Listed 36 sub titles with search on: Biographies for wider area of: "TARSUS Town TURKEY" .
SOLI (Ancient city) TURKEY
Philemon. A Greek poet of the New Attic Comedy, of Soli in Cilicia, or
of Syracuse, born about B.C. 362. He came early to Athens, and first appeared
as an author in the year 330. He must have enjoyed remarkable popularity, for
he repeatedly won victories over his younger contemporary and rival Menander,
whose delicate wit was apparently less to the taste of the Athenians of the time
than Philemon's more showy comedy. To later times his successes over Menander
were so unintelligible as to be ascribed to the influence of malice and intrigue.
Except a short sojourn in Egypt with King Ptolemy Philadelphus, he passed his
life at Athens. He there died, nearly a hundred years old, but with mental vigour
unimpaired, in the year 262, according to the story, at the moment of his being
crowned on the stage. Of his ninety-seven works, fifty-seven are known to us by
titles and fragments, and two are preserved in the Latin version of Plautus (Mercator
and Trinummus). The remains of Philemon are published in Meineke's collection,
and by Bach (Halle, 1829).
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Philemon. Philemon was, according to Strabo, a native of Soli, though Suidas makes him a Syracusan, probably because he resided some time in Sicily. He began to exhibit about 330 B.C., and died at the age of ninety-seven, some time in the reign of Antigonus the second, though Diodorus tells us he lived to be ninety-nine, and wrote ninety-seven comedies. Various accounts are given in the manner of his death, Lucian stating that he died in a paroxysm of laughter at seeing an ass devouring some figs intended for his own eating. Philemon was considered by his admirers as superior to Menander; and Quintilian, while he denies the correctness of this judgement, is, nevertheless, willing to allow him the second place. We may see a specimen of his favorite plots in the Trinummus of Plautus, which is a translation from his Thesauros or Treasure. His plays, like those of Menander, contained many imitations of Euripides, and he was so ardent an admirer of that poet that he declared he would have hanged himself for the prospect of meeting him in the other world, if he could have been convinced that departed spirits were really capable of recognizing one another.
Alfred Bates, ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the TheatreHistory URL below.
TARSOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Antipater (Antipatros). The author of a work Peri Psuches, " On the Soul", of
which the second book is quoted by the Scholiast on Homer (II. l. 115. ), in which
he said that the soul increased, diminished, and at last perished with the body;
and which may very possibly be the work quoted by Diogenes Laertius (vii. 157),
and commonly attributed to Antipater of Tarsus. If he be the physician who is
said by Galen (De Meth. Med. i. 7) to have belonged to the sect of the Methodici,
he must have lived in or after the first century B. C.; and this date will agree
very well with the fact of his being quoted by Andromachus, Scribonius Largus,
and Caelius Aurelianus. His prescriptions are frequently quoted with approbation
by Galen and Aetius, and the second book of his " Epistles" is mentioned by Caelius
Aurelianus.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
SOLI (Ancient city) TURKEY
Hieron. A pilot or navigator of Soli in Cilicia, was sent out by Alexander with a triaconter to explore the southern shores of the Erythraean sea, and circumnavigate Arabia. He advanced much further than any previous navigator had done, but at length returned, apparently discouraged by the unexpected extent of the Arabian coast, and reported on his return that Arabia was nearly as large as India. (Arr. Anab. vii. 20.)
TARSOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
A Greek rhetorician of Tarsus in Cilicia, who flourished in
the middle of the second century A.D. He came to Rome as a rhetorician as early
as his fifteenth year, and excited universal admiration, especially on the part
of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. In his twenty-fourth year he lost his memory,
and never recovered it, though he lived to a great age. After his death his heart
is said to have been found to be covered with hair. His work on rhetoric, which
still exists, enjoyed a remarkable popularity, and was for a long time the principal
text-book of rhetoric; it was also epitomized, and was the subject of numerous
commentaries. The work itself consists of five sections: (i.) On points at issue
in legal causes; (ii.) On the art of discovering arguments; (iii.) On the various
forms of oratorical style; (iv.) On political orations in particular, and on the
art of eloquent and effective speaking; (v.) The last section consists of rhetorical
exercises (Progumnasmata), which were cast into a fresh form by Aphthonius, and
translated into Latin by Priscian, with the title Praeexercitamenta.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Hermogenes. One of the most celebrated Greek rhetoricians. He was a son of Calippus
and a native of Tarsus, and lived in the reign of the emperor M. Aurelius, A.
