Antimachus of Colophon (Ἀντίμαχος ὁ Κολοφώνιος)

Life Antimachus was a Greek poet and scholar from Colophon, active around 400 BCE [1]. Ancient testimonia describe him as a poeta doctus whose textual criticism of Homer influenced later Alexandrian scholars [2]. He is said to have composed his elegy Lyde after the death of his beloved and to have found only Plato as an attentive audience for his epic Thebaid, anecdotes highlighting his erudite, difficult style [1][2].

Works His works survive only in fragments. The major ones are the epic Thebaid, concerning the Seven Against Thebes; the long narrative elegy Lyde, collecting tales of tragic love; Artemis, a hexameter poem; and Deltoi, a work of unknown content [1].

Significance Antimachus is a pivotal figure bridging Classical and Hellenistic poetry. His learned, allusive, and deliberately obscure verse sparked a famous literary debate in Alexandria, with Callimachus rejecting his style and Crates of Mallus defending it [1][2]. His scholarship and poetic aesthetic established him as a key precursor to Hellenistic poetics.

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antimachus-of-Colophon 2. Perseus Digital Library, Suda entries: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*a%29nti%2Fmaxos