German version] [1] of Athens Tragedian Son of Menealaus (possibly identical with TrGF 2-4, 1977-85, 137), father of the comic poet Alexander (FdD III 2, 48 l. 3 and 15; 49), author of Satyr plays and tragedies; in an inscription on the southern wall of the Athenian treasure house (FdD III 2, 48 17, l. 30 and 35, Syll.3 711 L) , he is honoured as an Attic delegate to the 3rd Pythaïs of the Dionysiac technites in Delphi, probably in 106/105 BC (or 97 BC according to TrGF app. crit. 145151). Pressler, Frank (Heidelberg) Bibliography Mette, 72 TrGF 146. [German version] [2] of Al…

(Βόηθος; Bóēthos). I. Political figures [German version] [1] Ptolemaean civil servant, 136/5 BC Son of Nicostratus from Caria; in the service of the Ptolemies well before 149 BC, he occupied various administrative positions before becoming epistrategos of Thebes. Founded two cities in Lower Nubia. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography K. Vandorpe, Der früheste Beleg eines Strategen der Thebais als Epistrategen, in: ZPE 73, 1988, 47-50. II. Philosophers and writers [German version] [2] Of Sidon Stoic Philosopher, 2nd cent. BC Stoic philosopher of the 2nd cent. BC; he wrote…

[German version] Epigrammatic poet from the time of Justinian (Anth. Plan. 39 and 314 celebrate the merits of Flavius Longinus, ὕπαρχος in Byzantium in the years 537-539 and 542), writer of seven mannered poems, which probably derive from the ‘Cycle’ of Agathias and which are to a great extent virtuoso descriptions of works of art (the locus amoenus Anth. Pal. 9,667 may relate to the park near Justinian's Ἡραῖον, cf. Paulus Silentiarius, Anth. Pal 9,663 f. and Agathias, Anth. Pal. 9,665). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography Av. und A. Cameron, The Cycle of Agathias, in: JHS 86, 1…

[German version] Epigrammatic poet from Rhodes, from whom two colourless epitymbia (Anth. Pal. 7,189; 473) have come down to us, which in all probability derive from the ‘Garland’ of Meleager. In connection with  Anyte (in this way the improbable Ἀνύτης of Planudes is explained), the first poem refers to a cricket. There is no proof that this unknown poet is the A. who is mentioned in the anonymous arithmetical epigram 14,2,6. Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography GA I 1,42; 2, 107-109.

(Ἀλκαῖος; Alkaîos). The suggestive mythological name ( alkḗ, ‘strength’) is connected with Hercules. [German version] [1] Grandfather of Hercules Grandfather of Hercules, son of Perseus and Andromeda, husband of Astydameia, the daughter of Pelops, father of Amphitryon and Anaxo (Hes. Sc. 26; Schol. Eur. Hec. 886). Also the form of the name Alceus appears to be attested, which is more compatible with the patronymic Alcides. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Original name of Hercules Original name of Hercules, altered at the command of the Delphic Oracle (Di…

[German version] [1] A. I, AD 491-518 Byzantine emperor A. I, AD 491-518 Byzantine emperor, born c. 431 in Dyrrachion, decurio of the Silentiarii under emperor Zeno the Isaurian, after whose death the widowed empress Ariadne pushed through A.'s selection and took him as her spouse. Ariadne also banned Longinus, the brother of Zeno; he had been regarded as the successor to Zeno. A revolt of the Isaurians which broke out as a consequence of this, was finally put down by A. only in 498. There was a revolt of the people of Constantinople in 512 caused by the preference of the empero…

[German version] Author of an epitymbion to Hector, who was for Troy ‘a stronger bulwark than the wall erected by the gods’ and at whose death ‘Meonides’ himself felt he had to close the Iliad (Anth. Pal. 7,138). There is no writer or grammarian known by this name but the theme and style of the epigram are suggestive of the ‘Garland’ of Philippus: the obscure epithet ‘Meonides’ was favoured by writers of epigrams in the 1st cent. and it can be no coincidence that the extremely rare adjective θειόδομος -- to describe the Trojan wall -- is elsewhere to be found only in Alpheius, Anth. Pal. 9,104,4. Deg…

[German version] (or C. Longus). Author of two mediocre epigrams: the dedication, written after a Leonidian model (Anth. Pal. 6.300), of a few modest gifts by a farmer to Aphrodite (6.191) and the description of a painting (Anth. Plan. 117). Nothing is known about the poet, who may have been a contemporary of Gaetulicus (1st half of 1st cent. AD). Degani, Enzo (Bologna) Bibliography FGE 67-70.

(Ἀβλάβιος; Ablábios). [German version] [1] Flavius A., 4th cent. AD Flavius A. was one of the most influential officials under  Constantinus the Great. He came from Crete (Lib. Or. 42,23); the child of poor non-Christians (Eun. Vit. Soph. 6,3,1-7); later converted to Christianity (Athan. Epist. Fest. 5). In AD 324/326 he was vicarius of Asia (CIL III 352), 329-337 praef. praet. Orientis, 331 cos. ord. It is said to have been on his instigation that the pagan philosopher  Sopater was executed by Constantine (Eun. Vit. Soph. 6,2,12; 3,7,13; Zos. 2,40,3). He was possibly still in office as pra…

[German version] I. Greek Epigrammatic poet Epigrammatic poet; although it is not possible to be certain, because the name is fairly common, A. is usually equated with the Macedonian C. Antistius Vetus, who in AD 11 was sent into exile because of treason (Tac. Ann. 3,38), or with the praetor A. Sosianus, who suffered the same destiny in AD 62 (Reason: factitatis in Neronem carminibus probrosiis... Tac. Ann. 14,48; 16,14; 21; cf. Hist. 4,44). His four epigrams, which derive from the ‘Garland’ of Philippus are balanced, elegant variations of traditional motives…