D. 161--180. He bore the surname of xuster, that is, the scratcher or polisher,
either with reference to his vehement temperament, or to the great polish which
he strongly recommended as one of the principal requisites in a written composition.
He was, according to all accounts, a man endowed with extraordinary talents; for
at the age of fifteen he had already acquired so great a reputation as an orator.
that the emperor M. Amelius desired to hear him, and admired and richly rewarded
him for his wonderful talent. Shortly after this he was appointed public teacher
of rhetoric, and at the age of seventeen he began his career as a writer, which
unfortunately did not last long, for at the age of twenty-five he fell into a
mental debility, which rendered him entirely unfit for further literary and intellectual
occupation, and of which he never got rid, although he lived to an advanced age;
so that he was a man in the time of his youth, and a child during his maturer
years. After his death his heart is said to have been found covered with hair.
(Philostr. Vit. Soph. ii. 7; Suid. Hesych. s. v. Hermogenes; Eudoc; Schol. ad
Hermog. peri staseon, in Olearius's note on Philostr. l. c.) If we may judge from
what Hermogenes did at so early an age, there can be little doubt that he would
have far excelled all other Greek rhetoricians, if he had remained in the full
possession of his mental powers. His works, five in number, which are still extant,
form together a complete system of rhetoric, and were for a long time used in
all the rhetorical schools as manuals. Many distinguished rhetoricians and grammarians
wrote commentaries upon them, some of which are still extant; many also made abridgments
of the works of Hermogenes, for the use of schools, and the abridgment of Aphthonius
at length supplanted the original in most schools. The works of Hermogenes are:
(1.) Techne rhetorike peri ton staseon, was composed by the author at the age
of eighteen, and on the principles laid down by Hennagoras. The work treats of
the points and questions which an orator, in civil cases, has to take into his
consideration; it examines every one separately, and thence deduces the rules
which a speaker has to observe. (See the whole reduced to a tabular view in Westermann's
Gesch. der Griech. Beredtsamkeit) The work is a very useful guide to those who
prepare themselves for speaking in the courts of Justice. We still possess the
commentaries which were written upon it by Syrianus, Sosipater, and Marcellinus.
It is printed in the Rhetores of Aldus, vol. i., and has been edited separately
at Paris (1530 and 1538, 4to. ex off. Wechelii), by J. Caselius (Rostock, 1583,
8vo.), E. Sturm (Argentorat. 1570, with a Latin transl. and scholia), G. Laurentius
(Col. Allobrog. 1614, 8vo.), and M. Corales (Venice, 1799, 4to.). The extant scholia
are printed in Walz, Rhetor. Graec. vols. iv. vi. and vii.
(2.) Peri heureseos (De Inventione), in four books, contains instructions about
the proper composition of an oration, discussing first the introduction, then
the plan of the whole, viz. the exposition of the subject, the argumentation,
the refutation of objections that may be raised, and lastly, on the oratorical
ornament and delivery. Every point which Hermogenes discusses is illustrated,
as in the preceding work, by examples taken from the Attic orators, which greatly
enhance the clearness and utility of the treatise. It is printed in Aldus's Rhetores,
in the editions of G. Laurentius, Wechel, and Sturm, mentioned above, but best
in Walz's Rhetor. Graec. vol. iii. We still possess scholia on the work by an
anonymous commentator, printed in Aldus s Rhetores, vol. ii.
(3.) Peri ideon (De Formis Oratorus), in two books, treats of the forms of the
oratorical style, of which Hermogenes distinguishes seven, viz. sapheneia, megethos.
kallos, gorgotes, ethos, aletheia, deinotes, and their subdivisions; he examines
them from eight different points of view, and shows how by a skilful application
of them the orator is most sure of gaining his end. In this discussion, too, every
point is illustrated by examples, chiefly from tile orators, accompanied by some
very ingenious remarks. The work is printed in the editions of Aldus and Laurentius,
and separately at Paris, 1531, 4to., and with a Lat. transl. and notes by Sturm,
Argentorat, 1571, 8vo. The best edition is that in Walz, Rhet. Graeci, vol. iii.,
who has also published the Greek commentaries by Syrianus and Joh. Siceliota (vols.
vi. and vii. Comp. Spengel, Sunagoge tech.)
(4.) Peri methodou deinotetos (De apto et solerti genere dicendi Methodus), forms
a sort of appendix to the preceding work, and contains suggestions for the proper
application of the rules there laid down, together with other useful remarks.
