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.
OverviewAI-generated
Callimachus was a male human poet, librarian, mythographer, and writer who lived during the Hellenistic period. He was born in Cyrene, which was also a significant place for him, and died in Alexandria. His floruit is recorded as 250 BCE. He wrote in Ancient Greek, the language he also spoke and signed.
His notable work is the *Aetia*. He is associated with the Neoteric genre. His students included Eratosthenes, Aristophanes of Byzantium, and Ister of Cyrene. He is described by sources such as the *Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary*, *The Nuttall Encyclopædia*, *Pauly–Wissowa*, and the *Encyclopædia Britannica* 11th edition. His name in his native language is Καλλίμαχος ὁ Κυρηναῖος.
Synthesized by Vinony from 19 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Europeana Sparql. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still 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
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
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Place of birth
- Cyrene
- Place of death
- Alexandria
- Occupation
- writer
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Notable work
- Aetia
- Genre
- Neoteric
- Image
- WHToms Callimachus.png
Show 12 more facts
- topic's main category
- Category:Callimachus
- Commons category
- Callimachus
- Commons Creator page
- Callimachus
- described by source
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
- Commons gallery
- Callimachus
- time period
- Hellenistic period
- writing language
- Ancient Greek
- 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
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Callimachus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.