Aristophanes of Byzantium

Thomas R. Coward (George Mason University)

Ed. by Emily Kneebone, University of Nottingham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.1: Greek Writing and Culture: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Imperial, -800--100.
Vol. editors: Jonathan Burgess (University of Toronto), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Vaios Liapis (Open University of Cyprus), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University), Laura Swift (The Open University)

Dates

Born c. -265
Died c. -190

Places

Active in Ancient Greece; Egypt

Activities

Primary

Editor
Librarian

Resources

Aristophanes of Byzantium (265/257–190/180 BC) was the head of the Library at Alexandria (c. 204/1-189/6). He was famous for his linguistic, literary, textual, and antiquarian researches, and was credited with the innovation of Greek accentuation and colometry. He produced “editions” of poets from Homer to Menander, and several monographs and treatises. His works, however, only survive in fragments.

Biography

Aristophanes was the son of Apelles, a mercenary commander. He was born in Byzantium but resided in Alexandria. It is believed that he was a student of Zenodotus and Callimachus (T1 Slater), Eratosthenes (T5), Dionysius Iambus (T1), Euphronius (T14), and Machon, a comic w…

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5832 words

Citation: Coward, Thomas R.. "Aristophanes of Byzantium". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13940, accessed 03 May 2024.]

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