Pamphilus of Alexandria
Encyclopedia
Pamphilus was a Greek grammar
ian, of the school of Aristarchus of Samothrace
.
He was the author of a comprehensive lexicon, in 95 books, of foreign or obscure words, the idea of which was credited to another grammarian, Zopyrion, himself the compiler of the first four books. The work itself is lost, but an epitome by Diogenianus
(2nd century) formed the basis of the lexicon of Hesychius
.
A similar compilation, called "meadow" (cf. the Praia of Suetonius) from its varied contents, dealing chiefly with mythological marvels, was probably a supplement to the lexicon, although some scholars identify them. Pamphilus was one of the chief authorities used by Athenaeus
in the Deipnosophists. The Suda
assigns to another Pamphilus, simply described as "a philosopher," a number of works, some of which were probably by Pamphilus the grammarian.
See G Thilo in Ersch and Gruber's Allgemeine Encyclopedic, M Schmidt, appendix to his edition of Hesychius, (1862) vol. iv.; A Westermann in Pauly's Real-encyclopddie (1848).
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
ian, of the school of Aristarchus of Samothrace
Aristarchus of Samothrace
Aristarchus of Samothrace was a grammarian noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the librarian of the library of Alexandria and seems to have succeeded his teacher Aristophanes of Byzantium in that role.He established the most historically important critical...
.
He was the author of a comprehensive lexicon, in 95 books, of foreign or obscure words, the idea of which was credited to another grammarian, Zopyrion, himself the compiler of the first four books. The work itself is lost, but an epitome by Diogenianus
Diogenianus
Diogenianus was a Greek grammarian from Heraclea in Pontus who flourished during the reign of Hadrian. He was the author of an alphabetical lexicon, chiefly of poetical words, abridged from the great lexicon of Pamphilus of Alexandria and other similar works. It was also known by the title...
(2nd century) formed the basis of the lexicon of Hesychius
Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria , a grammarian who flourished probably in the 5th century CE, compiled the richest lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived...
.
A similar compilation, called "meadow" (cf. the Praia of Suetonius) from its varied contents, dealing chiefly with mythological marvels, was probably a supplement to the lexicon, although some scholars identify them. Pamphilus was one of the chief authorities used by Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
in the Deipnosophists. The Suda
Suda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
assigns to another Pamphilus, simply described as "a philosopher," a number of works, some of which were probably by Pamphilus the grammarian.
See G Thilo in Ersch and Gruber's Allgemeine Encyclopedic, M Schmidt, appendix to his edition of Hesychius, (1862) vol. iv.; A Westermann in Pauly's Real-encyclopddie (1848).