Chronicle (Χρονικά,Chronika), a Greek history in verse from the fall ofTroy in the 12th century BC to roughly 143 BC (although later it was extended as far as 109 BC), and based on previous works byEratosthenes of Cyrene. Its dates are reckoned by its references to thearchons of Athens. As most archons only held office for one year, scholars have been able to pin down the years to which Apollodorus was referring. The poem is written in comictrimeters and is dedicated to the second-century BC king of Pergamon,Attalus II Philadelphus.
On the Gods (Περὶ θεῶν,Peri theon, prose, in 24 books), lost but known through quotes to have includedetymologies[1] of the names andepithets of the gods, rifled and quoted by the Roman EpicureanPhilodemus; further fragments appear inOxyrhynchus Papyri.
Other possible works include an earlyetymology (possibly the earliest by an Alexandrian writer), and analyses of the poetsEpicharmus of Kos andSophron.
Apollodorus produced numerous other critical and grammatical writings, which have not survived.
His eminence as a scholar gave rise to several imitations, forgeries and misattributions. TheBibliotheca (orLibrary), an encyclopedia ofGreek mythology, was traditionally attributed to him; it was not written by him, however, as it citesCastor the Annalist, a contemporary ofCicero, providing aterminus post quem after the time of Apollodorus.[2] As a result, the author of theBibliotheca is often referred to as "Pseudo-Apollodorus".
Bravo, Benedetto.La Chronique d'Apollodore et le Pseudo-Skymnos: érudition antiquaire et littérature géographique dans la seconde moitié du IIe siècle av. J.-C. (Leuven: Peeters, 2009) (Studia Hellenistica, 46).
