ARISTOPHANES, of Byzantium, Greek critic and gram marian, was born about 257 B.C. Early in life he removed to Alexandria, where he studied under Zenodotus and Cal limachus. At the age of 6o he was appointed chief librarian of the museum. He died about 185-18o B.C. Aristophanes produced a text of Homer which was an improvement on that of Zenod otus. He also edited Hesiod, Alcaeus, Anacreon, Pindar and the great dramatists; arranged Plato's dialogues in trilogies. His arguments to the plays of Aristophanes and the tragedians are in great part preserved. His works on Athenian courtesans, masks and proverbs were the result of his study of Attic comedy. He further commented on the Pinakes ("tablets") of Callimachus, a sort of history of Greek literature. As a lexi cographer, Aristophanes compiled collections of foreign and unusual words and expressions, and special lists (words denot ing relationship, modes of address). As a grammarian, he founded a scientific school, and in his Analogy systematically explained the various forms. He introduced critical signs—ex cept the obelus; punctuation, prosodiacal, and 'accentual marks were probably already in use. The foundation of the so-called Alexandrian "canon" was also due to his impulse.
See A. Nauck, Aristophanis Byzantii Grammatici Fragmenta (1848) ; Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship (3rd ed. 1921, vol. i. ch. viii.) . ARISTOTELIANISM: see ARISTOTLE.