Callimachus
- 1 A distinguished Greek poet and grammarian of Cyrene (hence Battiades; v. Battus, I. b.) who lived in Alexandria in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, B. C. 250, Quint. 10, 1, 58; Cic. Tusc. 1, 34, 84; 1, 39, 93; id. de Or. 3, 33, 32; Ov. R. Am. 759; Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 100; Prop. 2, 1, 40; Ov. P. 4, 16, 32.
- —Hence, Callĭmăchīus, a, um, adj.: metrum, i.e. a choriambic tetrameter and an amphibrach, Serv. Centim. p. 1823 P.—
- 2 A celebrated sculptor, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 92.—
- 3 A physician, Plin. 21, 3, 9, § 12.☞ Apollas Callimachus, in Quint. 11, 2, 14, is yet unexplained; v. Spald. in h. l.
(Καλλίμαχος).
1. Of the tribe of Aiantis and the δῆμος of Aphidna, held the office of Polemarch, B. C. 490, and in that capacity commanded the right wing of the Athenian army at Marathon, where he was slain, after behaving with much gallantry. In the battle he is said to have vowed to Artemis a heifer for every enemy he should slay. By the persuasion of Miltiades he had given his casting vote for fighting, when the voices of the ten generals were equally divided on the question. This is the last recorded instance of the Polemarch performing the military duties which his name implies. Callimachus was conspicuously figured in the fresco painting of the battle of Marathon, by Polygnotus, in the στοὰ ποικίλη. (Hdt. 6.109_114; Plut. Aristid. et Cat. Maj. 2, Sympos. 1.8.3; Schol. ad Aristoph. Eq. 658; Paus. 1.15.)
2. One of the generals of Mithridates, who, by his skill in engineering, defended the town of Amisus, in Pontus, for a considerable time against the Romans, in B. C. 71; and when Lucullus had succeeded in taking a portion of the wall, Callimachus set fire to the place and made his escape by sea. He afterwards fell into the hands of Lucullus at the capture of Nisibis (called by the Greeks Antioch) in Mygdonia, B. C. 68, and was put to death in revenge for the burning of Amisus. (Plut. Luc. 19, 32; comp. Appian, Bell. Mithr. 78, 83; D. C. 35.7.) [E.E]
(Καλλίμαχος), one of the most celebrated Alexandrine grammarians and poets, was, according to Suidas, a son of Battus and Mesatme, and belonged to the celebrated family of the Battiadae at Cyrene, whence Ovid (1b. 53) and others call him simply Battiades. (Comp. Strab. xvii. p.837.) He was a disciple of the grammarian Hermocrates, and afterwards taught at Eleusis, a suburb of Alexandria. He was highly esteemed by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who invited him to a place in the Museum. (Suid.; Strab. xvii. p.838.) Callimachus was still alive in the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, the successor of Philadelphus. (Schol. ad Callim. Hymn. 2.26.) It was formerly believed, but is now established as an historical fact, that Callimachus was chief librarian of the famous library of Alexandria. This fact leads us to the conclusion, that he was the successor of Zenodotus, and that he held this office from about B. C. 260 until his death about B. C. 240. (Ritschl, Die Alexandrin. Biblioth. &c. pp. 19, 84, &c.) This calculation agrees with the statement of A. Gellius (17.21), that Callimachus lived shortly before the first Punic war. He was married to a daughter of Euphrates of Syracuse, and had a sister Megatime, who was married to Stasenorus, and a son Callimachus, who is distinguished from his uncle by being called the younger, and is called by Suidas the author of an epic poem Περὶ νήσων.
