Parthenius of

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and s ...

( el, Παρθένιος ὁ Νικαεύς) or

Myrlea Apamea Myrlea (; grc, Απάμεια Μύρλεια) was an ancient city and bishopric (Apamea in Bithynia) on the Sea of Marmara, in Bithynia, Anatolia; its ruins are a few kilometers south of Mudanya, Bursa Province in the Marmara Region of ...

( el, ὁ Μυρλεανός) in Bithynia was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

grammarian and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

. According to the '' Suda'', he was the son of Heraclides and Eudora, or according to Hermippus of Berytus, his mother's name was Tetha. He was taken prisoner by Helvius Cinna in the

Mithridatic Wars The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by Rome against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 BC and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus who initiated the hostilities after annexing the Roman provi ...

and carried to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 72 BC. He subsequently visited Neapolis, where he taught

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, according to Macrobius. Parthenius is said to have lived until the accession of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

in 14 AD. Parthenius was a writer of

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

, especially

dirge A dirge ( la, dirige, naenia) is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegi ...

s, and of short

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

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

''Erotica Pathemata''

His only surviving work, the ''Erotica Pathemata'' (, ''Of the Sorrows of Love''), was set out, the poet says in his preface, "in the shortest possible form" and dedicated to the poet Cornelius Gallus, as "a storehouse from which to draw material". ''Erotica Pathemata'' is a collection of thirty-six epitomes of love-stories, all of which have tragic or sentimental endings, taken from histories and historicised fictions as well as poetry. As Parthenius generally quotes his authorities, these stories are valuable as affording information on the Alexandrian poets and grammarians.

The mythical or legendary characters whose stories are presented in ''Erotica Pathemata'' are as follows. #

Lyrcus Lyrcus (Ancient Greek: Λύρκος) is the name of two Greek mythological figures, one a figure in a 1st-century BC Hellenistic romance by Parthenius of Nicaea,son of phoroneus, the other the eponymous legendary founder of Lyrceia and son of Abas. ...

Polymela In Greek mythology, the name Polymela or Polymele (Ancient Greek: Πολυμήλη "many songs", derived from ''polys'', "many" and ''melos'' "song") may refer to the following figures: * Polymele, daughter of Autolycus and one of the possible mo ...

# Evippe #

Oenone In Greek mythology, Oenone (; Ancient Greek: Οἰνώνη ''Oinōnē''; "wine woman") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for Helen. Oenone was also the ancient name of an island, which was later named after Aegina, daught ...

# Leucippus, son of

Xanthius In Greek mythology, Xanthius (Ancient Greek: Ξάνθιος) was a descendant of Bellerophon, and father of Leucippus and an unnamed daughter. Mythology Through the wrath of Aphrodite, Leucippus fell in love with his own sister. The passion tur ...

# Pallene # Hipparinus of Heraclea #

Herippe In a Greek folktale told by Parthenius, Herippe (Ancient Greek: ) was a woman from Miletus, wife of Xanthus and mother of an unnamed two-year-old child. Mythology During the celebration of Thesmophoria, Hernippe and many other women were carried ...

Polycrite In Greek legendary history, Polycrite () was a maiden of Naxos who, as her home city was besieged by the armies of Miletus and Erythraea, came to be loved by the Erythraean general Diognetus, and devised a stratagem which led to the victory of the ...

# Leucone, wife of

Cyanippus In Greek mythology, the name Cyanippus (Ancient Greek: Κυάνιππος) may refer to: *Cyanippus, son of Aegialeus and Comaetho, or else son of Adrastus and Amphithea and brother of Aegialeus. He fought in the Trojan War and was one of the men ...

Byblis In Greek mythology, Byblis or Bublis (Ancient Greek: Βυβλίς) was a daughter of Miletus. Her mother was either Tragasia, daughter of Celaenus; Parthenius, ''Erotica Pathemata'' 11 Cyanee, daughter of the river-god Meander, or Eidothea, d ...

# Calchus # Harpalyce # Antheus, loved and killed by Cleoboea #

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

# Laodice # Cratea, mother of Periander # Neaera # Pancrato, daughter of

Iphimedeia In Greek mythology, Iphimedeia (; Ancient Greek: Ἰφιμέδεια) or Iphimede (Ἰφιμέδη) was a Thessalian princess. She was attested in Homer's ''Odyssey'' in the Catalogue of women as being a mortal. Family Iphimedia was the daught ...

# Aëro, daughter of

Oenopion In Greek mythology, Oenopion (Ancient Greek: , ''Oinopíōn'', English translation: "wine drinker", "wine-rich" or "wine face") was a legendary king of Chios, and was said to have brought winemaking to the island, which was assigned to him by Rh ...

Pisidice In Greek mythology, Pisidice (, grc, Πεισιδίκη, ''Peisidíkē'') or Peisidice, was one of the following individuals: * Pisidice, a Thessalian princess as the daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was ...

