Alcaeus
- a renowned lyric poet of Mitylene, contemporary with Sappho, 610 B.C., inventor of the metre which bears his name, and which was imitated by the Latin poets, esp. by Horace; v. Hor. C. 2, 13, 27; 4, 9, 7; id. Ep. 1, 19, 29; 2, 2, 99; Ov. H. 15, 29 sq.; Quint. 10, 1, 63.— Hence, Alcăĭcus, a, um, adj., = Ἀλκαϊκός, of or pertaining to Alcaeus: versus, the Alcaic verse; cf. Diom. 510 P.; Grotef. Gr. II. 107; Zumpt, Gr. § 866.
- 1. Gr. lyrische dichter uit Mytilene op Lesbos (ca. 600 v. Chr.), tijdgenoot v.d. dichteres Sappho; introduceerde een bepaald type strofe;
- 2. vader van Amphitryon.
(Ἀλκαῖος).
1. A son of Perseus and Andromeda, and married to Hipponome, the daughter of Menoeceus of Thebes, by whom he became the father of Amphytrion and Anaxo. (Apollod. 2.4.5; Schol. ad Eurip. Hecub. 886.) According to Pausanias (8.14.2) his wife's name was Laonome, a daughter of the Arcadian Guneus, or Lysidice, a daughter of Pelops.
2. According to Diodorus (1.14) the original name of Heracles, given him on account of his descent from Alcaeus, the son of Perseus. [Heracles.]
3. A son of Heracles by a female slave of Jardanus, from whom the dynasty of the Heraclids in Lydia were believed to be descended. (Hdt. 1.7.) Diodorus (4.31) calls this son of Heracles, Cleolaus. (Comp. Hellanicus, apud Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀκέλη; Wesseling, ad Diod. l.c.)
4. According to Diodorus (5.79) a general of Rhadamanthys, who presented him with the island of Paros. Apollodorus (2.5.9) relates that he was a son of Androgeus (the son of Minos) and brother of Sthenelus, and that when Heracles, on his expedition to fetch the girdle of Ares, which was in the possession of the queen of the Amazons, arrived at Paros, some of his companions were slain by the sons of Minos, residing there. Heracles, in his anger, slew the descendants of Minos, except Alcaeus and Sthenelus, whom he took with him, and to whom he afterwards assigned the Uisland of Thasus as their habitation. [L.S]
(Ἀλκαῖος), of Messene, the author of a number of epigrams in the Greek anthology, from some of which his date may be easily fixed. He was contemporary with Philip VIII., king of Macedonia, and son of Demetrius, against whom several of his epigrams are pointed, apparently from patriotic feelings. One of these epigrams, however, gave even more offence to the Roman general, Flamininus, than to Philip, on account of the author's ascribing the victory of Cynoscephalae to the Aetolians as much as to the Romans. Philip contented himself with writing an epigram in reply to that of Alcaeus, in which he gave the Messenian a very broad hint of the fate he might expect if he fell into his hands. (Plut. Flam. 9.) This reply has singularly enough led Salmasius (De Cruce, p. 449, ap. Fabric. Biblioth. Graec. ii. p. 88) to suppose that Alcaeus was actually crucified. In another epigram, in praise of Flamininus, the mention of the Roman general's name, Titus, led Tzetzes (Proleg. in Lycophron) into the error of imagining the existence of an epigrammatist named Alcaeus under the emperor Titus. Those epigrams of Alcaeus which bear internal evidence of their date, were written between the years 219 and U196 B. C.
Of the twenty-two epigrams in the Greek Anthology which bear the name of "Alcaeus," two have the word "Mytilenaeus" added to it; but Jacobs seems to be perfectly right in taking this to be the addition of some ignorant copyist. Others bear the name of "Alcaeus Messenius," and some of Alcaeus alone. But in the last class there are several which must, from internal evidence, have been written by Alcaeus of Messene, and, in fact, there seems no reason to doubt his being the author of the whole twenty-two.
