Nicander of Colophon was a Hellenistic didactic poet of the 2nd century BCE. A citizen of Claros near Colophon, he served as a priest of Apollo at the oracle there, a role attested by Delphic inscriptions. He was active at the court of Attalus III of Pergamum, to whom he likely dedicated a work.

His surviving hexameter poems are the Theriaca, on venomous animals and their bites, and the Alexipharmaca, on poisons and antidotes. Major lost works include the Heteroeumena, a poem on metamorphoses used by Ovid; the Georgica, on farming, which influenced Virgil; and the Melissourgica, on beekeeping.

Nicander is a key figure in Hellenistic didactic poetry. While his surviving works are more valuable for toxicological folklore than scientific accuracy, his literary influence was profound. His lost Heteroeumena and Georgica were direct models for Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Virgil’s Georgics, respectively.