Nicander: The Poems and Poetical Fragments

by Nicander of Colophon, Andrew Sydenham Farrar Gow, A.F. Scholfield

Originally published in 1953, this volume gathers together the poems of Nicander (2nd century BC), the renowned Ancient Greek poet, physician and grammarian. Consummately edited, the text contains the original Greek poetry with a parallel page translation, together with a brief biography, an introduction to the verse and a generous notes section at the end. This remains a fascinating edition that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Nicander.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1953

About the author

Nicander of Colophon (Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros, (Ahmetbeyli, Izmir in modern Turkey), near Colophon, where his family held the hereditary priesthood of Apollo. He flourished under Attalus III of Pergamum.

He wrote a number of works both in prose and verse, of which two survive complete. The longest, Theriaca, is a hexameter poem (958 lines) on the nature of venomous animals and the wounds which they inflict. The other, Alexipharmaca, consists of 630 hexameters treating of poisons and their antidotes. Nicander's main source for medical information was the physician Apollodorus. Among his lost works, Heteroeumena was a mythological epic, used by Ovid in the Metamorphoses and epitomized by Antoninus Liberalis; Georgica, of which considerable fragments survive, was perhaps imitated by Virgil.

The works of Nicander were praised by Cicero (De oratore, i. 16), imitated by Ovid and Lucan, and frequently quoted by Pliny and other writers.

Reviews

[Santiago González · Rating 4 out of 5]

He leído la introducción a la versión al italiano y la traducción al castellano en el 2o tomo de científicos griegos de Aguilar, que no se que tan censurada está o no (como lo está ésta). Es interesante la existencia de poemas sobre venenos de animales, antídotos y remedios.

[Virginia Adi · Rating 3 out of 5]

some errors in translation.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the only edition with parallel Greek and English, unless the Loeb has gone there without telling me, and that's a point in its favor. It isn't a bad translation, and the notes are helpful.

That said, its age shows. The Greek is a lot more gorey, gross, and sexually explicit than the English, and that does Nicander a disservice. But until I get off my butt and do my own translation for other people to criticize, I'm not rating this any lower than 4.

[Feli Fek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gods hate me, snakes fear me.