Lycophron facts for kids

Lycophron (born around 330–325 BC) was an ancient Greek poet who wrote tragedies. He was also a grammarian, which means he studied and wrote about language. People also knew him as a commentator on comedies. He is famous for a long poem called Alexandra, though some people debate if he truly wrote it.

Life and Other Works

Lycophron was born in a place called Chalcis in Euboea. He became well-known in Alexandria, a big city in ancient Egypt, during the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285–247 BC).

According to an old encyclopedia called the Suda, Lycophron was the son of Socles. However, he was adopted by Lycus of Rhegium. Lycophron was friends with a Greek philosopher named Menedemus. This friendship might have influenced some of Lycophron's plays.

Lycophron was interested in the exciting literary scene in Alexandria. He moved there and was given an important job by King Ptolemy. He had to organize all the comedies in the famous Library of Alexandria. From this work, he wrote a book called On Comedy. Lycophron was also known for being good at creating anagrams, which are words or phrases made by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase.

We don't know much about how Lycophron's life ended. Some ancient writings suggest he died, but the exact details are lost to history.

His Tragedies

Lycophron mostly wrote tragedies, which are serious plays with sad endings. He was considered one of the top seven tragic poets of his time, known as the Alexandrian Pleiad.

The Suda lists the titles of twenty of his tragedies. Only small pieces of these plays still exist today. Some of the titles include Andromeda, Herakles, Hippolytus, and Oedipus. Even from the few lines we have, it seems his tragedies were written in a better style than his famous poem Alexandra.

The Alexandra Poem

The poem Alexandra, also known as Cassandra, is the only complete work traditionally linked to Lycophron that has survived. It's a very long poem with 1474 lines.

The poem is a prophecy spoken by Cassandra, a princess of Troy. She foretells the future events for Troy and the Greek and Trojan heroes after the Trojan War. The poem mentions many mythical and later historical events. It even ends with a reference to Alexander the Great, who was expected to unite Asia and Europe.

The style of Alexandra is very difficult to understand. Even people in ancient times called it "obscure," meaning unclear. One modern expert said it might be "the most illegible piece of classical literature." It's full of unusual words and complicated phrases. The poem was probably written to show off the writer's knowledge, rather than to be easy to read.

Despite its difficulty, Alexandra was very popular during the Byzantine Empire. Many copies of the poem exist, and people often studied and wrote comments about it.

Who Wrote Alexandra?

For a long time, most ancient scholars believed Lycophron wrote Alexandra. However, some people in ancient times thought it was written by a different poet also named Lycophron. This other poet might have been the grandson of the famous Lycophron and lived later, around the second century BC.

Many modern experts also believe the poem was written by someone else. They point to several historical details in Alexandra that don't seem to fit with the third century BC, when Lycophron lived. For example, the poem talks about Rome becoming a great world power. This focus on Rome's rise fits better with the second century BC.

One part of the poem describes Rome's victories against the Macedonians. Historians believe that describing the first Macedonian War as a Roman victory doesn't make sense for someone living in the third century BC. The details and predictions about Rome's triumph fit much better with the second Macedonian War.

Some studies suggest that Alexandra was written right after the Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197/6 BC. In this battle, the Roman general Titus Quinctius Flamininus defeated Philip V of Macedon. If this is true, then the poem could not have been written by Lycophron, who lived earlier.

Some scholars think that "Lycophron" might have been a pen name. This means the author used that name to hint at the poem's difficult style, similar to another writer named Lycophron the sophist who was known for his complex writing.

Another reason for doubt is that the Egyptian court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus would likely not have asked for a poem praising the Romans. Egypt and Rome had some political ties, but Egypt became much more dependent on Rome after the second century BC. This further supports the idea that Alexandra was written later, after Rome's military successes.

See also

In Spanish: Licofrón para niños