Alexander of Myndus
Encyclopedia
Alexander of Myndus
in Caria
was an ancient Greek
writer who some believe lived during the 1st century AD but this date is uncertain. He wrote on diverse topics, including zoology
and divination
. His works, which are now lost, must have been considered very valuable by the ancients, since they refer to them very frequently; fragments of his work are preserved in various later authors.
The titles of his works are: A History of Beasts , a long fragment of which, belonging to the second book, is quoted by Athenaeus
. This work is probably the same as that which in other passages is called On Animals , and of which Athenaeus
likewise quotes the second book. The treatise On Birds was a separate work, and the second book of it is quoted by Athenaeus. Diogenes Laërtius
mentions one "Alexon of Myndus" as the author of a work on myths, of which he quotes the ninth book. This author being otherwise unknown, the French scholar Gilles Ménage
proposed to read "Alexander" instead of "Alexon". But everything is uncertain, and the conjecture is thought by other scholars to be improbable.
It is possible that the illustrations of birds in the Vienna Dioscurides
, which appear to be based on illustrations from an older, different treatise, as they don't relate directly to the treatise they illustrate, are derived from illustrations from the lost treatise on birds of Alexander of Myndus.
Myndus
Myndus or Myndos was an ancient Dorian colony of Troezen, on the coast of Caria in Asia Minor, , sited on the Bodrum Peninsula, a few miles northwest of Halicarnassus. The site is now occupied by the modern village of Gümüslük....
in Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
was an ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
writer who some believe lived during the 1st century AD but this date is uncertain. He wrote on diverse topics, including zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
. His works, which are now lost, must have been considered very valuable by the ancients, since they refer to them very frequently; fragments of his work are preserved in various later authors.
The titles of his works are: A History of Beasts , a long fragment of which, belonging to the second book, is quoted by Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
. This work is probably the same as that which in other passages is called On Animals , and of which Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
likewise quotes the second book. The treatise On Birds was a separate work, and the second book of it is quoted by Athenaeus. Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laertius
Diogenes Laertius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is one of the principal surviving sources for the history of Greek philosophy.-Life:Nothing is definitively known about his life...
mentions one "Alexon of Myndus" as the author of a work on myths, of which he quotes the ninth book. This author being otherwise unknown, the French scholar Gilles Ménage
Gilles Ménage
Gilles Ménage was a French scholar.He was born at Angers, the son of Guillaume Ménage, king's advocate at Angers, where Gilles was born....
proposed to read "Alexander" instead of "Alexon". But everything is uncertain, and the conjecture is thought by other scholars to be improbable.
It is possible that the illustrations of birds in the Vienna Dioscurides
Vienna Dioscurides
The Vienna Dioscurides or Vienna Dioscorides is an early 6th century illuminated manuscript of De Materia Medica by Dioscorides in Greek. It is an important and rare example of a late antique scientific text...
, which appear to be based on illustrations from an older, different treatise, as they don't relate directly to the treatise they illustrate, are derived from illustrations from the lost treatise on birds of Alexander of Myndus.
Sources
- Darius Del Corno, Graecorum de re Onirocritica Scriptorum Reliquiae (1969) no. 14.
- Oder, "Das Traumbuch des Alexander von Myndos," RhM 45 (1890) pp. 637–639.
- Alexander of Myndus from Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1867).
- Alexander of Myndos from Greek and Roman Science and Technology by T E Rihll.