There are mentioned as contemporaries of Alcaeus, two other persons of the same name, one of them an Epicurean philosopher, who was expelled from Rome by a decree of the senate about 173 or 154 B. C. (Perizon. ad Aelian. V. H. 9.22; Athen. 12.547a.; Suidas, s. v. Ἐπίκουρος): the other is incidentally spoken of by Polybius as being accustomed to ridicule the grammarian Isocrates. (Plb. 32.6; B. C. 160.) It is just possible that these two persons, of whom nothing further is known, may have been identical with each other, and with the epigrammatist.
(Jacobs, Anthol. Graec. xiii. pp. 836-838; there is a reference to Alcaeus of Messene in Eusebius, Praepar. Evang. 10.2.) [P.S]
(Ἀλκαῖος), of Mytilene, in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of the Aeolian lyric poets, began to flourish in the 42nd Olympiad when a contest had commenced between the nobles and the people in his native state. Alcaeus belonged by birth to the former party, and warmly espoused their cause. In the second year of the 42nd Olympiad (B. C. 611), we find the brothers of Alcaeus, namely, Cicis and Antimenidas, fighting under Pittacus against Melanchrus, who is described as the tyrant of Lesbos, and who fell in the conflict. (D. L. 1.74, 79; Strab. xiii. p.617; Suidas, s. v. Κίκις and Πίττακος; Etymol. M. p. 513, s. v. Κίθαρος, instead of Κίκις; Clinton, Fasti, i. p. 216.) Alcaeus does not appear to have taken part with his brothers on this occasion : on the contrary, he speaks of Melanchrus in terms of high praise. (Fr. 7, p. 426, Blomfield.) Alcaeus is mentioned in connexion with the war in Troas, between the Athenians and Mytilenaeans for the possession of Sigeum. (B. C. 606.) Though Pittacus, who commanded the army of Mytilene, slew with his own hand the leader of the Athenians, Phrynon, an Olympic victor, the Mytilenaeans were defeated, and Alcaeus incurred the disgrace of leaving his arms behind on the field of battle; these arms were hung up as a trophy by the Athenians in the temple of Pallas at Sigeum. (Hdt. 5.95; Plut. de Herod. Malig. s. 15, p. 858; Strab. xiii. pp. 599, 600; Euseb. Chron. Olym. 43.3; Clinton, Fasti, i. p. 219.) His sending home the news of this disaster in a poem, addressed to his friend Melanippus (Fr. 56, p. 438, Blomf.), seems to shew that he had a reputation for courage, such as a single disaster could not endanger; and accordingly we find him spoken of by ancient writers as a brave and skilful warrior. (Anthol. Palat. 9.184; Cic. Tusc. Disp. 4.33 ; Hor. Carm. 1.32. 6; Athen. 15.687.) He thought that his lyre was best employed in animating his friends to warlike deeds, and his house is described by himself as furnished with the weapons of war rather than with the instruments of his art. (Athen. 14.627; Fr. 24, p. 430, Blomf.) During the period which followed the war about Sigeum, the contest between the nobles and the people of Mytilene was brought to a crisis ; and the people, headed by a succession of leaders, who are called tyrants, and among whom are mentioned the names of Myrsilus, Megalagyrus, and the Cleanactids, succeeded in driving the nobles into exile. During this civil war Alcaeus engaged actively on the side of the nobles, whose spirits he endeavoured to cheer by a number of most animated odes full of invectives against the tyrants ; and after the defeat of his party, he, with his brother Antimenidas, led them again in an attempt to regain their country. To oppose this attempt Pittacus was unanimously chosen by the people as αἰσυμνήτης (dictator) or tyrant. He held his office for ten years (B. C. 589-579), and during that time he defeated all the efforts of the exiled nobles, and established the constitution on a popular basis; and then he resigned his power. (Strab. xiii. p.617; Alcaeus, Fr. 23, p. 230, Blomf.; Arist. Rep. 3.9.5, or 3.14; Plut. Amat. § 18, p. 763; D. L. 1.79; Dionys. v. p. 336, Sylb.) [Pittacus.]
