Hephaestion (grammarian)

Hephaestion (Greek: Ἡφαιστίων Hephaistion; fl. 2nd century AD) was a grammarian of Alexandria who flourished in the age of the Antonines. He was the author of a manual (abridged from a larger work in 48 books) of Greek metres, which is most valuable as the only complete treatise on the subject that has been preserved. The concluding chapter discusses the various kinds of poetical composition. It is written in a clear and simple style, and was much used as a school-book.

Works

• Enchiridion de Metris (Ἐγχειρίδιον περὶ μέτρων)
• Poemata (Περί ποιήματος)

Editions

• Editions by T. Gaisford (1855, with the valuable scholia), R. Westphal (1886, in Scriptores metrici Graeci) and M. Consbruch (1906); translations by T. F. Barham (1843) and, with commentary, by J.M. van Ophuijsen (1987); see also W. Christ, Gesch. der griech. Litt. (1898); M. Consbruch, De veterum... (1890); J. E. Sandys, Hist. Class. Schol. i. (1906).

Sources

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.