- Zoilus
Zoilus ( _el. Ζωίλος, c. 400 BC-320 BC) was a Greek grammarian,
Cynic philosopher, andliterary critic fromAmphipolis inMacedon . Took the name Homeromastix later in life.According to
Vitruvius (vii., preface) he lived during the age ofPtolemy Philadelphus , by whom he was crucified as the punishment of his criticisms on the king; but this account should probably be rejected as a fiction based on Zoilus' reputation. Vitruvius goes on to state that Zoilus also may have been stoned at Chios or thrown alive upon a funeral pyre at Smyrna. Either way Vitruvius felt it was just as well since he deserved to be dead for slandering an author who could not defend himself. Zoilus appears to have been at one time a follower ofIsocrates , but subsequently a pupil ofPolycrates , whom he heard atAthens , where he was a teacher of rhetoric.Zoilus is especially notable for his role in the beginnings of
Homeric scholarship . His monograph "Homeric questions" seems to have analysed continuity errors inHomer , but also criticised the impropriety of Homer's depiction of gods indulging in allegedly inappropriate behaviour. This monograph is widely regarded as the beginning of classical scholarship.Fact|date=February 2007 Zoilus also wrote responses to works byIsocrates andPlato , who had attacked the style ofLysias of which he approved.However, the "Homeric questions" led to his name becoming a byword for harsh and malignant criticism: in antiquity he gained the name "Homeromastix", "scourge of Homer"; in the
modern period , Cervantes calls Zoilus a "slanderer" in the preface toDon Quixote and there is also a (now disused) proverb, "Every poet has his Zoilus." Since his writings do not survive, it is impossible to know whether this caricature is justified.References
* U. Friedländer, "De Zoilo aliisque Homeri Obtrectatoribus" (Konigsberg, 1895)
* J.E. Sandys, "History of Classical Scholarship" (2nd ed. 1906)
* [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/3663.html Ancient Library]
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