Notwithstanding the invectives of Alcaeus against him, Pittacus is said to have set him at liberty when he had been taken prisoner, saying that " forgiveness is better than revenge." (D. L. 1.76; Valer. Max. 4.1.6.) Alcaeus has not escaped the suspicion of being moved by personal ambition in his opposition to Pittacus. (Strab. xiii. p.617.) When Alcaeus and Antimenidas perceived that all hope of their restoration to Mytilene was gone, they travelled over different countries. Alcaeus visited Egypt (Strab. i. p.37), and he appears to have written poems in which his adventures by sea were described. (Hor. Carm. 2.13. 28.) Antimenidas entered the service of the king of Babylon, and performed an exploit which was celebrated by Alcaeus. (Strab. xiii. p.617, Fr. 33, p. 433, Blomf.) Nothing is known of the life of Alcaeus after this period; but from the political state of Mytilene it is most probable that he died in exile.
Among the nine principal lyric poets of Greece some ancient writers assign the first place, others the second, to Alcaeus. His writings present to us the Aeolian lyric at its highest point. But their circulation in Greece seems to have been limited by the strangeness of the Aeolic dialect, and perhaps their loss to us may be partly attributed to the same cause. Two recensions of the works of Alcaeus were made by the grammarians Aristarchus and Aristophanes. Some fragments of his poems which remain, and the excellent imitations of Horace, enable us to understand something of their character. Works
His poems, which consisted of at least ten books (Athen. 11.481), were called in general Odes, Hymns, or Songs (ᾄσματα). Warlike or Patriotic Odes
Alcaeus' poems which have received the highest praise are his warlike or patriotic odes referring to the factions of his state στασιωτικὰ or διχοστασιαστικὰ, the " Alcaei minaces Camoenae" of Horace. (Carm. 2.13. 27; Quint. Inst. 10.1.63; Dionys. de Vet. Script. Ecus. 2.8, p. 73, Sylb.)
Among the fragments of these are the commencement of a song of exultation over the death of Myrsilus (Fr. 4, Blomf.), and part of a comparison of his ruined party to a disabled ship (Fr. 2, Blomf.), both of which are finely imitated by Horace. (Carm. 1.37, 1.14.) Editions
Many fragments are preserved, especially by Athenaeus (x. pp. 429, 430), in which the poet sings the praises of wine. (Fr. 1, 3, 16, 18, 20, Blomf.; comp. Hor. Carm. 1.9.18.) Müller remarks, that "it may be doubted whether Alcaeus composed a separate class of drinking songs (συμποτικὰ) ;... it is more probable that he connected every exhortation to drink with some reflection, either upon the particular circumstances of the time, or upon man's destiny in general." Erotic Poems
Of his erotic poems we have but few remains. Among them were some addressed to Sappho; one of which, with Sappho's reply, is preserved by Aristotle (Aristot. Rh. 1.9; Fr. 38, Blomf.; Sappho, fr. 30), and others to beautiful youths. (Hor. Carm. 1.32. 10; Cic. de Nat. Deor. 1.28, Tusc. Quaest. 4.33.) Other Poems
Most of his remaining poems are religious hymns and epigrams. Many of his poems are addressed to his friends individually. Assessment
The poetry of Alcaeus is always impassioned. Not only with him, but with the Aeolic school in general, poetry was not a mere art, but the plain and warm outpouring of the writer's inmost feelings.
The metres of Alcaeus were generally lively, and his poems seem to have been constructed in short single strophes, in all of which the corresponding lines were of the same metre, as in the odes of Horace. He is said to have invented the well-known Alcaic strophe.