Callimachus was one of the most distinguished grammarians, critics, and poets of the Alexandrine period, and his celebrity surpassed that of nearly all the other Alexandrine scholars and poets. Several of the most distinguished men of that period, such as his successor Eratosthenes, Philostephanus, Aristophanes of Byzantium, Apollonius Rhodius, Ister, and Hermippus, were among his pupils. Works
Callimachus was one of the most fertile writers of antiquity, and if the number in Suidas be correct, he wrote 800 works though we may take it for granted that most of them were not of great extent, if he followed his own maxim, that a great book was equal to a great evil. (Athen. 3.72.) The number of his works of which the titles or fragments are known to us, amounts to upwards of forty. But what we possess is very little, and consists principally of poetical productions, apparently the least valuable of all his works, since Callimachus, notwithstanding the reputation he enjoyed for his poems, was not a man of real poetical talent: labour and learning are with him the substitutes for poetic genius and talent. His prose works, on the other hand, which would have furnished us with some highly important information concerning ancient mythology, history, literature, &c., are completely lost. Poetical Productions
The poetical productions of Callimachus still extant are: Hymns
1. Hymns, six in number, of which five are written in hexameter verse and in the Ionic dialect, and one, on the bath of Pallas, in distichs and in the Doric dialect. These hymns, which bear greater resemblance to epic than to lyric poetry, are the productions of labour and learning, like most of the poems of that period. Almost every line furnishes some curious mythical information, and it is perhaps not saying too much to assert, that these hymns are more overloaded with learning than any other poetical production of that time. Their style has nothing of the easy flow of genuine poetry, and is evidently studied and laboured. There are some ancient Greek scholia on these hymns, which however have no great merit. Epigrams
2. Seventy-three epigrams, which belong to the best specimens of this kind of poetry. The high estimation they enjoyed in antiquity is attested by the fact, that Archibius, the grammarian, who lived, at the latest, one generation after Callimachus, wrote a commentary upon them, and that Marianus, in the reign of the emperor Anastasius, wrote a paraphrase of them in iambics. They were incorporated in the Greek Anthology at an early time, and have thus been preserved. 3. Elegies
These are lost with the exception of some fragments, but there are imitations of them by the Roman poets, the most celebrated of which is the De Coma Berenices of Catullus. If we may believe the Roman critics, Callimachus was the greatest among the elegiac poets (Quint. Inst. 10.1.53), and Ovid, Propertius, and Catullus took Callimachus for their model in this species of poetry. We have mention of several more poetical productions, but all of them have perished except a few fragments, and however much we may lament their loss on account of the information we might have derived from them, we have very little reason to regret their loss as specimens of poetry. Particular Works
Among them we may mention, 1. The Aetia
The Αἴτια, an epic poem in four books on the causes of the various mythical stories, religious ceremonies, and other customs. The work is often referred to, and was paraphrased by Marianus; but the paraphrase is lost, and of the original we have only a few fragments. 2. The Hecale
An epic poem entitled Ἐκάλη, which was the name of an old woman who had received Theseus hospitably when he went out to fight against the Marathonian bull. This work was likewise paraphrased by Marianus, and we still possess some fragments of the original. Other Works
The works entitled Γαλάτεια and Γλαῦκος were in all probability likewise epic poems. It appears that there was scarcely any kind of poetry in which Callimachus did not try his strength, for he is said to have written comedies, tragedies, iambic, and choliambic poems. Respecting his poem Ibis see Apollonius Rhodius. Prose Works
