Philostephanus of
Cyrene (Philostephanus Cyrenaeus) ( grc, Φιλοστέφανος) was a
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
writer from
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, who was a pupil of the poet
Callimachus
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 in a wide variety ...
in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and doubtless worked there during the 3rd century BC.
His
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
of
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, ''De Cypro'', written during the reign of
Ptolemy Philopator
egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208.
, predecessor = Ptolemy III
, successor = Ptolemy V
, horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose f ...
(222–206 BC), has been lost, but it was known to at least two Christian writers,
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
and
Arnobius
Arnobius (died c. 330) was an early Christian apologist of Berber origin during the reign of Diocletian (284–305).
According to Jerome's ''Chronicle,'' Arnobius, before his conversion, was a distinguished Numidian rhetorician at Sicca Vener ...
. It contained a narration of the story of the
mythical Pygmalion
Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to:
Mythology
* Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue
Stage
* ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
* ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
, of Cyprus, who fashioned a
cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...
of the Greek
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
that came to life.
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
depended on the account by Philostephanus for his dramatised and expanded version in ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
'', through which the Pygmalion myth was transmitted to the medieval and modern world.
The remarks on Cyprus seem to have come from a larger work, ''On Islands''. Scattered brief quotes of Philostephanus on islands refer also to
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
,
Calauria off the coast of
Troezen and Stryme, off the Thracian coast.
Pliny's Natural History
The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...
adduces Philostephanus as a source for the assertion that
Jason was the first that went out to sea in a long vessel.
Other works of Philostephanus cited in surviving passages from other authors were works ''Of the Cities of Asia'', ''On
Cyllene'', ''Epirotica'' ("On
Epirus"), ''On Marvellous Rivers'' ''On Inventions'', and various commentaries.
The fragments of Philostephanus, surviving in quotes from other authors, were published in
Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller
Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller ( la, Carolus Müllerus; 13 February 1813 in Clausthal – 1894 in Göttingen) is best known for his still-useful Didot editions of fragmentary Greek authors, especially the monumental five-volume ''Fragmenta Historicor ...
et al, ''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum''.
Another Philostephanus was a comic poet, of whom little is known.
[Kassel, R., and C. Austin,''Poetae Comici Graeci'', (Berlín-New York) 1983-2000,]
Notes
References
*
Karl Müller et al. ''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum'' 1849, vol iii. pp 28–34
* Roberto Capel Badino, "Filostefano di Cirene. Testimonianze e frammenti", LED Edizioni Universitarie, Milano, 2010,
{{Authority control
Ancient Greek essayists
Hellenistic-era historians
Ancient Greek travel writers
3rd-century BC historians
3rd-century BC writers
Cyrenean Greeks