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(Ἰσμηνίας; Ismēnías or Ἱσμηνίας; Ismēnías). [German version] [1] Prominent Theban politician, 5th/4th cent. BC Prominent Theban politician, famous for his wealth (Pl. Men. 90a). After the end of the Peloponnese War (431-404 BC), I., with  Androclidas, came to the fore as leaders of a Hetaeria which opposed the pro-Spartan politics of  Leontiades. The goals were to push back the Leontiades faction and to bring about a new orientation in international politics towards Athens (Hell. Oxy. 12,1f.; 13,1; Xen. Hell.…

(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] I. Preliminary remarks Musical instruments that have been preserved or graphically represented in a clear manner can easily be identified as such. Assigning them to their ancient names, however, and, conversely, assigning ancient names to particular instruments, is often either uncertain or impossible. Furthermore, one and the same musical instrument may have been called by different names. For these reasons, a systematic survey is in order. Since the Hellenistic period, three categories have been recognized: strings (ἐντατά/ entatá, ἔγχορδα/ énchorda, tensib…

(Ἀρχέστρατος; Archéstratos). [German version] [1] Actor and Tragedian With his tragedy Antaios, an unknown actor triumphed at the Soteria in Delphi between 267 and 219 BC (DID B 11, 5). He is probably not to be identified with the A. mentioned in Plut. Aristides 1,3 (318e). Pressler, Frank (Heidelberg) Bibliography Mette, 198 TrGF 75. [German version] [2] Author of a gastronomic poem from Gela, 4th cent. BC Citizen of Gela who lived in the 2nd half of the 4th cent. BC. 62 fragments (more than 300 verses) of his gastronomic poem, written c. AD 330, have been preserved by Athenaeus. Its …

(Δίδυμος; Dídymos). [1] of Alexandria Important Greek grammarian of the latter half of the 1st cent. BC [German version] A. Philological activity The most important Greek grammarian of the latter half of the 1st cent. BC. The biographical entry in the Suda (δ 872) tells us that he was still alive in the reign of Augustus, and mentions a nickname ‘Chalkenteros’ (Χαλκέντερος, ‘Brazen-guts’, cf. the Suda ι 399, χ 29). To his strong constitution he attributed an untiring assiduity that extended to different branches of p…

Haas, Max (Basle) I. History of Ideas (CT) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) In an ancient tradition continuing to the 17th/18th cent., music was conceived as a twofold possibility of dealing with 'experience' and 'structure' [21]. In the first case, it was considered as the medium that enables abstraction from individual sensual perception. The opposite process was also possible: music provides insight into intelligible factors that do not necessarily lead to sense perception. In the following, therefor…

(Ἀγαθοκλῆς; Agathoklês) [German version] [1] of Athens Archon 357/56 BC Archon 357/56 BC (Dem. Or. 47,44; Diod. Sic. 16,9). Meier, Mischa (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Tyrant King of Syracuse (316-288 BC) Later king of Syracuse, born 361/0 BC in Thermae in Sicily. Son of Carcinus, who had been banned from Rhegium, and who under  Timoleon had received citizenship in Syracuse and had a pottery manufactory. A. had an adventurous youth, participated in several martial undertakings and early on fostered broad-reaching politica…

[German version] I. Preliminary remark Originally sung poetry, often accompanied by dance, metric literature was obviously subject to other formative conditions than poetry intended from the outset for spoken presentation or for reading. Texts of such kinds still show traces of their earlier sound form ( Music). Accordingly the form ranged from simple ‘melodic lines of sound’, as can be presumed for the ancient Orient and Israel ( parallelismus membrorum, strophic poetry, sometimes with rhythmic accent order, congruence of form and language s…

(Γαυδέντιος; Gaudéntios). [German version] [1] G. Philosophus Musician and philosopher Author of an introduction to harmony, Ἁρμονικὴ εἰσαγωγή ( Harmonikḕ eisagōgḗ) ─ probably written in line with Claudius Ptolemy's ─ translated into Latin by Cassiodorus' friend Mutianus (Cassiod. Inst. 2,5,142 Mynors). The incompletely preserved work (in 23 chapters) contains traditional teachings in a slightly modified form, especially from Aristoxenus and the Pythagoreans: voice, sound, interval, modes, composition (1-7), unison…

(Εὐκλείδης; Eukleídēs). [German version] [1] Athenian archon in 403/2 BC Athenian archon in 403/2 BC. During his year in office Athens made a new start following the Oligarchy of the Thirty (e.g., see And. 1,87-94) and, among others, officially adopted the Ionian alphabet (Theopomp. FGrH 115 F 155). Rhodes, Peter J. (Durham) Bibliography Develin 199 LGPN 2, Εὐκλείδης (9). [German version] [2] of Megara Student of Socrates Student of Socrates, founder of the  Megarian School; born between 450 and 435, probably died early in the 360s. In Plato's Phaedon (59c) E. is named among those …

(Ἀριστείδης; Aristeídēs). [German version] [1] Athenian politician and srategos (beginning of the 5th cent. BC) Of Athens, son of Lysimachus. He was one of the most prominent politicians and strategoi of Athens at the time of the Persian Wars. In the battle of Marathon, he probably served as a strategos. In 489/488 BC, he was the eponymous archon (Plut. Aristides 1,2, cf. IG I3 1031). In 482 BC, he was ostrazised ( Ostraka) (Hdt. 8,79; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 22,7; Plut. Aristides 7,1 ff.). His rivalry with  Themistocles, documented already in Herodotus (8,79), …

(Ἰσίδωρος; Isídōros). [German version] [1] Pirate captain, defeated by Lucullus at Tenedus in 72 BC Pirate captain who organized the Cilician pirates in the area around Crete, was besieged in 78 BC by P. Servilius Isauricus (Flor. 1,41,3), later entered the service of Mithridates and in 72 was defeated by Lucullus in the naval battle of Tenedos at the entrance to the Dardanelles (App. Mithr. 77, Memnon 42,2 = FHG 3,548) and killed (Plut. Lucullus 12.2). Strothmann, Meret (Bochum) [German version] [2] I. of Charax Geographer, end of 1st cent. BC Geographer, certainly of the Augustan p…

(Ἡρακλείδης; Hērakleídēs). Famous persons: the politician and writer H. [19] Lembus, the philosopher H. [16] Ponticus the Younger, the doctor H. [27] of Tarentum. I. Political figures [German version] [1] Spokesman on behalf of Athens at the Persian court, end of 5th cent. BC H. of Clazomenae (cf. Pl. Ion 541d) was in the service of the Persians and probably called basileús for that reason. Thus, he was able to perform valuable services for Athens at the Persian court in 423 BC for which he received Attic citizenship soon after moving there (after 400, Syll.3 118). To move the Athenians …

(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…