Zenodotus of Ephesus was a native of Ephesus who was born in the 3rd century BC during the time when Ephesus was being ruled by Ptolemaic dynasty. The Ptolemaic king moved Zenodotus from Ephesus to Alexandria in Egypt. Zenodotus became the teacher of the royal children and later he was pointed as the director of the library of Alexandria which was the biggest library of its time. Zenodotus created the classification system for the libraries which is even used today by putting books in different rooms depending on their content.
Zenodotus of Ephesus is remembered for three things. He was the first head of the Library of Alexandria, he prepared the first critical edition of Homer, and he is the first person known to use alphabetical order, in a word list and very likely in the library itself.
Zenodotus and the Critical Edition of Homer
The poems of Homer lived in many copies that did not match. Zenodotus gathered the copies in the library and compared them. Lines he doubted got a small mark in the margin, some lines he moved or changed. Later critics found him too free with the text, but he laid the foundation for everybody after him. He probably divided the Iliad and the Odyssey into 24 books each.
Zenodotus and the Library of Celsus in Ephesus
Zenodotus never saw the Library of Celsus. It was built in the 2nd century AD, about four centuries after his time, and the library he ran stood in Alexandria. Even so, the Library of Celsus is the best place in Ephesus to picture an ancient library.
Library of Celsus held about 12,000 scrolls in wall niches and was counted as the third largest library of the ancient world, after Alexandria and Pergamon. Only its front, rebuilt in the 1970s, stands today. More in my post on the Library of Celsus in Ephesus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Zenodotus invent alphabetical order?
Not the alphabet itself, but he is the first person known to sort by it. He used the first letter of a word or an author’s name, and sorting by every letter came centuries later.
Who came after Zenodotus as head of the Library of Alexandria?
Apollonius of Rhodes, the author of the Argonautica, became the second head. The poet Callimachus, who compiled an early catalog of authors and their works, worked there too but never led it.
Do we still have the edition of Homer by Zenodotus?
No, it is lost. We know it only because later commentaries on Homer mention his readings of certain lines, and that is how most of his work reaches us today.
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