Did Arius teach that time existed before the Son existed?

Arius wrote that the Son was “begotten ***timelessly*** by the Father … before aeons … begotten ***timelessly*** before everything” (Letter to Alexander – See RPC Hanson, The Search, page 8). But Alexander of Alexandria stated that Arius also wrote that “there was a time when he did not exist” (RPC Hanson, The Search, page 16). Did Arius contradict himself? How could there be time before the Son existed if he was “begotten timelessly before everything?”