Menander of Laodicea
Encyclopedia
Menander of Laodicea on the Lycus
(Μένανδρος Ῥήτωρ) was a Greek
rhetoric
ian and commentator.
Two incomplete treatises on epideictic (or show) speeches have been preserved under his name, but it is generally considered that they cannot be by the same author. Bursian
attributes the first to Menander, whom he placed in the 4th century, and the second to an anonymous rhetorician of Alexandria Troas
, who possibly lived in the time of Diocletian
. Others, from the superscription of the Paris manuscript, assign the first to Genethlius of Petrae in Palestine
.
In view of the general tradition of antiquity, that both treatises were the work of Menander, it is possible that the author of the second was not identical with the Menander mentioned by the Suda
; since the name is of frequent occurrence in later Greek literature
. The first treatise, entitled Division of Epideictic Styles (Διαίρεσις τῶν Ἐπιδεικτικῶν), discusses the different kinds of epideictic speeches; the second, On Epideictic Speeches (Περὶ Ἐπιδεικτικῶν), has special titles for each chapter.
Text in L Spengel
's Rhetores graeci, iii. 329-446, and in C Bursian's "Der Rhetor Menandros und seine Schriften" in Abhandl. der bayer. Akad. der Wissenschaften, xvi. (1882); see also Wilhelm Nitsche, Der Rhetor M. und die Scholien zu Demosthenes; JE Sandys
, Hist. of Classical Scholarship (1906), i. 338; Wilhelm von Christ
, Gesch. der griechischen Litteratur (1898), 550.
Denizli
Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city...
(Μένανδρος Ῥήτωρ) was a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
ian and commentator.
Two incomplete treatises on epideictic (or show) speeches have been preserved under his name, but it is generally considered that they cannot be by the same author. Bursian
Conrad Bursian
Conrad Bursian was a German philologist and archaeologist.He was born at Mutzschen in Saxony. When his parents moved to Leipzig, he received his early education at Thomasschule zu Leipzig, and entered the university in 1847...
attributes the first to Menander, whom he placed in the 4th century, and the second to an anonymous rhetorician of Alexandria Troas
Alexandria Troas
Alexandria Troas is an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western coast, a little south of Tenedos . It is located in the modern Turkish province of Çanakkale...
, who possibly lived in the time of Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
. Others, from the superscription of the Paris manuscript, assign the first to Genethlius of Petrae in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
.
In view of the general tradition of antiquity, that both treatises were the work of Menander, it is possible that the author of the second was not identical with the Menander mentioned by the Suda
Suda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
; since the name is of frequent occurrence in later Greek literature
Greek literature
Greek literature refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence, typically though not necessarily in one of the Greek dialects, throughout the whole period in which the Greek-speaking people have existed.-Ancient Greek literature :...
. The first treatise, entitled Division of Epideictic Styles (Διαίρεσις τῶν Ἐπιδεικτικῶν), discusses the different kinds of epideictic speeches; the second, On Epideictic Speeches (Περὶ Ἐπιδεικτικῶν), has special titles for each chapter.
Text in L Spengel
Leonhard von Spengel
Leonhard von Spengel was a German classical scholar, born at Munich. He became known through his edition of Varro's De Lingua Latina and was appointed in 1826 lector, in 1830 professor in the Wilhelmsgymnasiun of Munich. From 1842 to 1847 he was professor at Heidelberg, but he returned to Munich...
's Rhetores graeci, iii. 329-446, and in C Bursian's "Der Rhetor Menandros und seine Schriften" in Abhandl. der bayer. Akad. der Wissenschaften, xvi. (1882); see also Wilhelm Nitsche, Der Rhetor M. und die Scholien zu Demosthenes; JE Sandys
John Edwin Sandys
Sir John Edwin Sandys FBA , was a classical scholar.He was born at Leicester on 19 May 1844, a son of the Reverend Timothy Sandys of the Church Missionary Society and Rebecca . Living at first in India, he returned to England at the age of eleven, and was educated at the Church Missionary Society...
, Hist. of Classical Scholarship (1906), i. 338; Wilhelm von Christ
Wilhelm von Christ
Wilhelm von Christ , German classical scholar, was born in Geisenheim in Hesse-Nassau.From 1854 till 1860 he taught in the Maximiliansgymnasium at Munich, and in 1861 was appointed professor of classical philology in the university....
, Gesch. der griechischen Litteratur (1898), 550.