Peisander or Pisander of Laranda (; grc, Πείσανδρος ὁ Λαρανδινός, ''Peísandros ho Larandinós'') was a Greek poet who flourished during the reign of

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

(222–235 AD). He wrote a sixty-book epic called the ''Heroikai Theogamiai'' (, "Heroic Marriages of the Gods") which, like the poetry of his father

Nestor of Laranda Lucius Septimius Nestor ( grc, Λεύκιος Σεπτίμιος Νέστωρ) also known as Nestor of Laranda (Νέστωρ Λαρανδεύς), was a Greek poet who lived during the late-second and early-third centuries AD. According to Strabo ...

, appears to have influenced

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebai ...

' ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest survi ...

''. Peisander's poem, of which only small fragments survive as quotations in other authors, amounted to "a comprehensive epic on world history". Among the extant fragments there is mention of Io,

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...

and the

Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...

, but the most significant fragment is the testimony of

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

that states that Peisander's history of the world began from the marriage of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

. who notes that Macrobius says that

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

followed Peisander in this formulation, but that Macrobius identification is incorrect (referring to the archaic

Peisander Peisander (; el, Πείσανδρος) of Camirus in Rhodes, Ancient Greek epic poet, supposed to have flourished about 640 BC. Biography Peisander was the author of a ''Heracleia'' (Ἡράκλεια), in which he introduced a new conception of ...

) and that the text of ''Saturnalia'' 5.2.4 should be taken as evidence that Peisander followed Vergil's lead.

Notes

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . 3rd-century Greek writers Roman-era poets 3rd-century poets Ancient Greek epic poets People from Karaman Lycaonia Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{AncientGreece-writer-stub