His likeness is preserved, together with that of Pittacus, on a brass coin of Mytilene in the Roval Museum at Paris, which is engraved by Visconti. (Icon. Pl. iii. No. 3.) Editions
The fragments of Alcaeus were first collected by Mich. Neander in his " Aristologia Pindarica," Basil. 1556, 8vo., then by Henry Stephens in his collection of the fragments of the nine chief lyric poets of Greece (1557), of which there are several editions, and by Fulvius Ursinus, 1568, 8vo. The more modern collections are those by Jani, Halae San. 1780-1782, 4to.; by Strange, Halle, 1810, 8vo.; by Blomfield, in the "Museum Criticum," vol. i. p. 421, &c., Camb. 1826, reprinted in Gaisford's " Poetae Graeci Minores ;" and the most complete edition is that of Matthiae, " Alcaei Mytilenaei reliquiae," Lips. 1827. Additional fragments have been printed in the Rhenish Museum for 1829, 1833, and 1835; in Jahn's "Jahrbüch. für Philolog." for 1830; and in Cramer's "Anecdota Graeca," vol. i. Oxf. 1835. Further Information
(Bode, Geschichte der Lyrischen Dichtkunst der Hellenen, ii. p. 378, &c.) [P.S]
(Ἀλκαῖος), the son of Miccus, was a native of Mytilene, according to Suidas, who may, however, have confounded him in this point with the lyric poet. He is found exhibiting at Athens as a poet of the old comedy, or rather of that mixed comedy, which formed the transition between the old and the middle. In B. C. 388, he brought forward a play entitled Πασιφάη, in the same contest in which Aristophanes exhibited his second Plutus, but, if the meaning of Suidas is rightly understood, he obtained only the fifth place. He left ten plays, of which some fragments remain, and the following titles are known, Ἀδελφαί μοιχευομέναι, Γανυμήδης, Ἐνδυμίων, Ἱεπὸς γάμος, Καλλιστῶ, Κωμῳδοτραγῳδία, Παλαῖστρα.
Alcaeus, a tragic poet, mentioned by Fabricius (Biblioth. Graec. ii. p. 282), does not appear to be a different person from Alcaeus the comedian. The mistake of calling him a tragic poet arose simply from an erroneous reading of the title of his "Comoedo-tragoedia."
(The Greek Argument to the Plutus; Suidas, s.v. Pollux, 10.1; Casaubon on Athen. 3.206; Meineke, Fragm. Comic. Graec. i. p. 244, ii. p. 824; Bode, Geschichte der Dramatischen Dichtkunst der Hellenen, ii. p. 386.) [P.S]
(Ἀλκαῖος). A famous lyric poet of Mitylené, in Lesbos, an elder contemporary of Sappho. Towards the end of the seventh century B.C., as the scion of a noble house, he headed the aristocratic party in their contests with the tyrants of his native town, Myrsilus, Melanchrus, and others. Banished from home, he went on romantic expeditions as far as Egypt. When the tyrants were put down, and his former comrade, the wise Pittacus, was called by the people to rule the State, he took up arms against him also as a tyrant in disguise; but, attempting to force his return home, he fell into the power of his opponent, who generously forgave him. Of his further life nothing is known. His poems in the Aeolic dialect, arranged in ten books by the Alexandrians, consisted of hymns, political songs (which formed the bulk of the collection), drinking songs, and love songs, of which we have but a few unsatisfactory fragments. In the opinion of the ancients, his poems were well constructed, while their tone was in harmony with the lofty passion and manly vigour of his character. The alcaic strophe, so much used by his admirer and not unworthy imitator, Horace, is named after him. See Bergk's Poetae Lyrici (4th ed. 1878) for the fragments; and Kock, Alkaeus und Sappho (1862).
- Paus. 8.14.2
- taken as hostage by Herakles: Apollod. 2.5.9
- son of Herakles,: Hdt. 1.7
- Apollod. 2.4.4
- father of Amphitryon and Anaxo: Apollod. 2.4.5
- his poem on a battle between Athenians and Mytilenaeans: Hdt. 5.95
- his hymn to Hermes: Paus. 7.20.4
- hymn to Apollo: Paus. 10.8.10