The Greek poet Callimachus (ca. 305-240 BC) is regarded as the most characteristic representative of Alexandrian poetry. Learning, polish, and contemporaneity characterize his work, which had enormous influence on the Roman elegiac poets.

Very little is known about the life of Callimachus. What is known comes primarily from the 10th-century encyclopedist Suidas, not all of which is reliable, and from other, limited references in ancient sources. Callimachus was born in Cyrene; he apparently claimed descent from Battus, the founder of Cyrene, and lived during the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reigned 285-247 B.C.) and survived into the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246-221 B.C.).

Prior to his introduction into the Ptolemaic court, Callimachus, who many scholars argue had been poor, taught school in the Alexandrian suburb of Eleusis. Among Callimachus's more famous pupils were Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Aristophanes of Byzantium, and Apollonius of Rhodes. Callimachus...