It is printed in the editions of Aldus, Wechel, Laurentius, Sturm, and best in
Walz's Rhet. Graec. vol. iii., who has also published the Greek commentaries by
Gregorius Corinthius (vol. vii.). The work is said to have been left unfinished
by the author, and to have been completed by two later rhetoricians, Minucianus
and Apsines. (Matth. Camariota, Compend. Rhet., ed. Hoeschel, Augsburg, 1594,
4to.)
(5.) Progumnasmata, that is, practical instructions in oratory according to given
models. A very convenient abridgment of this work was made by Aphthonius, in consequence
of which the original fell into oblivion. But its great reputation in antiquity
is attested by the fact, that the learned grammarian, Priscian, made a Latin translation
of it, with some additions of his own, under the title of Praeexercitamenta Rhetorica
ex Hermogene. (Putschius, Gram. Lat. p. 1329, &c.; Fr. Pithoeus, Rhetor. Lat.)
This Latin version of Priscian was for a long time the only edition of the Progymnasmata,
until the Greek original was found in a MS. at Turin, from which it was published
by Heeren in the Biblioth. fur alte Lit. und Kunst, parts viii. and ix. (Gottingen,
1791), and by Ward in the Classical Journal, parts v.--viii. A separate edition
was published by G. Veesenmeyer, Nurnberg, 1812, 8vo. It is also contained in
Krehl's edition of Priscian, vol. ii., but best in Walz's Rhetor. Graec. vol.
i., who has collated six other MSS. besides the Turin one.
Some of the works of Hermogenes are lost, such as a commentary on
Demosthenes (eis Demosthenen hupomnemata, Syrian. ad Hermog. Proleg. ad Ideas,
ed. Spengel), of which a work on the Leptinea, to which Hermogenes himself alludes
(De Method. 24), may have been only a part. Another work, which is likewise lost,
was entitled sungramma peri prooimiou. (Schol. in Hermog. ap. Walz, vol. iv.,
ap. Aldum, ii.) Suidas and Eudocia further mention a work of Hermogenes in two
books, Peri koiles Surias, which is not noticed anywhere else, and of which no
trace has come down to us.
All the extant works of Hermogenes bear strong marks of the youthful
age of the author; for it is clear that his judgment and his opinions have not
yet become settled; he has not the consciousness of a main of long experience,
and his style is rather diffuse, but always clear and unaffected. He is moderate
in his judgment and censure of other rhetoricians, has a correct appreciation
of the merits of the earlier Greek orators, and every where shows symptoms of
a most careful study of the ancients. These excellencies, which at once place
him on a level with the most distinguished teachers of rhetoric, are reasons enough
to make us regret that his brilliant career was cut off so early and so fatally.
(Comp. Westermann; Gesch. der Griech. Beredtsamkeit, § 95; Fabric. Bibl. Graec.
vol. vi.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
SOLI (Ancient city) TURKEY
Athenodorus, of Soli, a disciple of Zenon (Diog. Laert. vii. 38, 121). He maintained, in opposition to the other Stoics, that all offences were not equal.
