Agresphon
Agresphon (Ancient Greek: Ἀγρέσφων), or possibly Agreophon, was an ancient Greek grammarian mentioned in the Suda.[1] He wrote a work on persons with homonymous names, sometimes called in English On Namesakes (Περὶ Ὁμωνύμων).
Agresphon | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Greek |
| Occupation | Philologist |
Agresphon cannot have lived earlier than the reign of Hadrian, as in his work he spoke of an Apollonius who lived in the time of that emperor.[2] Scholars generally date him to the late 3rd or early 4th century.[3]
Agresphon's book on homonymous people was thought to have been similar to, or perhaps dependent upon, a work by Demetrius of Magnesia, which bears the same title, and was written around the 1st century BC.[3] There is some debate as to whether his name was properly "Agresphon" or "Agreophon".[3]
Another, unrelated Agreophon who was father of Zenon around the 3rd century BC is mentioned frequently in the papyri of the Zenon Archive.
References
- Suda, s.v. Ἀπολλώνιος
- Mason, Charles Peter (1867). "Agresphon". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 75.
- Schepens, G. (1998). Die Fragmente Der Griechischen Historiker: Continued. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 258–260. ISBN 90-04-11304-5.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Agresphon". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.