Alexis (Ancient Greek: Ἄλεξις, c.394 BC – c.288 BC) was a Greek comic poet of the Middle Comedy period. He was born at Thurii (in present day Calabria, Italy) in Magna Graecia and taken early to Athens,^[1] where he became a citizen, being enrolled in the deme Oion (Οἶον) and the tribe Leontides.^[2][3] It is thought he lived to the age of 106 and died on the stage while being crowned. According to the Suda, a 10th century encyclopedia, Alexis was the paternal uncle of the dramatist Menander and wrote 245 comedies, of which only fragments now survive, including some 130 preserved titles.

Life[link]

It was said he had a son, called Stephanus, who also wrote comedies.^[4] He appears to have been rather addicted to the pleasures of the table, according to Athenaeus.^[3][5]

He won his first Lenaean victory in the 350s BC, most likely, where he was sixth after Eubulus, and fourth after Antiphanes. While being a Middle Comic poet, Alexis was contemporary with several leading figures of New Comedy, such as Philippides, Philemon, Diphilus, and even Menander. There is also some evidence that, during his old age, he wrote plays in the style of New Comedy.

Plutarch says that he lived to the age of 106 and 5 months, and that he died on the stage while being crowned victor.^[6] He was certainly alive after 345 BC, for Aeschines mentions him as alive in that year. He was also living at least as late as 288 BC,^[3] from which his birth date is calculated. According to the Suda he wrote 245 comedies, of which only fragments including some 130 titles survive. His plays include Meropis, Ankylion, Olympiodoros, Parasitos (exhibited in 360 BC, in which he ridiculed Plato), Agonis (in which he ridiculed Misgolas), and the Adelphoi and the Stratiotes, in which he satirized Demosthenes, and acted shortly after 343 BC. Also Hippeis (316 BC)^{[citation needed]} (in which he referred to the decree of Sophocles against the philosophers), Pyraunos (312 BC), Pharmakopole (306 BC)^{[citation needed]}, Hypobolimaios (306 BC), and Ankylion.^[3]

Because he wrote a lot of plays, the same passages often appear in more than 3 plays. It was said that he also borrowed from Eubulus and many other playwrights in some of his plays.^[7] According to Carytius of Pergamum, Alexis was the first to use the part of the parasite.^[8] Alexis was known in Roman times; Aulus Gellius noted that Alexis' poetry was used by Roman comedians, including Turpilius and possibly Plautus.

Surviving titles and fragments[link]

Only fragments of any of the plays have survived - about 340 in all, totaling about 1,000 lines. They attest to the wit and refinement of the author, which Athenaeus praises.^[9] The surviving fragments also show that Alexis invented a great deal of words, mostly compound words, that he used normal words in an unusual way, and made strange and unusual forms of common words. The main sources of the fragments of Alexis are Stobaeus and Athenaeus.

The following 139 titles of Alexis's plays have been preserved:

References[link]

Editions of Fragments[link]

• Augustus Meineke. Poetarum Graecorum comicorum fragmenta, (1855).
• Theodor Kock. Comicorum Atticorum fragmenta, i. (1880).
• Colin Austin and Rudolf Kassel. Poetae Comici Graeci. vol. 1.

References[link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Alexis.

• Arnott, W. Geoffrey. Alexis: The Fragments. A Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Alexis Jordan
Jordan at the ESKA Music Awards in May 2011
Background information
Birth name	Alexis Jordan
Born	(1992-04-07) April 7, 1992 (age 20)
Origin	Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Genres	R&B, pop, dance
Occupations	Singer, actress
Years active	2006–present (singer) 2008–present (actress)
Labels	StarRoc/Roc Nation
Associated acts	Sean Paul, Jay-Z
Website	alexisjordanofficial.com

Alexis Jordan (born April 7, 1992)^[1] is an American singer and actress from Columbia, South Carolina. Jordan rose to fame as a contestant on the first season of America's Got Talent in 2006. After being eliminated from the show, she began to upload cover songs to YouTube, which received millions of views. The exposure led Jordan to the attention of Norwegian production team Stargate and American rapper Jay-Z, who both went on to sign her to their label, StarRoc/Roc Nation.^[2] Her debut single, "Happiness", was released in September 2010, and reached number one in Norway^[3] and the Netherlands, and also became a top-three hit in Australia^[4] and the United Kingdom.^[5] Jordan's self-titled debut album was released on February 25, 2011.^[6]

Life and career[link]

1992–2008: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Jordan was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to a mother of African American descent and a Puerto Rican father.^[1] Jordan began writing songs while she was in third grade.^[1] At the age of 11, she moved with her parents and three younger siblings Taylor, Malichai and Malcolm to Santa Clarita, California, to pursue a career in the arts.^[1] At the age of 12, Jordan served as an opening act for Smokey Robinson at a Stevie Wonder tribute concert.^[1]

In 2006 Jordan auditioned for the first season of America's Got Talent.^[2] She sang Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" at her audition and made it through to next round, only to be eliminated in the semifinals. After being eliminated from the show, Jordan and her family moved to Atlanta to be closer to the music industry.^[2] While there, she began to upload cover songs on YouTube while submitting demos. By 2008, Jordan's YouTube page was racking up millions of views. The exposure led Jordan to the attention of production team Stargate who called her to fly to New York and record a few songs with them.^[7] While in the studio, rapper Jay-Z walked in,^[7] which ultimately resulted in Jordan becoming the first artist signed to the new, Sony Music-affiliated label, StarRoc/Roc Nation – a joint venture between Stargate and Jay-Z's Roc Nation label.^[8]

[edit] 2010–11: Alexis Jordan

Jordan's single "Happiness" was released in September 2010. In the United States, the song reached No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs, becoming Jordan's first No. 1 single on that chart.^[9] It also reached No. 1 in Norway^[3] and the Netherlands,^[10] and peaked at No. 3 in Australia and the United Kingdom.^[4][11] In Australia, "Happiness" was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of 210,000 copies.^[12] "Good Girl" was released as Jordan's second single in February 2011. The song debuted at No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Jordan her second top-10 hit in the United Kingdom.^[5] It also reached No. 15 in Ireland^[13] and became her second chart-topper on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart in April.^[14] Her self-titled debut album was released on February 25, 2011.^[6] It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at No. 9^[5] and on the Australian Albums Chart at No. 11.^[4]

"Hush Hush" was released as the album's third single on May 8, 2011.^[15] Jordan served as a support act on English group JLS' tour in the United Kingdom, which commenced in June 2011 and ended in July.^[16] She also appeared at T4 on the Beach in the UK and performed "Hush Hush" and "Good Girl".^[17] Jordan featured on Sean Paul's single "Got 2 Luv U", which reached number one in Switzerland and Bulgaria.^[18]

Jordan made a cameo appearance in the film Honey 2.

2011–present: Second album[link]

She confirmed via Twitter that she was working on her second studio album due for release some time in 2012.^[19]

In November 2011 Jordan went to a recording studio in New York where she recorded with Stargate, she stated that the album is nearly completed.^[20] In the same YouTube video uploaded by Jordan, she was asked what she was doing and she replied "Writing about different things 'cause I'm like all messed up cause I'm talking about girl power, then I'm talking about myself and how people don't really know me that well so they gonna get to know me in this song."^[21]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

As a featured artist[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Music videos[link]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]