Zenodotus

Work

Suidas assigns the following works to him: 1. Πρὸς τὰ ὑπʼ Ἀριστάρχου ἀθετούμενα τοῦ ποιητοῦ. 2. Πρὸς Πλάτωνα περὶ θεῶν. 3. Περὶ τῆς Ὁμηρικῆς συνηθείας. 4. Λύσεις Ὁμηρικῶν ἀπορημάτων. 5. Εἰς τὴν Ἡσιόδου θεογονίαν.

Grammarians named Zenodotus

Suidas mentions only two grammarians of the name of Zenodotus, the Ephesian and the Alexandrine; but besides these we read of two others, Zenodotus ὁ Μαλλώτης, that is, of Mallus (Theon, ad Arat. Phaen. 33); and Zenodotus ὁ Κρατήτειος, that is, a disciple of Crates. (Schol. ad Hom. Il. 23.79.)

Wolf thinks (Prolegom. p. cxcix.) that the two last are the same person as the Alexandrine; that he was called of Mallus from the place of his birth, the Alexandrine from the place of his residence, and the Cratetean, from his being a disciple of Crates, who was also a native of Mallus. He remarks that as Crates was the great opponent of Aristarchus, his disciple would naturally be the adversary of the same great scholar. It may readily be admitted that Zenodotus of Mallus and Zenodotus the disciple of Crates are the same person; but it appears improbable that the same person should have had two such opposite surnames as ὁ ἐν ἄστει and Μαλλώτης.

We are therefore disposed to adopt the views of Düntzer and other scholars that there were three grammarians of this name,

• 1. Zenodotus of Ephesus,
• 2. Zenodotus of Alexandria.
• 3. Zenodotus of Mallus, the disciple of Crates.

Zenodotus of Mallus

It is very likely however that some of the works assigned by Suidas to the Alexandrine were written by the disciple of Crates. (Düntzer, De Zenodoti Studiis Homericis, pp. 24, 25.)