Demetrius of Phalerum
Demetrius of Phalerum (also Demetrius of Phaleron or Demetrius Phalereus;
Demetrius was exiled by his enemies in 307 BC. He first went to
Life
Demetrius was born in
According to Stephen V. Tracy, the story about the statues was not historical; also he argues that Demetrius later played a big role in the foundation of the Library of Alexandria.[8]
He remained in power until 307 BC when Cassander's enemy,
Demetrius first went to Thebes,[12] and then (after Cassander's death in 297 BC) to the court of Ptolemy I Soter at Alexandria, with whom he lived for many years on the best terms, and who is even said to have entrusted to him the revision of the laws of his kingdom.[13] During his stay at Alexandria, he devoted himself mainly to literary pursuits, ever cherishing the recollection of his own country.[14]
On the accession of
Works and legacy
Literary works
Demetrius was the last among the Attic
Education and arts
The performance of tragedy had fallen into disuse in Athens, on account of the great expense involved.[22] In order to afford the people less costly and yet intellectual amusement, he caused the Homeric and other poems to be recited on the stage by rhapsodists.[23]
According to
According to the earliest source of information, the pseudepigraphic Letter of Aristeas composed between c. 180 – c. 145 BC,[25] the library was initially organized by Demetrius of Phaleron,[26] under the reign of Ptolemy I Soter (c. 367 – c. 283 BC). Other sources claim it was instead created under the reign of his son Ptolemy II (283–246 BC).[27]
Cultural references
Diogenes Laërtius
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, in the Lectures on the History of Philosophy, says of Demetrius Phalereus that "Demetrius Phalereus and others were thus soon after [Alexander] honoured and worshipped in Athens as God."[29] What the exact source was for Hegel's claim is unclear. Diogenes Laërtius does not mention this.[28]
Apparently, Hegel's error comes from a misreading of
Notes
- ^ Dorandi 1999, pp. 49–50.
- ^ C. Habicht, Athens from Alexander to Anthony (London, 1997), 151-154.
- ^ Laërtius 1925b, § 75; Aelian, Varia Historia, xii. 43
- ^ Strabo, 9.1.20; Diog.Laert.5.36
- ^ Laërtius 1925, § 14.
- ^ Laërtius 1925b, § 75; Diodorus Siculus, xix. 78; Cornelius Nepos, Miltiades, 6.
- ^ Green, Peter (1990). Alexander to Actium. University of California Press. pp. 44–48.
- ^ Tracy, Stephen V. (2000). "Demetrius of Phalerum: Who was He and Who was He Not?". Demetrius of Phalerum. Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities. Vol. IX Zlocation=New Brunswick, NJ. pp. 331-345..
- ^ Plutarch, Demetrius 8; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Dinarchus 3.
- ^ Athenaeus, vi.272, xii.542; Aelian, Varia Historia, ix. 9; Polybius, xii.13.
- ^ Athenaeus, xii.542.f
- ^ Plutarch, Demetrius 9; Diodorus Siculus, xx. 45
- ^ Aelian, Varia Historia, iii. 17.
- ^ Plutarch, De Exilio
- ^ Bagnall 2002, p. 348.
- JSTOR 500375.
- ^ Laërtius 1925b, § 78; Cicero, Pro Rabirio Postumo 9.
- Quintillian, x. 1. § 80
- ^ Cicero, Brutus 38, 285, De Oratore ii. 23, Orator 27; Quintillian, x. 1. § 33
- ^ Cicero, de Finibus, v. 19 (54)
- ^ Laërtius 1925b, § 80, etc.
- ^ See Liturgy for background information.
- ^ Athenaeus, xiv.620; Eustathius of Thessalonica, Ad Hom., p.1473
- ^ Strabo, 13.608, 17.793-4
- ISBN 978-0-226-48233-0. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ Letter of Aristeas, 9–12.
- ^ Phillips, Heather (2010). "The Great Library of Alexandria?". Library Philosophy and Practice. University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ a b Laërtius 1925b, § 75–85.
- ^ Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1995). "Plato and the Platonists". Lectures on the History of Philosophy. Vol. 2. Translated by Haldane, E. S.; Simson, Frances H. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 125..
- ^
Plutarch. "Life of Demetrius".
- ^ Scott 1928, p. 148.
References
- Bagnall, Roger S. (December 2002). "Alexandria: Library of Dreams" (PDF). Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 146 (4): 348–362. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
- Dorandi, Tiziano (1999). "Chapter 2: Chronology". In Algra, Keimpe; et al. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Hellenistic Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 49–50. ISBN 9780521250283.
- Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:4. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew(Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 6–15.
- Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. 1:5. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew(Two volume ed.). Loeb Classical Library. § 75–85.
- Innes, Doreen (1995) Demetrius: On Style, in Aristotle Poetics, Longinus On the Sublime, Demetrius on Style. Loeb Classical Library. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674995635
- Scott, Kenneth (1928). "The Deification of Demetrius Poliorcetes: Part I". The American Journal of Philology. 49 (2): 137–166. JSTOR 290644.
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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Further reading
- Fortenbaugh, W., ISBN 0-7658-0017-9
External links
- Media related to Demetrius Phalereus at Wikimedia Commons
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. VII (9th ed.). 1878. p. 58. .
- The Rediscovery of the Corpus Aristotelicum on the role of Demetrius in the constitution of the Corpus Aristotelicum
- Demetrius on style, W. Rhys Roberts (ed.), Cambridge, at the university press, 1902.
- Typi epistolares in Epistolographi graeci, R. Hercher (ed.), Parisiis, editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot, 1873, pp. 1-6.