Peisander (; el, Πείσανδρος) of

Camirus Camirus or Kamiros ( grc, Κάμιρος; ) or Cameirus or Kameiros (Κάμειρος) was a city of ancient Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Its site is on the northwest coast of the island, west of the modern village of Kalavarda. History ...

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

epic poet An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, supposed to have flourished about 640 BC.

Biography

Peisander was the author of a ''Heracleia'' (Ἡράκλεια), in which he introduced a new conception of the hero

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

' costume, the lions skin and club taking the place of the older armor of the heroic era. He is also said to have fixed the number of the

labors of Heracles The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised a ...

at twelve. The work, which according to

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 ...

(''Stromata'', yr. ch. 2) was simply a plagiarism from an unknown Pisinus of Lindus, enjoyed so high a reputation that the Alexandrian critics admitted the author to the epic canon. From an epigram (22) of

Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from hi ...

we learn that a statue was erected in honor of Peisander by his countrymen. He is to be distinguished from

Peisander of Laranda Peisander or Pisander of Laranda (; grc, Πείσανδρος ὁ Λαρανδινός, ''Peísandros ho Larandinós'') was a Greek poet who flourished during the reign of Alexander Severus (222–235 AD). He wrote a sixty-book epic called the ''H ...

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

, who lived 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 ...

and wrote a poem on the mixed marriages of gods and mortals, after the manner of the

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

ic ''

Catalogue of Women The ''Catalogue of Women'' ( grc, Γυναικῶν Κατάλογος, Gunaikôn Katálogos)—also known as the ''Ehoiai '' ( grc, Ἠοῖαι, Ēoîai, )The Latin transliterations ''Eoeae'' and ''Ehoeae'' are also used (e.g. , ); see Title ...

''.

References

* Fragments in G. Kinkel, ''Epicorum graecorum fragmenta'' (1878). * F. G. Welcher, Kuleana Schriften, vol. i. (1844); on the twelve labors of Heracles in Peisander. *

External links

"Peisander" in William George Smith (ed), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. London : J. Walton, 1849
{{Authority control Ancient Rhodian poets Early Greek epic poets 7th-century BC Greek people 7th-century BC poets Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown