CALLIMACHUS, Greek poet and gram marian: b. Cyrene, about 310 B.C. ; d. about 240. He opened in Alexandria a school of grammar, that is, of the and liberal sciences, and could boast of several scholars of dis tinguished attainments, such as Eratosthenes, Apollonius Rhodius, Aristophanes of Byzan tium and others. Ptolemy Philadelphus pre sented him with a place in the museum, and pave him a salary, as he did other men of learn ing. After the death of Philadelphus, he stood in equal favor with Ptolemy Euergetes. Under these circumstances he wrote most of his works, the number of which was, according to Suidas, over 800. With the exception of some frag ments, we have of these only 64 epigrams and six hymns. His works in prose include the 'Tablets' in 120 books (a critical bibliography) ; ; (4 books); in poetry, the best known is his which Ovid used in his 'Philemon and Baucis.' In 1893, research in Egypt uncovered some 50 verses of this poem, which are published in Gomerz, Bruchstficke aus der Hekale des Kallimachos> (Vienna 1893). His poem on
the hair of Berenice has been preserved in the Latin adaptation of Catullus coma Bere nices>). poems bear the stamp of their age, which sought to supply the want of natural genius by a great ostentation of learn ing. Instead of noble simple grandeur, they ex hibit an overcharged style, a false pathos and a straining after the singular, the antiquated, the learned. His elegies are mentioned by the ancients with great praise and served Propertius as models. The best editions of the hymns and epigrams are those of Meineke (Berlin 1861) ; Schneider 1870-73; Wilomowitz (Berlin 1897). Consult also Kenyon, 'Recent Greek Literary Discoveries' (in the Classical Review, Vol. VII, pp. 429-30, 1893).