Methymna Mithymna () ( el, Μήθυμνα, also sometimes spelled ''Methymna'') is a town and former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesbos, of wh ...

# Nanis # Chilonis # Hipparinus of Syracuse # Phayllus # Apriate (see

Trambelus In Greek mythology, Trambelus (Ancient Greek: Τράμβηλος) was a son of Telamon (thus a half-brother of Ajax the Great and Teucer). His mother was the Trojan captive, Hesione or Theaneira. Mythology When Trambelus' mother had already be ...

) #

Alcinoe Alcinoe (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκινόη ''Alkinóē'') is the name that is attributed to three women in Greek mythology: *Alcinoe, a naiad, and one of the ''nymphai Lykaaides'' (nymphs of Mount Lykaios in Arkadia). Her parents possibly w ...

# Clite #

Daphnis In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; grc, Δάφνις, from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. Family According to tradition, he was the son of Hermes and a nymph, despite which ...

Celtine In Greek mythology, Celtine ( grc, Κελτίνη, ''Keltine'') was the daughter of Bretannus and mother of Celtus. She is known for having been one of the consorts of Heracles. Mythology Her story, recorded by Parthenius of Nicaea, is as follows ...

# Dimoetes # Anthippe (see

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

) # Assaon # Corythus # Eulimene #

Arganthone In Greek mythology, Arganthone (Ancient Greek: Ἀργανθώνη) was a huntress from Kios and a lover of Rhesus. The myth of her is recorded by Parthenius of Nicaea and runs as follows. In the course of one of his military campaigns, Rhesus hea ...

Other works

In Parthenius' own time, he was not famous for his prose but his poems. These are listed below: *''Arete'' *''Dirge on Archelais'' *''Aphrodite'' *''Bias'' *''Delos'' *''Krinagoras'' *''Leucadiai'' *''Anthippe'' *''Dirge on Auxithemis'' *''Idolophanes'' *''Herakles'' *''Iphiklos'' *''Metamorphoses'' *''Propemptikon'' *A Greek original of ''Moretum''

The surviving manuscript

Parthenius is one of the few ancient writers whose work survives in only one manuscript. The only surviving manuscript of Parthenius was called Palatinus Heidelbergensis graecus 398 (P), probably written in the mid-9th century AD. It contains a diverse mixture of geography, excerpts from

Hesychius of Alexandria Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007 ...

, paradoxography, epistolography and mythology.J. L. Lightfoot, Parthenius of Nicaea: the poetical fragments and the Erōtika pathēmata, p. 304.

Editions of Parthenius

*1531: ''Editio princeps'', edited by Janus Cornarius. Basle, Froben. *1675: ''Historiae poeticae scriptores antiqui'', edited by Thomas Gale, Paris. *1798: Legrand and Heyne, Göttingen. *1824: ''Corpus scriptorum eroticorum Graecorum'', Passow, Leipzig. *1843:
Analecta alexandrina
', Augustus Meineke (ed.), Berolini sumptibus Th. chr. Fr. Enslini. *1843: ''Mythographoi. Scriptores poetiace historiae graeci'', Antonius Westermann (ed.), Brunsvigae sumptum fecit Georgius Westermann
pagg. 152-81
*1856: Didot edition, ''Erotici scriptores'', Hirschig, Paris. *1858: Hercher, ''Erotici Scriptores Graeci'', Leipzig. *1896: ''Mythographi graeci'', Paulus Sakolowski (ed.)
vol. II, fasc. I
Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. *1902: ''Mythographi graeci'', Edgar Martini (ed.)
vol. II, fasc. I suppl.
Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. *1916: S. Gaselee, ''Longus: Daphnis and Chloe and the love romances of Parthenius and other fragments'', with English translation. *2000: J.L. Lightfoot, ''Parthenius of Nicaea: the poetical fragments and the Erōtika pathēmata''. . Reviewed by Christopher Francese a
The Bryn Mawr Classical Review
* 2008: Michèle Biraud, Dominique Voisin, and Arnaud Zucker (trans. and comm.), Parthénios de Nicée. ''Passions d'amour.'' Grenoble: Éditions Jérôme Millon. Reviewed by Simone Viarre a

Notes

References

Online text: Parthenius, ''Love Romances'', translated by S. Gaselee, 1916
* J. L. Lightfoot, Parthenius of Nicaea: the poetical fragments and the Erōtika pathēmata, p. 304. * The ''Suda''. ''Parthenius''. *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parthenius of Nicaea 1st-century BC births 14 deaths Ancient Greek grammarians Ancient Greek mythographers Ancient Greek slaves and freedmen Ancient Greek epic poets Ancient Greek elegiac poets 1st-century BC poets 1st-century BC writers People from Bithynia