280 - 206
Chrysippus. A Stoic philosopher of Soli in Cilicia Campestris. He fixed his residence at Athens, and became a disciple of Cleanthes, the successor of Zeno. He was equally distinguished for natural abilities and industry, seldom suffering a day to elapse without writing 500 lines. He wrote several hundred volumes, of which three hundred were on logical subjects, but in all he borrowed largely from others. He maintained, with the Stoics in general, that the world was God, or a universal effusion of his spirit, and that the superior part of this spirit, which consisted in mind and reason, was the common nature of things, containing the whole and every part. Sometimes he speaks of God as the power of fate and the necessary chain of events; sometimes he calls him fire; and sometimes he deifies the fluid parts of nature, as water and air; and again, the earth, sun, moon, and stars, and the universe in which these are comprehended, and even those men who have obtained immortality. He was very fond of the figure sorites in arguing, which is hence called by Persius "the heap of Chrysippus." His discourses abounded more in curious subtleties and nice distinctions than in solid arguments. In disputation, in which he spent the greatest part of his life, he discovered a degree of promptitude and confidence which approached towards audacity. He often said to his preceptor, "Give me doctrines, and I will find arguments to support them." It was a singular proof of his haughty spirit that when a certain person asked him what preceptor he would advise him to choose for his son, he said, "Me; for if I thought any philosopher excelled me, I would myself become his pupil." With so much contempt did he look down upon the distinctions of rank that he would never, as other philosophers did, pay his court to princes or great men, by dedicating to them any of his writings. The vehemence and arrogance with which he supported his tenets created him many adversaries, particularly in the Academic and Epicurean sects. Even his friends of the Stoic School complained that, in the warmth of dispute, while he was attempting to load his adversary with the reproach of obscurity and absurdity, his own ingenuity often failed him, and he adopted such unusual and illogical modes of reasoning as gave his opponents great advantages over him. It was also a common practice with Chrysippus, at different times, to take the opposite sides of the same question, and thus furnish his antagonists with weapons which might easily be turned, as occasion offered, against himself. Carneades, who was one of his most able and skilful adversaries, frequently availed himself of this circumstance, and refuted Chrysippus by convicting him of inconsistency. Of his writings (he is said to have published 700 works in all) nothing remains, except a few extracts which are preserved in the works of Cicero, Plutarch, Seneca, and Aulus Gellius. These fragments were collected and edited by Petersen in 1827. He died in the 143d Olympiad, B.C. 208, at the age of eighty-three. A statue was erected to his memory by Ptolemy.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Crantor (Krantor). A philosopher of Soli, among the pupils of Xenocrates, B.C. 300. He was the first who wrote commentaries on the works of Plato. Crantor was highly celebrated for the purity of his moral doctrine, as may be inferred from the praises bestowed by the ancients upon him. From one of his works, Peri Penthous, Cicero drew largely in writing the third book of the Tusculanae, and the lost treatise De Consolatione on the death of his daughter Tullia. Cf. Cic. Acad. ii. 44.
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Crantor (Krantor), of Soli in Cilicia, left his native country, and repaired to
Athens, in order to study philosophy, where he became a pupil of Xenocrates and
a friend of Polemo, and one of the most distinguished supporters of the philosophy
of the older Academy. As Xenocrates died B. C. 315, Crantor must have come to
Athens previous to that year, but we do not know the date of his birth or his
death. He died before Polemo and Crates, and the dropsy was the cause of his death.
He left his fortune, which amounted to twelve talents, to Arcesilaus; and this
may be the reason why many of Crantor's writings were ascribed by the ancients
to Arcesilaus. His works were very numerous. Diogenes Laertius says, that he left
behind Commentaries (uromnemata), which consisted of 30,000 lines; but of these
only fragments have been preserved. They appear to have related principally to
moral subjects, and, accordingly, Horace (Ep. i. 2. 4) classes him with Chrysippus
as a moral philosopher, and speaks of him in a manner which proves that the writings
of Crantor were much read and generally known in Rome at that time. The most popular
of Crantor's works at Rome seems to have been that "On Grief" (De Luctu, Peri
Penthous), which was addressed to his friend Hippocles on the death of his son,
and from which Cicero seems to have taken almost the whole of the third book of
his Tusculan Disputations. The philosopher Panaetius called it a "golden" work,
which deserved to be learnt by heart word for word (Cic. Acad. ii. 44). Cicero
also made great use of it while writing his celebrated "Consolatio" on the death
of his daughter, Tullia; and several extracts from it are preserved in Plutarch's
treatise on Consolation addressed to Apollonius, which has come down to us.
Crantor was the first of Plato's followers who wrote commentaries
on the works of his master. He also made some attempts in poetry; and Diogenes
Laertius relates, that, after sealing up a collection of his poems, he deposited
them in the temple of Athena in his native city, Soli. He is accordingly called
by the poet Theaetetus, in an epitaph which he composed upon him, the friend of
the Muses; and we are told, that his chief favourites among the poets were Homer
and Euripides (Diog. Lart. iv. 24-27; Orelli, Onom. Tull. ii.).
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Athenodorus, of Tarsus, a Stoic philosopher, surnamed Cordylio, who was keeper
of the library at Pergamus, and afterwards removed to Rome, where he lived with
M. Cato, at whose house he died.
Athenodorus, surnamed Cordylio (Kordulion), a Stoic philosopher, born at Tarsus.
He was the keeper of the library at Pergamus, and in his anxiety to preserve the
doctrines of his sect in their original purity, used to cut out from the works
of the Stoic writers such parts as appeared to him erroneous or inconsistent.
