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{{Short description|Stoic philosopher, historian, and grammarian (1st century CE)}}

factoids

| death_date = before 96 AD| nationality = Ancient EgyptianAncient Egyptian religion>Ancient Egyptian priest| era = Ancient Roman philosophyRoman-era Alexandria>Roman Alexandria| school_tradition = Stoicism| institutions = Mouseion| language = Ancient Greek| main_interests = Ancient Egyptian religion| notable_ideas = }}Chaeremon of Alexandria ({{IPAc-en|k|É™|ˈ|r|iː|m|É™n|,_|-|m|É’|n}}; , gen.: ; fl. 1st century AD) was a Stoic philosopher and historian{{sfn|Gates|2012}} who wrote on Egyptian mythology from a “typically Stoic” perspective.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}}

Life

According to the Suda, he was the head of the Alexandrian school of grammarians, and he may also have been head of the Museion.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}} He was probably one of the ambassadors to Claudius from Alexandria in 40 AD.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}} He also taught Nero, probably before 49 AD when Seneca the Younger became Nero’s tutor.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}} He may have been the grandson of the Chaeremon who accompanied the Roman prefect Aelius Gallus on his tour of Egypt in 26 AD.{{sfn|Gates|2012}} His father – about whom nothing is known – was called Leonidas, and he was probably born no later than 10 AD.{{sfn|Gates|2012}} One of the poems from Martial’s eleventh book of Epigrams mocks Chaeremon; as Martial did not usually attack living figures Chaeremon presumably died before 96 AD when Epigrams XI was published.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}}

Works

All of Chaeremon’s works are lost, though a number of fragments are quoted by later authors.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}} Three titles are preserved: the History of Egypt, Hieroglyphika, and On Comets, with another fragment quoted from an unknown grammatical treatise of his.{{sfn|van der Horst|1987|pp=ix-xi}} Josephus quotes an extensive fragment from Chaeremon’s Egyptian history, in which he scornfully recounts and ridicules, in a manner similar to that of Manetho, the departure of the Jews from Egypt. Josephus boasts of having refuted Chaeremon as well as Manetho and others.(“Contra Ap.” i. 32, 33) Chaeremon’s history is also mentioned by Porphyry.(Eusebius, “Præ-paratio Evangelica,” iii. 4, v. 10; Porphyry, “De Abstinentia,” iv. 6-8) Chaeremon’s description of Egypt recalls the ideas which Philo, Clement, Origen, and others introduced into the Old and the New Testament.{{sfn|Gottheil|Krauss}} The asceticism especially, which he ascribes to the ancient Egyptian priests, is analogous to the description in Philo’s work, “De Vita Contemplativa”; still there is no literary connection between the two authors.{{sfn|van der Horst|1982|p=62-63}} Fragments of the “History of Egypt” may still exist in a treatise of Psellus published in 1877.Sathas, in “Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique,” vol. i.){{sfn|Gottheil|Krauss}}According to the Suda, (s. v. Xαιρήμωυ), another work of Chaeremon was entitled “Hieroglyphica,” and probably contained interpretations of the hieroglyphics (collected from the works of the Byzantian Tzetzes, in Müller’s “Fragmenta Historicorum GrÅ“corum,” iii. 499); while a third work may be the book “On the Comets” mentioned by Origen.(“Contra Celsum,” i. 59) Origen also made use of other writings of Chaeremon that are now lost.(Suidas, s.v. ‘Ωριγένης).{{sfn|Gottheil|Krauss}}

Notes

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Editions and Translations

• P. Charvet, S. Aufrère, J-M. Kowalski, A. Zucker, Le Quartette d’Alexandrie - Hérodote, Diodore, Strabon, Chérémon, Collection Bouquins, Paris, 2021, (1563 p). Aufrère provides a translation of Chaeremon’s Book of Phtomyris or Critics des Aigyptiaka
• BOOK, van der Horst, Pieter Willem,books.google.com/books?id=491RurMa6L8C, Chaeremon: Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher, Brill, Leiden, 1987, . Pieter van der Horst includes 14 certain and 14 doubtful fragments in his edition of Chaeramon’s works.

References

• JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, Richard, Gottheil, Samuel, Krauss,jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4203-chaeremon, CHÆREMON,
• BOOK, van der Horst, Pieter Willem, The Way of Life of the Egyptian Priests According to Chaeremon, Egyptian Festivals: Enactment of Religious Renewal, 1982, 61-71, BRILL, 978-90-04-37804-9,books.google.com/books?id=Nt-mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61, 5 May 2024, en,
• ENCYCLOPEDIA, 2012, Gates, Oxford Dictionary of African Biography, Chaeremon,books.google.com/books?id=ISBN9780195382075, 9780195382075,

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