Search

I. Greek [German version] A. General The common practice of ancient Greek copyists to write prose as well as poetry in scriptio continua, that is without grouping individual letters into words to delineate units of meaning, must have given rise to serious reading and comprehension difficulties. Punctuation was introduced as a remedy but only sporadically and without fixed rules. On some Greek inscriptions from the 5th/4th cent. BC, words are separated by a horizontal row of dots [4]. Dots are also frequently document…

[German version] (or pugillaria, mostly: 'notebook'). Latin substantive, derived from pugillus, a diminutive of pugnus ('fist', 'closed hand'); the etymology emphasises that it is an object of such restricted size that it can be held there. In Latin texts pugillares. is a term for a small writing surface; sometimes it occurs as a synonym for libellus or codicillus ('small manuscript'). What is meant are mostly wax or wood tablets (such as those from Vindolanda in Britain, cf. [3]) or sheets of parchment ( pugillares membranei, Mart. 14,7) fastened together. Ancient authors wro…

(Λεοντεύς; Leonteús, ‘lion’). [German version] [1] Leader of the Lapiths' contingent at Troy Son of Coronus. With Polypoetes he leads the contingent of the Lapithae at Troy. Together, they also defend the Greek camp and participate in the funerary games for Patroclus (Hom. Il. 2,745ff.; 12,128ff.; 23,837ff.). Michel, Raphael (Basle) Bibliography H. W. Stoll, s.v. L., Roscher 2, 1944-1945. [German version] [2] Of Lampsacus, student of Epicurus L. of Lampsacus, one of the most important students of Epicurus. L. and his wife Themista got to know Epicurus during …

(Χαρμίδης; Charmídēs). [German version] [1] Son of Glaucon, 5th cent. BC Son of Glaucon, from an old Athenian noble family; brother of  Perictione the mother of Plato, and cousin of  Critias. C. was one of the committee of the ‘Ten’ appointed by the ‘Thirty’ and officiating in Piraeus during the despotic rule of the ‘Thirty’ ( Triakonta; 404-403 BC); its powers are not precisely known (Plat. Ep. 7,324c5. Aristot. Ath. Pol. 35,1). He was killed in 403 during the fighting that accompanied the fall of the ‘Th…

(Διογενιανός; Diogenianós). [German version] [1] Epicurean Epicurean, dating uncertain (perhaps 2nd cent. AD). Eusebius (Pr. Ev. 4,3; 6,8), who cites long excerpts from his script against the doctrine of Chrysippus ‘On Fate’ (περὶ εἱμαρμένης), falsely labels him as a Peripatetic. D. accepted the truth and reliability of mantics. He taught the existence of fortune (τύχη) and of fate; but this does not exclude the freedom of the will. Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bibliography T. Dorandi, in: Goulet 2, 833f. J. Hammerstaedt, in: JbAC 36, 1993, 24-32. [German version] [2] from Heraclea …

(Πυθοκλῆς; Pythoklês). [German version] [1] Athenian rhetor, 4th cent. BC Athenian rhetor, son of Pythodorus from the deme Cedi ( c. 380-318 BC), (syn)trierarch multiple times (IG II2 1615,12; 1622,314), an opponent of Demosthenes [2] after 343; he spoke unsuccessfully in 338/7 against Demosthenes holding the epitáphios for those killed at Chaeronea (Dem. Or. 18,285); possibly executed in 318 as a follower of Phocion (Plut. Phocion 35,5). Engels, Johannes (Cologne) Bibliography Davies, 485  Develin, Nr. 2682  LGPN 2, s. v. P. (17). [German version] [2] Epicurean, c. 300 BC Student …

(Φιλωνίδης; Philōnídēs). [German version] [1] Attic poet of Old Comedy Attic Old Comedy poet, father of the comic poet Nicochares [1. test. 1, 2]. The supplementation of his name on the list of victors at the Dionysia is insecure [1. test. 3]. Three play titles survive - Ἀπήνη ( Apḗnē / 'The Chariot'), Κόθορνοι ('The Cothurni'), Φιλέταιρος ( Philétairos / 'The Good Comrade') - as do 17 brief fragments, most from 'The Cothurni'. The play Προαγών ( Proagṓn / 'The Preliminary Contest'), sometimes attributed to P., is probably by Aristophanes, who had it produced under P.'s …

(Βασιλείδης; Basileídēs). [German version] [1] Leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) Epicurean (c . 245-175 BC.), fourth leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) who taught Philonides of Laodicea on the Pontus. He studied mathematics and is known for his discussions in Alexandria with the father of the mathematician Hypsicles about a writing by Apollonius [13] of Perge. He is also known for a debate together with Thespis, another Epicurean, about anger, held against Nicasicrates and Timasagoras. Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bibliography Testimonia: W. Crönert, Kolotes…