He removed from Pergamus to Rome, and lived with M. Cato, at whose house he died
(Strab. xiv.; Diog. Laert. vii. 34; Plut. Cat. Min. 10; Senec. de Tranquill. Animi,
c. 3, Ep. x. 4).
Dioscorides, the father of Zeno of Tarsus, the Stoic, who succeeded Chrysippus. The latter dedicated to Dioscorides several of his works, as we learn from Diogenes (vii. 190, 193, 198, 200, 202) and Suidas (s. v. Zenon).
(Athenodoros). Of Tarsus, a Stoic philosopher, surnamed Cananites, from Cana, in Cilicia, the birthplace of his father. He taught at Apollonia in Epirus, where the young Octavius (subsequently the emperor Augustus) was one of his disciples. He accompanied the latter to Rome, and became one of his intimate friends. On one occasion he is said to have advised the emperor always to repeat the letters of the Greek alphabet before giving way to any impulse of anger.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Athenodorus, a Stoic philosopher, surnamed Cananites (Kananites) from Cana in Cilicia, the birthplace of his father, whose name was Sandon. Athenodorus was himself a native of Tarsus. It is the same person probably whom Cicero (ad Att. xvi. 11) calls Athenodorus Calvus. In Rhodes he became acquainted with Posidonius, by whom probably he was instructed in the doctrines of the Stoics. He afterwards went to Apollonia, where he taught, and attracted the notice of Octavianus, whom he followed to Rome. He stood high in the favour of the emperor, and was permitted to offer him advice, which he did on some occasions with considerable freedom (Dion Cass. lii. 36, lvi. 43; Zonaras). Zosimus (i. 6) tells us, that the government of Augustus became milder in consequence of his attending to the advice of Athenodorus. The young Claudius was placed under his instruction. (Suet. Claud. 4.) In his old age he returned to Tarsus, which was at that time misgoverned by Boehus, a favourite of Antonius. Athenodorus procured his expulsion and that of his party, and restored order. Through his influence with Augustus, he procured for his native city a remission of the vectigalia. He died at the age of eighty-two, and his memory was honoured by an annual festival and sacrifice (Strab. xiv; Lucian, Macrob. 21; Cic. ad Fam. iii. 7, ad Att. xvi. 14). He was the author of a work against the Categories of Aristotle (Porphyr. in Categ.; Simplic. Categ.; Stobaeus, Serm. 33) attributed by some to Athenodorus Cordylio; of an account of Tarsus (Steph. Anchiale); of a work addressed to Octavia (Plut. Puplic. 17); of one peri spoudes kai raideias (Athen. xii.); of a work called Peripatoi (Diog. Laert. iii. 3, v. 36), and of some others.
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Antipater (Antipatros, )of Tarsus, a Stoic philosopher, was the disciple and successor of Diogenes and the teacher of Panaetius, B. C. 144 nearly (Cic. de Divin. i. 3, de Off. iii. 12). Plutarch speaks of him with Zeno, Cleanthes, and Chrysippus, as one of the principal Stoic philosophers (de Stoic. Repugnant.), and Cicero mentions him as remarkable for acuteness (De Off. iii. 12). Of his personal history nothing is known, nor would the few extant notices of his philosophical opinions be a sufficient ground for any great reputation, if it were not for the testimony of ancient authors to his merit. He seems to have taken the lead during his lifetime in the disputes constantly recurring between his own school and the Academy, although he is said to have felt himself so unequal in argument to his contemporary Carneades, in public disputation, that he confined himself to writing; whence he was called kalamoboas (Plut. Mor.; Euseb. de Praep. Evang. xiv. 8). He taught belief in God as "a Being blessed, incorruptible, and of goodwill to men", and blamed those who ascribed to the gods "generation and corruption", which is said to have been the doctrine of Chrysippus (Plut. de Stoic. Rep.). Besides this treatise "on the gods", he also wrote two books on Divination, a common topic among the Stoics, in which he proved the truth of the science from the foreknowledge and benevolence of the Deity, explained dreams to be supernatural intimations of the future, and collected stories of divination attributed to Socrates (Cic. de Divin. i. 3, 20, 39, 54). He is said to have believed that Fate was a god, though it is not clear what was implied in this expression (Stob. de Fato, 16); and it appears from Athenaeus that he wrote a treatise entitled Peri Deisidaimonias. Of his labours in moral philosophy nothing remains but a few scattered notices, just sufficient to shew that the science had begun to decline; the questions which are treated being points of detail, and such as had more to do with the application of moral precepts than with the principles themselves: such as they were, however, he took higher ground in solving them than his master Diogenes (Cic. de Off. iii. 12, 13, 23).
