INTRODUCTION
Much has been written about the chronology of Alexandrian literature
and the famous Library, founded by Ptolemy Soter, but the dates of the
chief writers are still matters of conjecture. The birth of Apollonius
Rhodius is placed by scholars at various times between 296 and 260 B.C.,
while the year of his death is equally uncertain. In fact, we have very
little information on the subject. There are two "lives" of Apollonius in
the Scholia, both derived from an earlier one which is lost. From these we
learn that he was of Alexandria by birth, (1) that he lived in the time of the
Ptolemies, and was a pupil of Callimachus; that while still a youth he
composed and recited in public his "Argonautica", and that the poem was
condemned, in consequence of which he retired to Rhodes; that there he
revised his poem, recited it with great applause, and hence called himself a
Rhodian. The second "life" adds: "Some say that he returned to
Alexandria and again recited his poem with the utmost success, so that he
was honoured with the libraries of the Museum and was buried with
Callimachus."