Person

Apelles

4th century BCE · 4th century BCE

Apelles was the most celebrated painter of ancient Greece, active in the 4th century BCE. Born at Colophon, he trained at Ephesus and in the painting school of Sicyon and became court painter to Philip II and Alexander the Great. None of his works survive, but ancient writers praised his Aphrodite rising from the sea and his portraits of Alexander.

Apelles
Image: Giovanni Antonio Guardi · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Sicyon

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Apelles. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/apelles
MLA
“Apelles.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/apelles. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Apelles.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/apelles.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Apelles’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/apelles (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