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Archedemus of Tarsus, a Stoic philosopher (Strab. xiv. p. 674; Diog. Laert. vii. 40, 68,84, 88), two of whose works, Peri Phones and Peri Stoicheion, are mentioned by Diogenes LaΓ«rtius. (vii. 55, 134.) he is probably the same person as the Archedemus, whom Plutarch (de Exsilio) calls an Athenian, and who, he states, went into the country of the Parthians and left behind him the Stoic succesion at Iabhylon. Archedemus is also mentioned by Cicero (Acad. Quaest. ii. 47), Seneca (Epist. 121), and other ancient writers.
Crates (Krates), of Tarsus, an Academic philosopher, is expressly distinguished by Diogenes Laertius (ii. 114, 117) from Crates of Athens, with whom he has been often confounded.
Diogenes. Of Tarsus, an Epicurean philosopher, who is described by Strabo (xiv.) as a person clever in composing extenpore tragedies. He was the author of several works, which, however, are lost. Among them are mentioned : 1. Epilektoi scholai, which was probably a collection of essays or dissertations on philosophical subjects. (Diog. Laert. x. 26, with Menage's note.) 2. An abridgement of the Ethics of Epicurus (epitome ton Epikourou ethikon zetematon), of which Diogenes Laertius (x. 118) quotes the 12th book. 3. Peri poietikon zetematon, that is, on poetical problems, which he endeavoured to solve, and which seem to have had especial reference to the Homeric poems. (Diog. Laert. vi. 81.) Further particulars are not known about him, though Gassendi (de Vit. Epicur. ii. 6) represents him as a disciple of Demetrius the Laconian.
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Herodotus. The son of Arieus, a native either of Tarsus or Philadelphia, who probably belonged to the sect of the Empirici. He was a pupil of Menodotus, and tutor to Sextus Empiricus, and lived therefore in the former half of the second century after Christ. (Suidas, s. v. Sexstos; Diog. Laert. ix.116.)
SOLI (Ancient city) TURKEY
Aratus (Aratos). A Greek poet, of Soli in Cilicia, about B.C. 270,
contemporary of Callimachus and Theocritus. At the request of the Macedonian king,
Antigonus Gonatas, at whose court he lived as physician, he wrote, without much
knowledge of the subject but guided by the works of Eudoxus and Theophrastus,
two astronomical poems, Phaenomena (Phainomena) and Prognostica (Diosemeia) (aspects
of the sky and signs of weather). Without genuine poetic inspiration, Aratus manages
his intractable material with considerable tact and dignified simplicity. The
language, while not always free from stiffness, is choice, and the versification
correct. The poems enjoyed a high repute with the general public, as well as with
poets and specialists, and the great astronomer Hipparchus wrote a commentary
on them in four books. The Romans also took pleasure in reading and translating
them--e. g. Cicero, Germanicus, and Avienus. Eng. trans. by Poste (London, 1880).
Aratus is mentioned by his contemporary Theocritus in the Sixth and Seventh Idyls,
and by St. Paul in his speech (Acts, xvii. 28). Recent edition by Maas.
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Aratus (Aratos), author of two Greek astronomical poems. The date of his birth
is not known; but it seems that he lived about B. C. 270; it is probable, therefore,
that the death of Euclid and the birth of Apollonius Pergaeus happened during
his life, and that he was contemporary with Aristarchus of Samos, and Theocritus,
who mentions him (Idyll. vi. and vii).
There are several accounts of his life by anonymous Greek writers:
three of them are printed in the 2nd vol. of Buhle's Aratus, and one of the same
in the Uranologium of Petavius. Suidas and Eudocia also mention him. From these
it appears that he was a native of Soli (afterwards Pompeiopolis) in Cilicia,
or (according to one authority) of Tarsus; that he was invited to the court of
Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedonia, where he spent all the latter part of his
life; and that his chief pursuits were physic (which is also said to have been
his profession), grammar, and philosophy, in which last he was instructed by the
Stoic Dionysius Heracleotes.
Several poetical works on various subjects, as well as a number of
prose epistles, are attributed to Aratus (Buhle, vol. ii.), but none of them have
come down to us, except the two poems mentioned above. These have generally been
joined together as if parts of the same work; but they seem to be distinct poems.
