COLUTHUS  , or COLLUTIius, of Lycopolis in the

Egyptian Thebaid, Greek epic poet, flourished during the reign of Anastasius I . (491–518) . According to Suidas, he was the author of Calydoniaca (probably an account of the Calydonian boar hunt), Persica (an account of the Persian wars), and Encomia (laudatory poems) . These are all lost, but his poem in some 400 hexameters on The Rape of Helen (`Apra^yr) 'EMin7s) is still extant, having been discovered by Cardinal Bessarion in Calabria . The poem is dull and tasteless, devoid of imagination, a poor imitation of Homer, and has little to recommend it except its harmonious versification, based upon the technical rules of Nonnus . It related the history of Paris and Helen from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis down to the elopement and arrival at Troy . The best editions are by Van Lennep (1747), G . F . Schafer (1825), E . Abel (188o) .