Philostephanus
Encyclopedia
Philostephanus of Cyrene
(Philostephanus Cyrenaeus) was a Hellenistic
writer from North
Africa
, who was a pupil of the poet Callimachus
in Alexandria
and doubtless worked there during the 3rd century BC.
His history
of Cyprus
, De Cypro, written during the reign of Ptolemy Philopator (222
–206 BC
), has been lost, but it was known to at least two Christian writers, Clement of Alexandria
and Arnobius
. It contained a narration of the story of the mythical
Pygmalion
, of Cyprus, who fashioned a cult image
of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite
that came to life. Ovid
depended on the account by Philostephanus for his dramatised and expanded version in Metamorphoses, through which the Pygmalion myth was transmitted to the medieval and modern world.
The remarks on Cyprus seem to have come from a larger work, On Islands. Scattered brief quotes of Philostephanus on islands refer also to Sicily
, Calauria off the coast of Troezen
and Stryme, off the Thracian coast. Pliny's Natural History adduces Philostephanus as a source for the assertion that Jason was the first that went out to sea in a long vessel.
Other works of Philostephanus cited in surviving passages from other authors were works Of the Cities of Asia, On Cyllene, Epirotica ("On Epirus
"), On Marvellous Rivers On Inventions, and various commentaries.
The fragments of Philostephanus, surviving in quotes from other authors, were published in Fragmenta historicorum graecorum
Another Philostephanus was a comic poet, of whom little is known.
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
(Philostephanus Cyrenaeus) was a Hellenistic
Hellenistic civilization
Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...
writer from North
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, who was a pupil of the poet Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and doubtless worked there during the 3rd century BC.
His history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, De Cypro, written during the reign of Ptolemy Philopator (222
222 BC
Year 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus...
–206 BC
206 BC
Year 206 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philo and Metellus...
), has been lost, but it was known to at least two Christian writers, Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
and Arnobius
Arnobius
Arnobius of Sicca was an Early Christian apologist, during the reign of Diocletian . According to Jerome's Chronicle, Arnobius, before his conversion, was a distinguished Numidian rhetorician at Sicca Veneria , a major Christian center in Proconsular Africa, and owed his conversion to a...
. It contained a narration of the story of the mythical
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
Pygmalion
Pygmalion (mythology)
Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton, he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved.-In Ovid:In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a...
, of Cyprus, who fashioned a cult image
Cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents...
of the Greek goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
that came to life. Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
depended on the account by Philostephanus for his dramatised and expanded version in Metamorphoses, through which the Pygmalion myth was transmitted to the medieval and modern world.
The remarks on Cyprus seem to have come from a larger work, On Islands. Scattered brief quotes of Philostephanus on islands refer also to Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Calauria off the coast of Troezen
Troezen
Troezen is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia, of which it is a municipal unit....
and Stryme, off the Thracian coast. Pliny's Natural History adduces Philostephanus as a source for the assertion that Jason was the first that went out to sea in a long vessel.
Other works of Philostephanus cited in surviving passages from other authors were works Of the Cities of Asia, On Cyllene, Epirotica ("On Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
"), On Marvellous Rivers On Inventions, and various commentaries.
The fragments of Philostephanus, surviving in quotes from other authors, were published in Fragmenta historicorum graecorum
Another Philostephanus was a comic poet, of whom little is known.