The first, called Phainomena. consists of 732 verses; the second, Diosemeia (Prognostica),
of 422. Eudoxus, about a century earlier, had written two prose works, Phainomena
and Enoptron, which are both lost; but we are told by the biographers of Aratus,
that it was the desire of Antigonus to have them turned into verse, which gave
rise to the Phainomena of the latter writer; and it appears from the fragments
of them preserved by Hipparchus, that Aratus has in fact versified, or closely
imitated parts of them both, but especially of the first. The design of the poem
is to give an introduction to the knowledge of the constellations, with the rules
for their risings and settings; and of the circles of the sphere, amongst which
the milky way is reckoned. The positions of the constellations, north of the ecliptic,
are described by reference to the principal groups surrounding the north pole
(the Bears, the Dragon, and Cepheus), whilst Orion serves as a point of departure
for those to the south. The immobility of the earth, and the revolution of the
heavens about a fixed axis are maintained; the path of the sun in the zodiac is
described; but the planets are introduced merely as bodies having a motion of
their own, without any attempt to define their periods; nor is anything said about
the moon's orbit. The opening of the poem asserts the dependence of all things
upon Zeus, and contains the passage tou gar kai genos esmen, quoted by St. Paul
(Aratus' fellow-countryman) in his address to the Athenians (Acts xvii. 28). From
the general want of precision in the descriptions, it would seem that Aratus was
neither a mathematician nor observer (comp. Cic. de Orat. i. 16) or, at any rate,
that in this work he did not aim at scientific accuracy. He not only represents
the configurations of particular groups incorrectly, but describes some phaenomena
which are inconsistent with any one supposition as to the latitude of the spectator,
and others which could not coexist at any one epoch. These errors are partly to
be attributed to Eudoxus himself, and partly to the way in which Aratus has used
the materials supplied by him. Hipparchus (about a century later), who was a scientific
astronomer and observer, has left a commentary upon the Phainomena of Eudoxus
and Aratus, occasioned by the discrepancies which he had noticed between his own
observations and their descriptions.
The Diosemeia consists of prognostics of the weather from astronomical
phaenomena, with an account of its effects upon animals. It appears to be an imitation
of Hesiod, and to have been imitated by Virgil in some parts of the Georgies.
The materials are said to be taken almost wholly from Aristotle's Meteorologica,
from the work of Theophrastus, "De Signis Ventorum" and from Hesiod. Nothing is
said in either poem about Astrology in the proper sense of the word.
The style of these two poems is distinguished by the elegance and
accuracy resulting from a study of ancient models; but it wants originality and
poetic elevation; and variety of matter is excluded by the nature of the subjects
(See Quintil. x. 1). That they became very popular both in the Grecian and Roman
world (comp. Ov. Am. i. 15.16) is proved by the number of commentaries and Latin
translations. The Introduction to the Phainomena by Achilles Tatius, the Commentary
of Hipparchus in three books, and another attributed by Petavius to Achilles Tatius,
are printed in the Uranologium, with a list of other Commentators, which includes
the names of Aristarchus, Geminus, and Eratosthenes. Parts of three poetical Latin
translations are preserved. One written by Cicero when very young (Cic. de Nat.
Deor. ii. 41), one by Caesar Germanicus, the grandson of Augustus, and one by
Festus Avienus. The earliest edition of Aratus is that of Aldus (Ven. 1499). The
principal later ones are by Grotius (Lugd. Bat. 1600), Buhle (Lips. 1793, 1801,with
the three Latin versions), Matthiae (Francof. 1817), Voss (Heidelb. 1824, with
a German poetical version), Buttmann (Berol. 1826), and Bekker (Berol. 1828).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Castorion (Kastorion), of Soli, is mentioned by Athenaeus (x. p. 454) as the author of a poem on Pan, of which he quotes a fragment: but nothing further is known about him.
Demochares. Of Soli, a Greek poet, of whom Plutarch (Demetr. 27) has preserved a sarcasm upon Demetrius Poliorcetes.
TARSOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Apollodorus OF Tarsus, a tragic poet, of whom Suidas and Eudocia (p. 61) mention six tragedies; but nothing further is known about him. There is ainother Apollodorus of Tarsus, who was probab)ly a grammarian, and wrote commentaries on the early dramatic writers of Greece. (Schol. ad Eurip. Med. 148, 169; Schol. ad Aristoph. Ran. 323, Plut. 535)
A tragic poet, whom Diogenes Laertius (iv. 58) describes as poietes tragoidias ton Tarsikon legomenon. Casaubon (De Sat. Poes. i. 5) remarks, that Diogenes by these words meant to describe a poet whose works bore the character of extempore poetry, of which the inhabitants of Tarsus were particularly fond (Strab. xiv.), and that Bion lived shortly before or at the time of Strabo. Suidas (s. v.Aischulos) mentions a son of Aeschylus of the name of Bion who was likewise a tragic poet; but nothing further is known about him.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Boethus, (Boethos), the author of an epigram in the Greek Anthology in praise of Pylades, a pantomime in the time of Augustus, was a native of Tarsus. Strabo (xiv.) describes him as a bad citizen and a bad poet, who gained the favour of Antony by some verses on the battle of Philippi, and was set by him over the gymnasium and public games in Tarsus. In this office he was guilty of peculation, but escaped punishment by flattering Antony. He was afterwards expelled from Tarsus by Athenodorus, with the approbation of Augustus.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Demetrius, of Tarsus, a poet who wrote Satyric dramas. (Diog. Laert. v. 85.) The name Tarsikos, which Diogenes applies to him, is believed by Casaubon (de Satyr. Poes., ed. Ramshorn) to refer to a peculiar kind of poetry rather than to the native place of Demetrius. Another Demetrius of Tarsus is introduced as a speaker in Plutarch's work " de Oraculorum Defectu," where he is described as returning home from Britain, but nothing further is known about him.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Dionysades. Of Tarsus, a tragic poet, was, according to Strabo (xiv.), the best of the poets in the " Tragic Pleiad " of the Alexandrian grammarians. (Fabric. ii.)
SOLI (Ancient city) TURKEY
Of Soli, is mentioned by Diogenes Laertius (iv. 58) as the author of a work on
Aethiopia (Aithiopika), of which a few fragments are preserved in Pliny (vi. 35),
Athenaeus (xiii.), and in Cramer's Anecdota (iii.). Whether he is the same as
the one from whom Plutarch (Thes. 26) quotes a tradition respecting the Amazons,
and from whom Agathias (ii. 25; comp. Syncellus, ed. Dindorf) quotes a statement
respecting the history of Assyria, is uncertain. Varro (De Re Rust. i. 1) mentions
Bion of Soli among the writers on agriculture; and Pliny refers to the same or
similar works, in the Elenchi to several books. (Lib. 8, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18.)
Some think that Bion of Soli is the same as Caecilius Bion.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Sep 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Clearchus (Klearchos), of Soli, one of Aristotle's pupils, was the author of a
number of works, none of which are extant, on a very great variety of subjects.
he seems to have been the same person whom Athenaeus (i. p. 4, a.) calls trechedeipnos,
or the diner out. A list of his principal writings is subjoined, all the references
which may be found in Vossius (Hist. Graec.) being omitted for the sake of brevity:
1. Bioi, a biographical work, extending to at least eight books (See Athen. xii.).
2. A commentary on Plato's "Timaeus".
3. Platonos enkomion (Diog. Laert. iii. 2).
4. Peri ton en tei Platonos Politeiai mathematikos eiremenon.
5. Gergithios, a treatise on flattery, so called, according to Athenaeus (vi.),
from Gergithius, one of Alexander's courtiers.
6. Peri paideias (Diog. Laert. i. 9; Athen. xv.).
7. Peri philias.
8. Paroimiai.
9. Pepi griphon, on riddles.
10. Erotika, probably historical, a collection of lovestories, not unmixed with
the discussion of some very odd questions on the subject (e. g. Athen. xii.).
11. Peri graphon, on paintings (Athen. xiv.). 12. Perigraphai? The reading in
Athenaeus (vii. ad init.) is doubtful; see Dalechamp and Casaubon, ad loc.
13. Peri narkess, on the Torpedo.
14. Peri ton enudron, on water-animals.
15. Peri Dinon, on sand-wastes.
16. Peri skeleton, an anatomical work (Casaub. ad Athen. ix.).
17. Peri hupnou, the genuineness of which, however, has been called in question.
This is the work to which Clement of Alexandria refers (Strom. i. 15) for the
account of the philosophical Jew, with whom Aristotle was said to have held much
communication, and therein, by his own confession, to have gained more than he
imparted.
It has been doubted also whether the work on military tactics referred
to by Aelianus Tacticus (ch. 1) should be ascribed to the present Clearchus or
to the tyrant of Heracleia.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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