Caecilius of Calacte was a rhetorician and literary critic active in Rome during the reign of Augustus. The main source of information about Caecilius' life is the

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

, which says that he was from Sicily, originally called Archagathus, possibly of slave origins, and Jewish. He was born about 50 BC in Calacte, and was probably a student of

Apollodorus of Pergamon Apollodorus ( grc, Ἀπολλόδωρος) of Pergamon was a rhetorician of ancient Greece who was the author of a school of rhetoric called after him ''Apollodoreios Hairesis'' (Ἀπολλοδωρειος αἵρεσις), which was subsequently ...

. Both the Suda and Hermagoras say that he taught in Rome during the reign of Augustus. The Suda reports that he lived until the reign of Hadrian, more than a century after the death of Augustus; this is possibly due to confusion with the

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

Quintus Caecilius Niger. A mention of Caecilius by

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary sty ...

, who describes him as a friend in his ''Epistle to Pompey'', may have been written as early as 30 BC and suggests that he may already have been an established critic by then. He apparently wrote works of both history and literary criticism, but only a few fragments of his writings are extant.

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, the main source of information about Caecilius' historical works, reports that he wrote a history of the

Servile Wars The Servile Wars were a series of three slave revolts ("servile" is derived from "''servus''", Latin for "slave") in the late Roman Republic. Wars * First Servile War (135−132 BC) — in Sicily, led by Eunus, a former slave claiming to be a ...

in Sicily, and refers to a work in which Caecilius mentioned the Sicilian tyrant

Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles ...

. He also apparently wrote about the literary merits of historians, praising

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

but criticising

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

and

Theopompus Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος, ''Theópompos''; c. 380 BCc. 315 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and rhetorician. Biography Theopompus was born on the Aegean island of Chios. In early youth, he seems to have spent some time at Athen ...

. In his literary criticism, Caecilius was one of the first proponents of

Atticism Atticism (meaning "favouring Attica", the region of Athens in Greece) was a rhetorical movement that began in the first quarter of the 1st century BC; it may also refer to the wordings and phrasings typical of this movement, in contrast with variou ...

, alongside his friend Dionysius of Halicarnassus. He wrote a treatise ''Against the Phrygians'' which apparently criticised the

Asiatic style The Asiatic style or Asianism ( la, genus orationis Asiaticum, Cicero, ''Brutus'' 325) refers to an Ancient Greek rhetorical tendency (though not an organized school) that arose in the third century BC, which, although of minimal relevance at the ...

of rhetoric, producing a glossary of Attic phrases, and a treatise on the difference between the Attic and Asiatic styles of rhetoric. He wrote an ''Art of Rhetoric'' and a work on rhetorical figures, which is quoted by

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quintilia ...

. He also wrote a treatise on the Ten Attic Orators, and individual works on the speeches of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

Antiphon An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominently ...

, and

Lysias Lysias (; el, Λυσίας; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace i ...

. Longinus' treatise ''

On the Sublime ''On the Sublime'' (Greek: Περì Ὕψους Perì Hýpsous; Latin: ''De sublimitate'') is a Roman-era Greek work of literary criticism dated to the 1st century- C.E.. Its author is unknown, but is conventionally referred to as Longinus (; g ...

'' was written in response to a work by Caecilius on the same topic.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{Authority control 1st-century BC Greek people 1st-century Greek people 1st-century BCE Jews 1st-century Jews 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 1st-century BC writers 1st-century writers 1st-century BC historians 1st-century historians Atticists (rhetoricians) Sicilian Greeks Roman-era Greeks Roman-era Greek historians Hellenistic Jewish writers Caecilii