Zenodotus
Sign in to saveAlso known as Zenodotus of Ephesus, Zenodotos of Ephesos
Zenodotus () was a Greek grammarian, literary critic, Homeric scholar, and the first librarian of the Library of Alexandria. A native of Ephesus and a pupil of Philitas of Cos, he lived during the reigns of the first two Ptolemies, and was at the height of his reputation about 280 BC.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Place of birth
- Ephesus
- Occupation
- grammarian
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Student of
- Philetas of Cos
Show 7 more facts
- date of birth
- 0330-01-01
- date of death
- 0260-01-01
- described by source
- Pauly–Wissowa
- student
- Ptolemy II Philadelphus
- time period
- Hellenistic period
- name in native language
- Ζηνόδοτος
- writing language
- Ancient Greek
via Wikidata · CC0
~4 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Biography
- Work
- Homeric glosses
- Library organisation
- Classification
- Ordering
- Tagging
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
Zenodotus () was a Greek grammarian, literary critic, Homeric scholar, and the first librarian of the Library of Alexandria. A native of Ephesus and a pupil of Philitas of Cos, he lived during the reigns of the first two Ptolemies, and was at the height of his reputation about 280 BC.
==Biography== Zenodotus was the first superintendent of the Library of Alexandria and the first critical editor ( diorthōtes) of Homer. In 284 BC, the Ptolemaic court appointed Zenodotus as the first Director of the library and also the official tutor to the royal children. His colleagues in the librarianship were Alexander of Aetolia and Lycophron of Chalcis, to whom were allotted the tragic and comic writers respectively, Homer and other epic poets being assigned to Zenodotus.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Zenodotus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.