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[German version] A. General From the period between Alexander's death in 323 BC and Octavian's victory over Cleopatra in 31 BC, Greek poetry is characterized by a great variety of themes and a deep richness of forms. Unfortunately, only very little is known of the poetry of the late 2nd and early 1st cents. BC that must have been so important for the Roman  Neoteric poets. While the 5th cent. was dominated by Attic comedy and tragedy, other regions produced significant poetry, as early as the 4th ce…

(Θεόκριτος/ Theókritos). [German version] [1] Greek sophist and politician, 4th cent. BC T. of Chios, Greek sophist and politician, born before 365 BC, a pupil of the Isocratean (Isocrates) Metrodorus (Str. 14,645; Ps.-Plut. Mor. 11ab; Ath. 12,540 A; Suda s. v. Th.). T. was a convinced opponent of the Macedonian kings and their followers. He directed fierce attacks against Aristoteles [6] (Plut. Mor. 603c; Diog. Laert. 5,11) and Anaximenes [2] of Lampsacus (Hermippus in Ath. 1,21c). Following the conquest o…

(Greek εἶδος/ eîdos or γένος/ génos; Lat. genus). [German version] I. Concept Literary genres are the result of literature being divided into groups. Poetry and/or prose are classified by a culture or its interpreters, based on the principle of similarity - the occasion on which they are presented, audience, topic, musical style, etc. The concept of ‘genre’ has been culturally determined since the dawn of history, because the meaning of a work depends not least on the extent to which the audience perceives …

I. Literature [German version] A. Introduction Sexual desire is one of the main subjects of ancient literature. Its representation in Greek and Roman texts includes a range of motifs (e.g. the  ekphrasis of the lover or the  paraklausithyron) which can also be found in the literature of the Near East (cf. the Song of Songs) and Egypt. Whether these congruencies are based on transcultural transfers or rather on parallel developments can usually not be determined. Since constructs of desire and love (i…

(Ἀπολλώνιος; Apollṓnnios). [German version] [1] Dioiketes of Ptolemy II (259-245 BC) Of Caria, possibly Ptolemaic o ikonomos there in 267 BC. Was dioiketes of Ptolemy II from April /May 259 until the end of 245; in 252 escorted Berenice to her wedding to Antiochus II. At a critical transition period A. found himself responsible for the economy of the kingdom of the Ptolemies, adapting the fiscal system to the monetary economy of the Lagids, for which purpose he was entrusted with the management of finances and the co…