Of his numerous prose works not one is extant entire, though there were among them some of the highest importance. The one of which the loss is most to be lamented was entitled Πίναξ παντοδαπῶν συγγραμμάτων, or πίνακες τῶν ὲν πάσῃ παιδείᾳ διαλαμψάντων καὶ ὧν συνέγραψαν, in 120 books. This work was the first comprehensive history of Greek literature. It contained, systematically arranged, lists of the authors and their works. The various departments of literature appear to have been classified, so that Callimachus spoke of the comic and tragic poets, of the orators, law-givers, philosophers, &c., in separate books, in which the authors were enumerated in their chronological succession. (Athen. 2.70, vi. p.252, xiii. p. 585, xv. p. 669; D. L. 4.23, 8.86.) It is natural to suppose that this work was the fruit of his studies in the libraries of Alexandria, and that it mainly recorded such authors as were contained in those libraries. His pupil Aristophanes of Byzantium wrote a commentary upon it. (Athen. 9.408, 8.336; Etym. Mag. s. v. Πίναξ.) Among his other prose works we find mentioned the following:-- 1. Μουσεῖον, which is usually supposed to have treated of the Museum of Alexandria and the scholars connected with it. 2. Περὶ ἀγώνων. 3. Ἐθνικαὶ ὀνομασίαι. 3. Θαυμάσια or Θαυμάτων τῶν εἰς ἅπασαν τὴν γῆν καὶ τόπους ὄντων συναγωγή, a work similar, though probably much superior, to the one still extant by Antigonus Carystius. 4. Γπομνήματα ἱστορικά. 5. Νόμιμα βαρβαρικά. 6. Κτίσεις νήσων καὶ πόλεων. 7.Ἄργους οἰκισμοί. 8. Περὶ ἀνέμων. 9. Περὶ ὄρνεων. 10. Συναγωγὴ ποταμῶν, or περὶ τῶν ἐν οἰκουμένῃ ποταμῶν, &c., &c. A list of his works is given by Suidas, and a more complete one by Fabricius. (Bibl. Graec. iii. p. 815, &c.) Editions
The first edition of the six hymns of Callimachus appeared at Florence in 4to., probably between 1494 and 1500. It was followed by the Aldine, Venice, 1513, 8vo., but a better edition, in which some gaps are filled up and the Greek scholia are added, is that of S. Gelenius, Basel, 1532, 4to., reprinted at Paris, 1549, 4to. A more complete edition than any of the preceding ones is that of H. Stephanus, Paris, 1566, fol. in the collection of Poetae principes Heroici Carminis. This edition is the basis of the text which from that time has been regarded as the vulgate. A second edition by H. Stephanus (Geneva, 1577, 4to.) is greatly improved: it contains the Greek scholia, a Latin translation, thirty-three epigrams of Callimachus, and a few fragments of his other works. Henceforth scarcely anything was done for the text, until Th. Graevius undertook a new and comprehensive edition, which was completed by his father J. G. Graevius. It appeared at Utrecht, 1697, 2 vols. 8vo. It contains the notes of the previous editors, of R. Bentley, and the famous commentary of Ez. Spanheim. This edition is the basis of the one edited by J. A. Ernesti at Leiden, 1761, 2 vols. 8vo., which contains the whole of the commentary of Graevius' edition, a much improved text, a more complete collection of the fragments, and additioal notes by Hemsterhuis and Ruhnken. Among the subsequent editions we need only mention those of Ch. F.Loesner (Leipzig, 1774, 8vo.), H. F. M. Volzer (Leizig, 1817, 8vo.), and C. F. Blomfield (London, 1815, 8vo.). [L.S]
a physician, who was one of the followers of Herophilus, and who must have lived about the second century B. C., as he is mentioned by Zeuxis. (Galen, Comment. in Hippocr. "Epid. VI." 1.5. vol. xvii. pt. i. p. 827.) He wrote a work in explanation of the obsolete word; used by Hippocrates, which is not now extant, but which is quoted by Erotianus. (Gloss. Hippocr. praef.) He may perhaps be the same person who is mentioned by Pliny as having written a work De, Coronis. (H. N. 21.9.) [W.A.G]
(Καλλίμαχος), an artist of uncertain country, who is said to have invented the Corinthian column. (Vitr. 4.1.10.) As Scopas built a temple of Athene at Tegea with Corinthian columns in B. C. 396, Callimachus must have lived before that time. Pausanias (1.26.7) calls him the inventor of the art of boring marble (τοὺς λίθους τρῶτος ἐτρύπησε), which Thiersch (Epoch. Anm. p. 60) thinks is to be understood of a mere perfection of that art, which could not have been entirely unknown to so late a period. By these inventions as well as by his other productions, Callimachus stood in good reputation with his contemporaries, although he did not belong to the first-rate artists. He was so anxious to give his works tilt last touch of perfection, by elaborating the details with too much care, that he lost the grand and sublime. Dionysius therefore compares him and Calamis to the orator Lysias (τῆς λεπτότητος ἕνεκα καὶ τῆς χάριτος), whilst he draws a parallel between Polycletus and Phidias and Isocrates, on account of the σεμνὸν καὶ μεγαλότεχνον καὶ ἀξιωματικόν (Jiudic. Isocr. 