Parthenius of Nicaea

Parthenius of Nicaea (Greek: Παρθένιος ὁ Νικαεύς) or Myrlea (Greek: ὁ Μυρλεανός) in Bithynia was a Greek grammarian and poet. According to the Suda, he was the son of Heraclides and Eudora, or according to Hermippus of Berytus, his mother's name was Tetha.[1] He was taken prisoner by Helvius Cinna in the Mithridatic Wars and carried to Rome in 66 BC.[2][3] He subsequently visited Neapolis, where he taught Greek to Virgil, according to Macrobius.[4] Parthenius is said to have lived until the accession of Tiberius in 14 AD.

Parthenius was a writer of elegies, especially dirges, and of short epic poems.

He is sometimes called "the last of the Alexandrians".

  1. ^ Suda, Parthenius. Cf. J. L. Lightfoot, (1999), Parthenius of Nicaea: the poetical fragments and the Erotika pathemata, page 9. Oxford University Press
  2. ^ Courtney, E. (2003). Who's Who in the Classical World. Oxford, entry: Helvius Cinna, Gaius.
  3. ^ Longus, John Maxwell Edmonds (contributor), Parthenius, (Translated by George Thornley and Stephen Gaselee) (1916). "Daphnis & Chloe" and (dual books under one cover) "The Love Romances Of Parthenius And Other Fragments". Original from Harvard University: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 251. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Macrobius, Sat. v. 18.