A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

CHOERILUS.
in fact, a dactylic hexameter stript of its final
catalexis. It must not be supposed that this metre
was invented by Choerilus, for the Greek metrical
writers never mention it by that name. Perhaps
it got its name from the fact of the above-mentioned
line, in praise of Choerilus, being the most ancient
verse extant in this metre. (See Nake, pp. 257,
263; Gaisford's edition of Hephaestion, notes,
pp. 353, 354.)
2. Choerilus, a slave of the comic poet ECPHANTIDES, whom he was said to assist in the composition of his plays. (Hesych. s. v. 'EKKExcpXOIp'cep4A
and XotpLAov 'Eicpaiv'r-os.) This explains the
error of Eudocia (p. 437), that the epic poet Choerilus wrote tragedies. (Meineke, Hist. Crit. Corm.
Graec. pp. 37, 38; Gaisford, ad Heph. p. 96.)
3. Choerilus of Samos, the author of an epic
poem on the wars of the Greeks with Xerxes and
Dareius. Suidas (s. v.) says, that he was a contemporary of Panyasis and a young man (veaviecov)
at the time of the Persian war, in the 75th Olympiad. But this is next to impossible, for Plutarch
(Lys. 18) tells us that, when Lysander was at
Samos (B. C. 404), Choerilus was residing there,
and was highly honoured by Lysander, who hoped
that the poet would celebrate his exploits. This
was 75 years later than the 75th Olympiad: and
therefore, if this date has anything to do with
Choerilus, it must be the date of his birth (B. c.
479); and this agrees with another statement of
Suidas, which implies that Choerilus was younger
than Herodotus (od'rvos avilrd Kal eraituKa 7yso--
rivat paoer). We have here perhaps the explanation of the error of Suidas, who, from the connexion of both Panyasis and Choerilus with Herodotus, and from the fact that both were epic poets,
may have confounded them, and have said of Choerilus that which can very well be true of Panyasis.
Perhaps Choerilus was even younger. Nike
places his birth about B. c. 470. Suidas also says,
that Choerilus was a slave at Samos, and was distinguished for his beauty; that he ran away andi
resided with Herodotus, from whom he acquired a
taste for literature; and that he turned his attention to poetry: afterwards he went to the court of
Archelaus, king of Macedonia, where he died.
His death must therefore have been not later than
i. c. 399, which was the last year of Archelaus.
Athenaeus (viii. p. 345, e.) states, that Choerilus
received from Archelaus four minae a-day, and
spent it all upon good living (dpoQasyiav). There
are other statements of Suidas, which evidently
refer to the later poet, who was contemporary with
Alexander. (See below.) There is some doubt
whether the accounts which made him a native
either of lasos or of Halicarnassus belong to this
class. Either of them is perfectly consistent with
the statement that he was a slave at Samos. (Compare Steph. Byz. s. v. 'Iaooo's; Hesych. Miles. p.
40, ed. Meurs.; Phot. Lex. s. v.:aieaKOdv r7podov.)
His great work was on the Persian wars, but
its exact title is not known: it may have been
Irepoa-c. It is remarkable as the earliest attempt
to celebrate in epic poetry events which were
nearly contemporary with the poet's life. Of its
character we may form some conjecture from the
connexion between the poet and Herodotus. There
are also fragments preserved by Aristotle from the
Prooemium (Rhet. iii. 14, and SchoL); by Ephorus
from the description of Dareius's bridge of boats,
in which the Scythians are mentioned (Strab. vii.

CHOEROBOSCUS. 697
p. 303); by Josephus from the catalogue of the
nations in the army of Xerxes, among whom were
the Jews (c. Apion. i. 22, vol. ii. p. 454, ed. Havercamp, iii. p. 1183, ed. Oberthiir; compare Euseb. Praep. Evang. ix. 9); and other fragments,
the place of which is uncertain. (See Nike.) The
chief action of the poem appears to have been the
battle of Salamis. The high estimation in which
Choerilus was held is proved by his reception into
the epic canon (Suid. s. v.), from which, however,
he was again expelled by the Alexandrian grammarians, and Antimachus was substituted in his
place, on account of a statement, which was made
on the authority of Heracleides Ponticus, that
Plato very much preferred Antimachus to Choerilus.
(Proclus, Comm. in Plat. Tim. p. 28; see also an
epigram of Crates in the Greek Anthology, ii. p. 3,
eds. Brunck and Jac., with Jacobs's note, Animadv.
ii. 1. pp. 7-9.) The great inferiority of Choerilus to
Homer in his similes is noticed by Aristotle. (Topic. viii. 1. ~ 24.)
4. Choerilus, probably of Iasos, a worthless
epic poet in the train of Alexander the Great.
(Curtius, viii. 5. ~ 8.) Horace says of him (Ep.
ii. 1. 232-234),
"Gratus Alexandro regi Magno fuit ille
Choerilus, incultis qui versibus et male natis
Rettulit acceptos, regale nomisma, Philippos;"
and (Art. Po't. 757, 358),
" Sic mihi, qui multum cessat, fit Choerilus ille,
Quem bis terque bonum cum risu miror,"
From the former passage it is evident that we must
refer to this Choerilus the statement of Suidas respecting Choerilus of Samos, that he received a
gold stater for every verse of his poem. However
liberally Alexander may have paid Choerilus for
his flattery, he did not conceal his contempt for his
poetry, at least if we may believe Acron, who
remarks on the second of the above passages, that
Alexander used to tell Choerilus that " he would
rather be the Thersites of Homer than the Achilles
of Choerilus." The same writer adds, that Choerilus bargained with Alexander for a piece of gold
for every good verse, and a blow for every bad
one; and the bad verses were so numerous, that
he was beaten to death. This appears to be
merely a joke.
Suidas assigns to Choerilus of Samos a poem
entitled Aaugafcd, and other poems. But in all
probability that poem related to the Lamian war,
B. c. 323; and. if so, it must have been the conmposition of this later Choerilus. To him also
Nike assigns the epitaph on Sardanapalus, which
is preserved by Strabo (xiv. p. 672), by Athenaeus
(viii. p. 336, a., who says, that it was translated
by Choerilus from the Chaldee, xii. p. 529, f.;
compare Diod. ii. 23; Tzetz. Chil. iii. 453), and
in the Greek Anthology. (Brunch, Anal. i. p.
185; Jacobs, i. p. 117; see Jacobs, Animadv.
vol. i. pt. 1, p. 376.) [P. S.]
CHOEROBOSCUS, GEO'RGIUS (r7'ecpyto9
XoLpoeocro s), a Greek grammarian, who lived probably towards the end of the sixth century of the
Christian aera. He is the author of various grammatical and rhetorical works, of which only one
has been printed, namely " de Figuris poeticis,
oratoriis, et theologicis" (repl rpO'vov r cW Kuarc,
"iro0s-lTicKv KI ala eoAoyIKI XpotV), published with
a Latin translation together with the dissertation
of Proclus on divine and poetical instinct, by Morellus, Paris, 1615, 12mo. His other works, the