100.3.) Callimachus was never satisfied with himself. and therefore received the epithet κακιζότεχνος. (Paus. 1.26.7.) Pliny (Plin. Nat. 34.8. s. 19) says the same, and gives an exact interpretation of the suriame: " Semper calummiator sui nec finem habens diligentiae; ob id κακιζότεχνος appellatus." Vitruvius says, that Callimachus "propter elegantiam et subtilitatem artis marmoreae ab Atheniensibus κατάτεχνος fuerat nominatus." Sillig (Cat. Art. p. 125) conjectures, after some MMS., that κατατηξίτεχνος must be read instead of κακιξότεχνος; but this is quite improbable on account of Pliny's translation, "calumniator sui." Whether the κατάτεχνος of Vitruvius is corrupt or a second surname (as Siebelis supposes, ad Paus. 1.26.7), cannot be decided. So much is certain, that Callimachus' style was too artificial. Pliny (l.c.), speaking of a work representing some dancing Lacedaemonian women, says, that his excessive. elaboration of the work had destroyed all its beauty. Pausanias (1.26 § 7) describes a golden lamp, a work of Callimachus dedicated to Athene, which if filled with oil, burnt precisely one whole year without ever going out. It is scarcely probable that the painter Callimachus, mentioned by Pliny (l.c.), should be our statuary, although he is generally identified with him. [W.I]
(Καλλίμαχος). (1) A Greek artist, who flourished in the second half of the fifth century B.C. He was the inventor of the Corinthian order of pillar; and the art of boring marble is also attributed to him, though perhaps he did no more than bring it to perfection. The ancient critics represent him as unwearied in polishing and perfecting his work; indeed, they allege that his productions lost something through their excessive refinement and purity. One of his celebrated works was the golden chandelier in the Erechtheum at Athens.
(2) A Greek scholar and poet, the chief representative of the Alexandrian School. He was the son of Battus, and thus sprung from the noble family of the Battiadae. He at first gave his lectures in a suburb of Alexandria; but was afterwards summoned by Ptolemy Philadelphus to the Museum there, and in about B.C. 260 was made curator of the library. He held this office till his death, which took place about B.C. 240. He did a great service to literature by sifting and cataloguing the numerous books collected at Alexandria. The results of his labours were published in his great work, called Πίνακες, or “Tablets.” This contained 120 books, and was a catalogue, arranged in chronological order, of the works contained in the library, with observations on their genuineness, an indication of the first and last word in each book, and a note of its bulk. This work laid the foundation of a critical study of Greek literature. Eight hundred works, partly in prose and partly in verse, were attributed altogether to Callimachus; but it is to be observed that he avoided, on principle, the composition of long poems, so as to be able to give more thought to the artistic elaboration of details. The essence of Callimachus's verse is art and learning, not poetic genius in the real sense. Indeed, some of his compositions had a directly learned object—the Αἴτια, or “Causes,” for instance. This was a collection of elegiac poems in four books, treating, with great erudition, of the foundation of cities, the origin of religious ceremonies, and the like.
Through his writings, as well as through his oral instruction, Callimachus exercised an immense influence, not only on the course of learning, but on the poetical tendencies of the Alexandrian School (q.v.). Among his pupils were the most celebrated savants of the time, Eratosthenes, Aristophanes of Byzantium, Apollonius of Rhodes, and others. Of his writings only a very few have survived in a complete state. These are: six hymns, five of which are in epic and one in elegiac form, and sixty-four epigrams. The hymns, both in their language and their matter, attest the learned taste of their author. His elegy, entitled the Coma Berenices, or “Lock of Berenice,” is imitated by Catullus in one of his remaining pieces. Ovid, in the twentieth of his Heroides, as well as in his Ibis, took poems of Callimachus for his models. Indeed, the Romans generally set a very high value on his elegies, and liked to imitate them. Of his other works in prose and poetry—among the latter may be mentioned a very popular epic called Hecaté—only fragments have survived. A good edition of the remains is that of Schneider, 2 vols. (1870-73); and of the Hymns and Epigrams those of Meineke (1861) and Wilamowitz (1882). See Couat, La Poésie Alexandrine (Paris, 1882).
- Athenian commander: Paus. 1.15.3
- with the army at Marathon, his vote for battle: Hdt. 6.109, Hdt. 6.110
- his death: Hdt. 6.114
- Paus. 1.26.6
- called the Refiner away of Art: Paus. 1.26.7
- makes image of Hera: Paus. 9.2.7