(Πολύαινος/ Polýainos). [German version] [1] Epicurean, c. 300 BC One of the four 'masters' (καθηγεμόνες; kathēgemónes) of the Epicurean School (with Epicurus, Metrodorus and Hermarchus). B. at Lampsacus (year unknown), d. at Athens in 278/7 BC. Epicurus inaugurated an annual festival in his honour in the month of Metageitnion. P. came into contact with Epicurus during the latter's sojourn at Lampsacus (311/10-307/6 BC), and thereafter devoted himself to philosophy. At first, he excelled as a mathematician; re…

(Πολύστρατος/ Polýstratos). [German version] [1] Wealthy Athenian, councillor 411 BC Wealthy Athenian, frequent office-holder, member of the boulḗ in 411 BC. After the oligarchic coup, he took part in the selection of the 5,000 citizens to whom political rights would in future be restricted. He was wounded in the naval battles against the Spartans off Eretria. After the fall of the Four Hundred (Tetrakosioi), P. was fined heavily; he was prosecuted again c. 410/409 at age 70, probably for his political activities. Parts of his defence survive in the 20th speech of t…

(Ἰδομενεύς; Idomeneús). [German version] [1] Commander of the Cret. troops at Troy Son of  Deucalion, grandson of  Minos; the name is indirectly attested as early as in Linear B [1]. I. is one of  Helena's suitors (today fr. 204,56ff. M-W) and a guest of Menelaus (Hom. Il. 3,230-233). He commands the rather large Cretan contingent (80 ships) in the Trojan campaign, assisted by his loyal follower  Meriones (Hom. Il. 2,645-652); he is the oldest Greek at Troy after Nestor, still fit for action ( aristeia in Il. 13); I. belongs to the inner circle of Greek army leaders, but does n…

(Τιμοκράτης/ Timokrátēs). [German version] [1] From Sparta, advisor of Cnemus, 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC Spartan, one of the three advisors of the nauarchos Cnemus who, following the defeat off the Acarnanian coast in 429 BC, were supposed to make strategic and logistical preparations for a new naval battle (Thuc. 2,85,1). T. committed suicide after the devastating defeat in 429 against the Athenian fleet near Naupactus (Thuc. 2,92,3). Peloponnesian War Beck, Hans (Cologne) [German version] [2] From Rhodos, legate of Pharnabazus [2], c. 400 BC Rhodian. In the winter of 396/5 BC…

(Λεσβῶναξ; Lesbônax). [German version] [1] Greek grammarian Greek grammarian, dates uncertain (perhaps before the end of the 2nd cent. AD). Author of a work on rhetorical figures (Περὶ σχημάτων; Perì schēmátōn) that is extant in two different excerpts (there is no basis for equating him with the orator L. of Mytilene). In it, L. describes a series of grammatical peculiarities ( schḗmata, ‘figures’), i.e. changes in the normal form of speech, which are demonstrated with examples primarily from Homer. There is no Atticist influence at all: the principal sou…

(Ἡρόδοτος; Heródotos). [German version] [1] The historian Herodotus, approx. 485-424 BC The historian Herodotus. Meister, Klaus (Berlin) [German version] A. Life Sources on the life of H., the ‘father of history’ (Cic. Leg. 1,1,5), c. 485-424 BC (fundamental for all of the following: [1]) are, apart from the information he provided himself in particular, the Suda s.v. H. or s.v. Panyassis. H. came from Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum) in the south-west of Asia Minor. The names of his father, Lyxes, and his uncle, Panyassis, a famou…

[German version] I. Greek (Φαῖδρος; Phaîdros). [German version] [I 1] 5th cent. BC Son of Pythocles, from the Attic deme of Myrrhinus, born probably c. 450 BC. Accused of participation in the profanation of the Eleusinian Mysteria and the mutilatation of the herms, P. went into exile in 415 BC. His property was confiscated (And. 1,15; ML 79,112-115). By 404 BC at the latest, he had returned to Athens; he subsequently married a cousin (Lys. 19,15). Died before 393. Participant in the meeting in Plato's Protagoras (315c), interlocutor of Socrates in Plato's Phaedrus and first speaker in his Sy…

I. Material [German version] A. Term and manufacture The term papyrus was adopted into the European languages via the Greek πάπυρος/ pápyros, lat. papyrus, and ultimately is the source of the modern terms for paper, Papier, papier, etc.  Papyrus is hypothetically derived from an (unattested) Egyptian * pa-prro ('that of the king'). Papyrus, an aquatic plant with a long stem and a triangular cross-section ( Cyperus papyrus L.), was in its processed form a widespread writing material ('paper') in the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean. Papyrus is produced by p…

