Lycophron of Chalcis (Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς) Life Lycophron was a Hellenistic poet and grammarian from Chalcis in Euboea, active in Alexandria under Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 283–246 BCE) as a scholar associated with the Library and Museum [1]. The Byzantine Suda identifies him as a member of the Alexandrian "Pleiad" of tragic poets and states he died from an arrow wound [3]. At the Library, his work included editing comic texts [1][2].

Works While the Suda credits him with dozens of plays, only fragments of his tragedies survive [1][3]. His sole complete surviving work is the Alexandra (Ἀλεξάνδρα), a 1,474-line dramatic monologue in iambic trimeters, though its attribution is debated [1][2][4].

Significance Lycophron's importance rests primarily on the Alexandra, a notoriously obscure prophetic speech by Cassandra predicting the fall of Troy and later Greek and Roman history [1][2][4]. Its allusions to Roman events have led many scholars to question whether it is the work of the 3rd-century Lycophron or a later homonym, making it a crucial, contested text for Hellenistic poetry and mythography [1][2][4].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lycophron-Greek-poet 2. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3792 3. Suda, Lambda, 827 (via Suda On Line): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/lambda/827 4. Perseus Digital Library, Lycophron, Alexandra: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0480