Origins & Early Life

Callimachus ( ; Ancient Greek: Καλλίμαχος, romanized: Kallimachos; c. 310 – c. 240 BC) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which do not survive, in a wide variety of genres.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He espoused an aesthetic philosophy, known as Callimacheanism, which exerted a strong influence on poets of the Roman Empire and, through their reception, on later Western literature. Born into a prominent family in the Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, he was educated in Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt. After working as a schoolteacher in the city, he came under the patronage of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus and was employed at the Library of Alexandria where he compiled the Pinakes, a comprehensive catalogue of all Greek literature. He is believed to have lived into the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes. Although Callimachus wrote prolifically in prose and poetry, only a small number of his poetical texts have been preserved.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

His main works are the Aetia, a four-book aetiological poem, six religious hymns...

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