Leonidas of Alexandria

Leonidas of Alexandria (Λεωνίδας; Latin: Leonidas Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek epigrammatist active at Rome during the reigns of Nero and Vespasian. Some of his epigrams are preserved in the Greek Anthology, and in one he lays claim to having invented the isopsephic epigram.

Life
Leonidas informs us that he was born on the banks of the Nile, whence he went to Rome, and there taught grammar for a long time without attracting any notice, but ultimately he became very popular, and obtained the patronage of the imperial family. He also claims to have been originally an astrologer. Leonidas' epigrams show that he flourished under Nero, and probably down to the reign of Vespasian.

Works
In the Greek Anthology, forty-three epigrams are ascribed to him, but some of these belong to Leonidas of Tarentum. According to William Smith, the epigrams of Leonidas of Alexandria are "of a very low order of merit". Several of them are distinguished by the conceit of having an equal number of letters in each distich; these are called ἰσόψηφα ἐπιγράμματα.