Alexander Aetolus ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Αἰτωλός, ''Ἀléxandros ὁ Aἰtōlós'') was a
Greek poet and grammarian, the only known representative of Aetolian poetry.
Life
Alexander was the son of Satyrus (Σάτυρος) and Stratocleia (Στρατόκλεια), and was a native of
Pleuron in
Aetolia, although he spent the greater part of his life at
Alexandria, where he was reckoned one of the seven tragic poets who constituted the
Tragic Pleiad The Alexandrian Pleiad is the name given to a group of seven Alexandrian poets and tragedians in the 3rd century BC (Alexandria was at that time the literary center of the Mediterranean) working in the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The name de ...
.
Alexander flourished about 280 BC, in the reign of
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208
, predecessor = Ptolemy I
, successor = Ptolemy III
, horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth
, nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength
, gol ...
. He had an office in the
Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...
, and was commissioned by Ptolemy to make a collection of all the tragedies and satyric dramas that were extant. He spent some time, together with
Antagoras and
Aratus, at the court of
Antigonus II Gonatas
Antigonus II Gonatas ( grc-gre, Ἀντίγονος Γονατᾶς, ; – 239 BC) was a Macedonian ruler who solidified the position of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedon after a long period defined by anarchy and chaos and acquired fame for ...
.
Notwithstanding the distinction Alexander enjoyed as a tragic poet, he appears to have had greater merit as a writer of epic poems,
elegies,
epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...
s, and cynaedi. Among his
epic poems, we possess the titles and some fragments of three pieces: the ''Fisherman'', ''Kirka'' or ''Krika'', which, however, is designated by
Athenaeus as doubtful, and ''Helena'', Of his elegies, some beautiful fragments are still extant. His Cynaedi, or ''Ionic poems'' (), are mentioned by
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Athenaeus. Some
anapaestic verses in praise of
Euripides are preserved in
Gellius.
Aulus Gellius
Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...
, xv. 20
References
Sources
*
*
*
Further reading
*J U Powell (ed), Collectanea Alexandrina: reliquiae minores poetarum graecorum aetatis ptolemaicae, 323–146 A.C. (1972)
*Enrico Magnelli (ed), Alexandri Aetoli Testimonia et Fragmenta. Studi e Testi 15. (1999)
{{Authority control
Ancient Aetolians
Ancient Greek dramatists and playwrights
Ancient Greek poets
Tragic poets
Ancient Greek epic poets
Ancient Greek epigrammatists
Ancient Greek elegiac poets
3rd-century BC Greek people
3rd-century BC poets
Ptolemaic court
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Hellenistic poets