Aristophanes of Byzantium in the context of "Lille Stesichorus"

The Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the library, but the library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The library quickly acquired many papyrus scrolls, owing largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height.

Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning, in part because of the Great Library. Many important and influential scholars worked at the Library during the third and second centuries BC, including: Zenodotus of Ephesus, who worked towards standardizing the works of Homer; Callimachus, who wrote the Pinakes, sometimes considered the world's first library catalog; Apollonius of Rhodes, who composed the epic poem the Argonautica; Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who calculated the circumference of the earth within a few hundred kilometers of accuracy; Hero of Alexandria, who invented the first recorded steam engine; Aristophanes of Byzantium, who invented the system of Greek diacritics and was the first to divide poetic texts into lines; and Aristarchus of Samothrace, who produced the definitive texts of the Homeric poems as well as extensive commentaries on them. During the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes, a daughter library was established in the Serapeum, a temple to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis.

Antigone (/ænˈtɪɡəni/ ann-TIG-ə-nee; Ἀντιγόνη) is a play by the Attic dramatist Euripides, which is now lost except for a number of fragments. According to Aristophanes of Byzantium, the plot was similar to that of Sophocles' play Antigone, with three differences. The date of the play is uncertain, but there is evidence that it was written late in Euripides' career, between 420 BCE and 406 BCE.

Aristarchus of Samothrace (Ancient Greek: Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Σαμόθραξ, romanized: Aristarchos o Samothrax; c. 220 – c. 143 BC) was an ancient Greek grammarian, noted as the most influential of all scholars of Homeric poetry. He was the head librarian of the Library of Alexandria and seems to have succeeded his teacher Aristophanes of Byzantium in that role.

Callistratus, Alexandrine grammarian, flourished at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. He was one of the pupils of Aristophanes of Byzantium, who were distinctively called Aristophanei. Callistratus chiefly devoted himself to the elucidation of the Greek poets; a few fragments of his commentaries have been preserved in the various collections of scholia and in Athenaeus. He was also the author of a miscellaneous work called Summikta (Σύμμικτα), used by the later lexicographers, and of a treatise on courtesans (Athenaeus iii.125b, xiii.591d).

Agallis (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαλλίς; called Anagallis Ancient Greek: Ἀναγαλλίς by the Suda) of Corcyra was a female grammarian who wrote about Homer. She, or her father, was a student of Aristophanes of Byzantium.

According to Athenaeus, she argued that ball games were invented by Nausicaa. Two scholiasts on the Iliad quote an argument that the two cities that Homer describes on the Shield of Achilles represented Athens and Eleusis; one attributes this to "Agallias of Corcyra", the other to "Dalis of Corcyra". Some scholars believe that Agallias was Agallis' father; others that it is an error and Agallis was the source of this argument.

Apollonius Eidographus (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλώνιος Εἰδογράφος) was a writer referred to by the Scholiast on Pindar respecting a contest in which Hiero won the prize. Some writers have thought he was a poet, but from the Etymologicum Magnum, it is probable that he was some learned grammarian. He was head of the Library at Alexandria, succeeding Aristophanes of Byzantium and succeeded by Aristarchus of Samothrace. He was called "eidographus" ("the classifier") because he classified lyric poems based on their musical modes.

Hypereides or Hyperides (Ancient Greek: Ὑπερείδης, Hypereidēs; c. 390 – 322 BC; English pronunciation with the stress variably on the penultimate or antepenultimate syllable) was an Athenian logographer (speech writer). He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.

He was a leader of the Athenian resistance to King Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. He was associated with Lycurgus and Demosthenes in exposing pro-Macedonian sympathizers. He is known for prosecuting Philippides of Paiania for his pro-Macedonian measures and his decree in honoring Alexander the Great.

Lycurgus (/laɪˈkɜːrɡəs/; Ancient Greek: Λυκοῦργος Λυκόφρονος Βουτάδης, romanized: Lykourgos Lykophronos Boutadēs; c. 390 – c. 325 BC) was a statesman and logographer in Ancient Greece. In the aftermath of the Athenian defeat at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, he became the leading figure in Athenian politics, taking control of Athenian finances and pushing through a range of measures which drastically increased Athens' revenues. This money was used to expand the navy, improve the city's fortifications, develop the temples and religious ceremonies, and to build up a hefty reserve. He also encouraged the restoration of traditional values and prosecuted those who fell short of his expectations of civic behaviour. Because of his leading role, the period from 338 to 324 BC is often known in modern scholarship as the "Age of Lycurgus."

He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC. His only surviving speech is the Against Leocrates.

Demosthenes (Greek: Δημοσθένης; 384–322 BC) was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute the last significant expression of Athenian intellectual prowess and provide a thorough insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece. The Alexandrian Canon compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace recognized Demosthenes as one of the ten greatest Attic orators and logographers. Cicero acclaimed him as "the perfect orator" and the one who "has pre-eminence over all others" ("inter omnes unus excellat"), while Quintilian extolled him as lex orandi ("the standard of oratory").