Editing Callimachus (section)

==Callimacheanism==
In his poetry, Callimachus espoused an [[aesthetic philosophy]] that has become known as Callimacheanism.{{Sfn|Acosta-Hughes|Stephens|2012|p=1}} He favoured small-scale topics over large and prominent ones,{{Sfn|Gutzwiller|2007|pp=60–61}} and refinement over long works of poetry.{{Sfn|Parsons|2015}} At the beginning of the ''Aetia'', he summarised his poetic programme in an allegory spoken by the god [[Apollo]]: "my good poet, feed my victim as fat as possible, but keep your Muse slender. This, too, I order from you: tread the way that wagons do not trample. Do not drive in the same tracks as others or on a wide road but on an untrodden path, even if yours is more narrow."<ref>Callim. ''Aet'' fr. 1.23–30</ref> The allegory is directed against the predominant poetic form of the day: [[heroic epic]], which could run to dozens of books in length. Contained in the allegory are two reasons why Callimachus did not write in this genre: firstly, to Callimachus,  poetry required a high level of refinement which could not be sustained over the course of a drawn-out work;{{Sfn|Ferguson|1980|pp=159–160}} secondly, most of his contemporaries were writers of epic, creating an over-saturation of the genre which he sought to avoid.{{Sfn|Ferguson|1980|p=160}} Instead, he was interested in recondite, experimental, learned and even obscure topics. His poetry nevertheless surpasses epic in its allusions to previous literature.{{Sfn|Parsons|2015}}

Although Callimachus attempted to differentiate himself from other poets, his aesthetic philosophy is sometimes subsumed under the term of [[Alexandrian school#Literature|Alexandrianism]], describing the entirety of Greek literature written in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. In spite of their differences, his work shares many characteristics with that of his contemporaries including the [[didacticism|didactic poet]] [[Aratus]], the epicist [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], and the [[pastoral]] poet [[Theocritus]]. They all interacted with earlier Greek literature, especially the poems of Homer and [[Hesiod]]. Drawing on the Library of Alexandria, they all displayed an interest in intellectual pursuits, and they all attempted to revive neglected forms of poetry.{{Sfn|Ferguson|1980|pp=161–162}}

Callimachus used both direct and indirect characterization in his works.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Harder |first=Annette |title=Callimachus |date=2018 |work=Characterization in Ancient Greek Literature |pages=100–115 |editor-last=De Temmerman |editor-first=Koen |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctv29sfv4t.11 |access-date=2024-05-12 |series=Studies in Ancient Greek Narrative, vol. 4 |publisher=Brill |jstor=10.1163/j.ctv29sfv4t.11 |isbn=978-90-04-35630-6 |editor2-last=van Emde Boas |editor2-first=Evert}}</ref> The use of comparisons and similes is rather sparse.<ref name=":0" /> The use of intertextuality is observed in ''Hymn 6'', where descriptions of other characters are offered in order to provide contrast to the characterization of the main character.<ref name=":0" /> Frequent allusions to the ''[[Odyssey]]'' and the ''[[Iliad]]'' appear, for example reference to Antilochus in ''Hymn 6.'' Some Homeric influences can be seen through the use of Homeric [[Hapax legomenon|hapaxes]], such as katōmadian.<ref name=":0" />