File:P.Oxy._XI_1362.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Callimachus
Sign in to saveAlso known as Callimachus of Cyrene, Battiades, Kallimachos of Kyrene
Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which do not survive, in a wide variety of genres. He espoused an aesthetic philosophy, known as Callimacheanism, which exerted a strong influence on poets of the Roman Empire and, through their reception, on later Western literature.
Callimachus was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who lived in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC and wrote hundreds of literary works across many different genres, though most have been lost to time. His distinctive approach to poetry, called Callimacheanism, became highly influential among Roman poets and continued to shape Western literature long after his death.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 71
Top works
- Callimachea
- Orphica ; Procli Hymni ; Musaei Carmen de Hero et Leandro ; Callimachi Hymni et Epigrammata
- Callimaque
- Kallimachou Kyrēnaiou Hymnoi
- To the two universities
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 2
- Total plays
- 4
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Callimachus">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Callimachus: Hymn to Apollo: A Commentary
· 1978 · cited 49x
- Hymn to Delos
· 1984 · cited 14x
- Epigrams
· 1921 · cited 9x
- The Poems of Callimachus
· 2001 · cited 6x
- Aetia
· 1973 · cited 1x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “ψευδοίμην· ἀίοντος ἅ κεν πεπίθοιεν ἀκουήν.”
- “ὁ Φθόνος Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπ᾿ οὔατα λάθριος εἶπεν·'οὐκ ἄγαμαι τὸν ἀοιδὸν ὃς οὐδ᾿ ὅσα πόντος ἀείδει.'τὸν Φθόνον ὡπόλλων ποδί τ᾿ ἤλασεν ὧδέ τ᾿ ἔειπεν·'Ἀσσυρίου ποταμοῖο μέγας ῥόος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πολλάλύματα γῆς καὶ πολλὸν ἐφ᾿ ὕδατι συρφετὸν ἕλκει.Δηοῖ δ᾿ οὐκ ἀπὸ παντὸς ὕδωρ φορέουσι μέλισσαι,ἀλλ᾿ ἥτις καθαρή τε καὶ ἀχράαντος ἀνέρπειπίδακος ἐξ ἱερῆς ὀλίγη λιβὰς ἄκρον ἄωτον.'”
- “Εἶπέ τις, Ἡράκλειτε, τεὸν μόρον, ἐς δέ με δάκρυ ἤγαγεν· ἐμνήσθην δ᾿ ὁσσάκις ἀμφότεροιἥλιον ἐν λέσχῃ κατεδύσαμεν. ἀλλὰ σὺ μέν που, ξεῖν᾿ Ἁλικαρνησεῦ, τετράπαλαι σποδιή,αἱ δὲ τεαὶ ζώουσιν ἀηδόνες, ᾗσιν ὁ πάντων ἁρπακτὴς Ἀΐδης οὐκ ἐπὶ χεῖρα βαλεῖ.”
- “Τῇδε Σάων ὁ Δίκωνος Ἀκάνθιος ἱερὸν ὕπνον κοιμᾶται· θνῄσκειν μὴ λέγε τοὺς ἀγαθούς.”
- “ὦ Χαρίδα, τί τὰ νέρθε; 'πολὺ σκότος.' αἱ δ᾿ ἄνοδοι τί; 'ψεῦδος.' ὁ δὲ Πλούτων; 'μῦθος.' ἀπωλόμεθα.”
- “ὤμοσεν· ἀλλὰ λέγουσιν ἀληθέα τοὺς ἐν ἔρωτι ὅρκους μὴ δύνειν οὔατ᾿ ἐς ἀθανάτων.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Writer.name
- Callimachus
- Writer.image
- File:P.Oxy. XI 1362.jpg
- Writer.alt
- A fragmented piece of parchment covered in pre-modern handwriting.
- Writer.caption
- Papyrus fragment from the Aetia of Callimachus
- Writer.birth_place
- Cyrene, Ptolemaic Kingdom
- Writer.death_place
- Alexandria, Ptolemaic Kingdom
- Writer.period
- Hellenistic period
- Writer.genre
- Aetiology, Epigram, Iambus, Hymn, Epyllion
- Writer.notable_works
- Aetia Hecale
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Place of birth
- Cyrene
- Image
- WHToms Callimachus.png
Show 8 more facts
- Commons category
- Callimachus
- Commons Creator page
- Callimachus
- Commons gallery
- Callimachus
- floruit
- 0250-00-00
- date of birth
- 0305-00-00
- date of death
- 0240-00-00
- name in native language
- Καλλίμαχος ὁ Κυρηναῖος
- significant place
- Cyrene
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
17 objects attributed to Callimachus, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~20 min read
Article
15 sectionsContents
- Life
- Literary work
- ''Epigrams''
- ''Hymns''
- ''Aetia''
- ''Iambs''
- ''Hecale''
- ''Pinakes''
- Callimacheanism
- Reception
- Ancient
- Modern
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which do not survive, in a wide variety of genres. He espoused an aesthetic philosophy, known as Callimacheanism, which exerted a strong influence on poets of the Roman Empire and, through their reception, on later Western literature.
Born into a prominent family in the Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, he was educated in Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt. After working as a schoolteacher in the city, he came under the patronage of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus and was employed at the Library of Alexandria where he compiled the Pinakes, a comprehensive catalogue of all Greek literature. He is believed to have lived into the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes.