Nicholas Kallikles ( gr, Νικόλαος Καλλικλῆς, Nikólaos Kalliklēs) was a prominent

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and a leading

court poet A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

active in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

court in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

during the reigns of

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

() and

John II Komnenos John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...

().

Biography

Very little is known about Kallikles's life. What information we have comes from a short mention in the '' Alexiad'' of

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

, his correspondence with

Theophylact of Ohrid Theophylact ( gr, Θεοφύλακτος, bg, Теофилакт; around 1055after 1107) was a Byzantine archbishop of Ohrid and commentator on the Bible. Life Theophylact was born in the mid-11th century at Euripus (Chalcis) in Euboea, at the ...

and his own poems... He was a well-known physician at the imperial court already before 1108. In 1118, he was one of the doctors attending Alexios I during his final illness. According to the ''Alexiad'' (XV.11.3), Kallikles was the only one to discern the gravity of the emperor's situation and to suggest the use of

purgative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

s. As his colleagues were opposed to this, his advice was not followed. From his correspondence with Theophylact, Kallikles appears as a very learned and cultivated man, and was in possession of a fine library. As a

, he was, along with his contemporary

Theodore Prodromos Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus ( el, Θεόδωρος Πρόδρομος; c. 1100 – c. 1165/70), probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos (Πτωχοπρόδρομος "Poor Prodromos"), was a Byzantine Greek writer, wel ...

, the major exponent of the genre of poetic panegyrics praising the Komnenian system's leading aristocrats: his major themes are their wealth and noble descent. He also dedicated poems to individual artifacts such as

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s, and a number of reliquary inscriptions are attributed to him. The date of his death is unknown. His latest known composition is an

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

for John II, which was composed before the emperor's actual death, probably circa 1142.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kallikles, Nicholas 11th-century births 12th-century deaths 12th-century Byzantine physicians Byzantine poets Alexios I Komnenos 11th-century Byzantine physicians 11th-century Byzantine scientists 12th-century Byzantine scientists 11th-century Byzantine writers 12th-century Byzantine writers 11th-century poets 12th-century poets