Listed 17 sub titles with search on: Biographies for wider area of: "SOLI Ancient city 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.
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.)
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.
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
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.).
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
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.
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
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.
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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