John Tzetzes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, romanized: Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancient Greek literature and scholarship. Of his numerous works, the most important one is the Book of Histories, also known as Chiliades ('Thousands'). The work is a long poem containing knowledge that is unavailable elsewhere and serves as commentary on Tzetzes's own letters. Two of his other important works are the Allegoriai on the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are long didactic poems containing interpretations of Homeric theology.
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👉 John Tzetzes in the context of Cassiphone
Cassiphone (/kəˈsɪfəniː/; Ancient Greek: Κασσιφόνη, romanized: Kassiphónē, lit. 'fratricide') is a minor figure in Greek mythology, the daughter of the sorceress-goddess Circe and the Trojan War hero Odysseus. Cassiphone and her tale do not appear in the Odyssey, the epic poem that narrates Odysseus' adventures, but rather she is mentioned in passing in the works of the Hellenistic poet Lycophron and the 12th-century Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes. Cassiphone is notable for killing Telemachus, her paternal half-brother and husband in some versions.
In this Dossier
John Tzetzes in the context of Alector
Alector (/əˈlɛktər/; Ancient Greek: Ἀλέκτωρ) refers to more than one person in classical mythology and history:
- Alector, son of Magnes and Meliboea, eponyms of Magnesia and the town of Meliboea respectively.
- Alector, the Boeotian father of Leitus. Homer calls him "Alectryon", and Diodorus "Electryon", naming him among the sons of Itonus. According to Tzetzes, Alector was also the father of Clonius, Arcesilaus and Prothoenor (his nephews according to Diodorus) by different mothers: he is said to have fathered Leitus with Polybule, Arcesilaus with Cleobule, Prothoenor with Arteis, and Clonius with Acteis.
- Alector, an Elean prince as the son of King Epeius, and brother of Hyrmine. Later on, he succeeded his father on the throne of Elis but in fear of the overlordship of King Pelops of Pisa, he summoned Phorbas from Olenus to his aid and gave his new ally a share of the kingdom. By Phorbas’ daughter, Diogeneia, Alector became father of Amarynceus.
- Alector, the Argive son of Anaxagoras and father of King Iphis of Argos.
- Alector of Sparta, son of Argeus (son of Pelops) and Hegesandra, daughter of King Amyclas. He has two brothers, Melanion and Boethoos. Alector was the father of Iphiloche (or Echemela), who married Megapenthes, son of Menelaus.
John Tzetzes in the context of Eurytion (king of Phthia)
Eurytion /jʊəˈrɪʃən/ (Greek: Εὐρυτίων, "widely honoured") or Eurythion /jʊəˈrɪθiən/ (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυθίων) was a king of Phthia. He was also counted among the Argonauts and the Calydonian hunters. The writer Tzetzes called Eurytion as Eurytus.
John Tzetzes in the context of Eurythemis
In Greek mythology, the name Eurythemis (Ancient Greek: Εὐρύθεμις) may refer to the following women:
- Eurythemis, daughter of Cleoboea. According to the mythographer Apollodorus, she was the wife of King Thestius of Pleuron and mother of Althaea, Leda, Hypermnestra, Iphiclus, Evippus, Plexippus and Eurypylus.
- Eurythemis, daughter of Acastus, consort of Actor and mother of Ancaeus according to John Tzetzes.
- Eurythemis, daughter of Timandreus and sister of Cotto. The two sisters were honored by the Heracleidae for having supported them in their struggle for returning to Peloponnesos.
John Tzetzes in the context of Dias (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Dias (Ancient Greek: Δίας) is a name shared by two individuals:
- Dias, according to one tradition, was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the brother of Atreus, and the father of Cleolla. Most accounts have Agamemnon and Menelaus, as the sons of Atreus and Aerope. However according to the Byzantine scholar John Tzetzes (citing "Hesiod, Aeschylus, and some others"), Cleolla was, by her first cousin Pleisthenes (the son of Atreus and Aerope), the mother of Agamemnon, Menelaus and Anaxibia, while, according to the scholia to Euripides Orestes 4, she was married to her uncle Atreus, and was the mother by him of Pleisthenes who became the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus and Anaxibia (by Eriphyle).
- Dias, according to Stephanus of Byzantium, was the son of Abas the brother of Alcon and Arethusa and said to be the founder of the city of Athens in Euboea, naming it after his fatherland.