The New International Encyclopædia/Lycophron

LY′COPHRON, (Lat., from Gk. Λυκόφρων, Lykophrōn) (flourished third century B.C.). A Greek poet and grammarian. Born at Chalcis, Lycophron lived in later life at Alexandria, where, under Ptolemy Philadelphus (B.C. 283–247), he was distinguished as one of the Pleiad, or band of seven tragic poets. He was intrusted with the arrangement of that part of the Alexandrian library which had to do with comedy. Suidas gives the titles of twenty of his tragedies; according to Tzetzes, he wrote forty-six or fifty-six pieces. The fragments of these are published by Nauck (Trag. Græc. Frag., 2d ed., Leipzig, 1889). Only his Cassandra or Alexandra (Κασσάνδρα or Ἀλεξάνδρα), an iambic poem of 1474 verses, is preserved. The story is simple—in an oracular and obscure style, Cassandra prophesies the downfall of Troy and the subsequent adventures of the Trojan and Argive heroes. Especial attention is paid to the founding of cities. Two passages even foretell the settlement of Æneas in Latium, but these are probably later interpolations. The best edition is that of Holzinger, with a German translation and a commentary (Leipzig, 1895). There is an English translation by Yorke (Cambridge, 1806).