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date: 14 November 2024

Eratostheneslocked

, of Cyrene, c. 285–194 bce

Eratostheneslocked

, of Cyrene, c. 285–194 bce
  • Peter Marshall Fraser

Extract

Eratosthenes of *Cyrene (c. 285–194 bce), pupil of *Callimachus (3) and *Lysanias (2). After spending several years at Athens, where he came under the influence of *Arcesilaus (1) and *Ariston (1) of Chios, he accepted the invitation of *Ptolemy (1) III Euergetes to become royal tutor and to succeed *Apollonius (1) Rhodius as head of the Alexandrian Library. He thus became a member of the Cyrenaean intelligentsia in Alexandria, of which the central figure was Callimachus. His versatility was renowned and criticized, and the eventual Alexandrian verdict was to describe him as βῆτα, ‘B-class’ (that is to say, not ‘second rate’ but ‘next after the best specialist in each subject’), and πένταθλος, an ‘all-rounder’. Others, more kindly, called him ‘a second Plato’ (see plato(1)). In more than one field, however, and particularly in chronology and mathematical and descriptive *geography, of which, thanks to *Strabo, we know most, his work long retained much of its authority.

Subjects

  • Greek Literature

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