CALLIMACHUS, a celebrated Greek poet, native of Cyrene in Libya, flourished under Ptolemy Philadelphus and Ptolemy Euergetes, kings of Egypt, about 280 years before Christ. He passed, according to Quintilian, for the prince of the Greek elegiac poets. His style is elegant, delicate, and nervous. He wrote a great number of small poems, of which we have only some hymns and epigrams remaining. Catullus has closely imitated him, and translated into Latin verse his small poem on the locks of Berenice. Callimachus was also a good grammarian and a learned critic. There is an edition of his remains, by Mess. le Fevre, quarto; and another in two volumes 8vo, with notes by Spanheim, Grævius, Bentley, &c.
CALLING the HOUSE, in the British parliament, is the calling over the members names, every one answering to his own, and going out of the house, in the order in which he is called: this they do in order to discover whether there be any person there not returned by the clerk of the crown, or if any member be absent without the leave of the house.
CALLINICUS of Heliopolis, inventor of a composition to burn in the water, called the Greek and siace Wild-fire. See Grecian FIRE.
CALLINUS of Ephesus, a very ancient Greek poet, inventor of elegiac verse; some specimens of which are to be found in the collection of Stobæus. He flourished about 776 years before Christ.