Zenobius
Ζηνόβιος
(Ζηνόβιος), sometimes erroneously called ZENODOTUS, was a writer who lived at Rome in the time of Hadrian.
Works
Zenobius was the author of a collection of proverbs, which was an epitome of the works of Lucillus Tarrhacus and Didymus of Alexandria. The latter were themselves by no means the most ancient compilers of works of that kind. Zenobius, Athenaeus, and Suidas attribute works on proverbs to Aristotle, Clearchus of Soli, Theaetetus, Chrysippus, &c. In the work of Zenobius the proverbs are arranged alphabetically, and divided into hundreds. The last division is incomplete, the total number collected being 552.
Editions
This collection was first published by Phil. Junta (Florence, 1497). It was next published in the Aldine collection of fabulists. There is a separate edition by Vincentius Opsopoeus (Hagenau, 1575). It is also found in the collection of Andreas Schottus (Παροιμίαι Ἑλληνικαί, Antverp, 1612).
Translations
A Latin translation was published by Gilbertus Cognatus (Basil. 1559).
Greek Translations of Sallust
Zenobius was also the author of a Greek translation of Sallust, which, so far as is known. is not extant
Γενεθλιακόν, etc.
Zenobius composed a work entitled Γενεθλιακόν, addressed to the emperor Hadrian, and some other work.
Further Information
Suid. s.v. Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. v. p. 109; Schöll, Geschichte der Griech. Lit. vol. ii. p. 540.
Another Zenobius
There was another grammarian of this name, the author of an epigram (ap. Brunck, ii. p. 402).
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.