Extract

Greek poet and scholar, ‘Battiades’ (Epigr. 35), i.e. son (or descendant?) of Battus; his grandfather was a general (Epigr. 21). He flourished under *Ptolemy (1) II (285–246 bce) and continued into the reign of *Ptolemy (1) III (Suda); he mentions the Celtic invasion of 279 (Hymn 4. 171 ff.; fr. 379); the marriage (c.275) and apotheosis (270? 268?) of *Arsinoë II Philadelphus (frs. 392, 228); and the Laodicean War of 246/5 (fr. 110). Other work for *Berenice (3) II (Epigr. 51?, frs. 387–8, Suppl. Hell. 254 ff.), and perhaps the Victory of Sosibius (fr. 384), belong to the same late period. Callimachus stood close to the *Alexandrian court; it may be accident that we have no works datable between Arsinoë's death and the accession of Berenice (herself a princess of Cyrene).Callimachus was credited with more than 800 books (Suda).