Asclepiades of Samos
Encyclopedia
Asclepiades of Samos was an ancient Greek
epigram
matist and lyric poet
. He was a friend of Theocritus
, who flourished about 270 BC. He was the earliest and most important of the convivial and erotic epigrammists. Only a few of his compositions are actual inscriptions. Others sing the praises of the poets whom he especially admired, but the majority of them are love songs. It is doubtful whether he is the author of all the epigrams (some 40 in number) which bear his name in the Greek Anthology
. He possibly gave his name to the Asclepiad metre
.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
matist and lyric poet
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
. He was a friend of Theocritus
Theocritus
Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC.-Life:Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems commonly attributed to him have little claim to...
, who flourished about 270 BC. He was the earliest and most important of the convivial and erotic epigrammists. Only a few of his compositions are actual inscriptions. Others sing the praises of the poets whom he especially admired, but the majority of them are love songs. It is doubtful whether he is the author of all the epigrams (some 40 in number) which bear his name in the Greek Anthology
Greek Anthology
The Greek Anthology is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature...
. He possibly gave his name to the Asclepiad metre
Asclepiad (poetry)
An Asclepiad is a line of poetry following a particular metrical pattern. The form is attributed to Asclepiades of Samos and is one of the Aeolic metres....
.
Editions
- Alexander Sens (ed), Asclepiades of Samos, Epigrams and Fragments (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).