(Πρώταρχος/ Prṓtarchos). [German version] [1] Comic poet from Thespiae, 1st cent. BC Comic poet from Thespiae, victorious on one occasion in the 1st cent. BC at the Soteria of Acraephia, and son or father of the epic poet Protogenes; otherwise, nothing is known of him. Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) Bibliography PCG VII, 1989, 583. [German version] [2] Epicurean from Bargilia, 2nd cent. BC P. of Bargilia. Teacher of Demetrius [21] Lacon (Str. 14,20; 2nd cent. BC), perhaps in Miletus. It is unlikely that he was the head of the Epicurean 'Garden' ( kḗpos ). Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bi…

(Φιλίσκος; Philískos). [German version] [1] Poet of Middle Comedy Poet of Middle Comedy, to whom the Suda attributes 7 play titles: Ἄδωνις (Á dōnis), Διὸς γοναί ( Diòs gonaí/ 'The Birth of Zeus'; Adespoton 1062 K.-A. is sometimes assigned to this play [4]), Θεμιστοκλῆς ( Themistoklês/ ' Themistocles'; title probably incorrectly included in the list [3. n. 37]), Ὄλυμπος ( Ólympos; ' Olympus'), Πανὸς γοναί ( Panòs gonaí; 'The Birth of Pan'), Ἑρμοῦ καὶ Ἀφροδίτης γοναί ( Hermoû kaì Aphrodítēs gonaí/ ' The Births of Hermes and Aphrodite'; possibly two plays [3. n. 24]), Ἀρτέμιδος καὶ Ἀ…

Roman patrician family name, probably derived from Etruscan fapi [1. 162]. According to ancient etymology, however, either from faba ‘(broad)bean’ (‘legume grower’: Plin. HN 18,10; [2]) or from the original ‘Fodius’, ‘Fovius’ (‘wolf pit hunter’: Plut. Fabius 1,2; Fest. 77 L.) because the Fabii with the Quinctii originally appointed the priesthood of the Luperci; the  Lupercalia were also the family celebration of the Fabii (Ov. Fast. 193ff.). Early Imperial pseudogenealogy, which perhaps arose in the literary ci…

(Ζηνόδοτος/ Zēnódotos). [German version] [1] Of Ephesus, Alexandrian philologist Alexandrian philologist from Ephesus ( c. 325-260 BC; Suda s. v. Ζ. Ἐφέσιος). Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich) [German version] I. Life Alexandrian philologist from Ephesus Z. was employed as tutor to the royal princes at the Ptolemaic court before his appointment in 285/4 BC as the first director [1. 147-148] of the library (II B 2.a) in Alexandria [1]. In addition to a classification of Greek poetry (most notably epic and lyric works), Z. developed in …

(Μητρόδωρος/ Metródōros). [German version] [1] M. of Chios Democritan philosopher, 5th/4th cent. BC Democritan philosopher ( Democritus [1]) of the 5th-4th cent. BC who recognised Fullness and Emptiness, Being and Non-Being as the first principles. This orthodoxy, however, does not go beyond the fundamental theoretical views of Atomism: M. is said to have had his own views in other matters (70 A 3 DK). M. propounds the uncreatedness of the universe (τὸ πᾶν) in the Eleatic manner ( Eleatic School) because a c…

(Διογένης; Diogénēs). Known personalities: the Cynic D. [14] of Sinope, the philosophical historian D. [17] Laertius. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Macedonian troop commander in Attica since 233 BC Athenian (?) [1. 341,1], Macedonian troop commander in Attica since 233 BC, who is supposed to have demanded Corinth from the Achaeans (Plut. Arat. 34,1-4) [2. 168,63] at the rumour of the death of  Aratus [2]; after the death of  Demetrius [3] II in 229, he facilitated the liberation of Athens from Maced…

(Ἀπολλόδωρος; Apollódōros). Political figures [German version] [1] Athenian politician (4th cent. BC) Son of  Pasion of Acharnae, Athenian rhetor and supporter of Demosthenes (394/93, died after 343 BC). A. was one of the richest Athenian citizens after 370. He undertook costly trierarchy liturgies (cf. IG II2 1609,83 and 89; IG II2 1612, b110; Dem. Or. 50,4-10; 40 and 58) and in 352/51 gained a victory as   choregos (IG II2 3039,2) but had only limited success in obtaining a political post commensurate with his wealth. From 370 to 350 BC he indulged in litigat…

(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…

(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…