Bibliotheca (Photius): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Disambiguating links to Patriarch of Constantinople (link changed to Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) using DisamAssist.
Pheemus (talk | contribs)
4 edits
The works of Procopius are extant
(48 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|9th century work of Byzantine Patriarch Photius}}
{{Distinguish|Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)}}
{{italic title}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:Bibliotheca cover.jpg|200px|thumb|Cover of ''Bibliotheca'']]
[[File:Bibliotheca cover.jpg|200px|thumb|Cover of ''Bibliotheca'']]
The '''''Bibliotheca''''' ({{lang-el|Βιβλιοθήκη}}) or '''''Myriobiblos''''' (Μυριόβιβλος, "Ten Thousand Books") was a ninth-century work of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] [[Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople|Photius]], dedicated to his brother and composed of 279 reviews of books which he had read.
The '''''Bibliotheca''''' ({{lang-el|Βιβλιοθήκη}}) or '''''Myriobiblos''''' (Μυριόβιβλος, "Ten Thousand Books") was a ninth-century work of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]] [[Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople|Photius]], dedicated to his brother and composed of 279 reviews of books which he had read.


==Overview==
==Overview==
''Bibliotheca'' was not meant to be used as a reference work, but was widely used as such in the 9th century, and is generally seen as the first Byzantine work that could be called an [[encyclopedia]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2013}} [[Leighton Durham Reynolds|Reynolds]] and Wilson call it "a fascinating production, in which Photius shows himself the inventor of the [[Book review|book-review]],"<ref name="Reynolds 1991 321">{{Cite book
''Bibliotheca'' was not meant to be used as a reference work, but was widely used as such in the 9th century, and is one of the [[Byzantine encyclopaedism|first Byzantine works]] that could be called an [[encyclopedia]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Jenkins | first=Romilly J. H. | title=The Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature | journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers | publisher=JSTOR | volume=17 | year=1963 | issn=0070-7546 | doi=10.2307/1291189 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Jenkins1963ByzLitHellenisticOrigins/page/n10 47] |url=https://archive.org/details/Jenkins1963ByzLitHellenisticOrigins}}</ref> [[Leighton Durham Reynolds|Reynolds]] and Wilson call it "a fascinating production, in which Photius shows himself the inventor of the [[Book review|book-review]],"<ref name="Reynolds 1991 321">{{Cite book
| edition = 3rd
| edition = 3rd
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| isbn = 0-19-872145-5
| isbn = 0-19-872145-5
| last = Reynolds
| last = Reynolds
| first = L. D and N.G. Wilson
| first = L. D. and N.G. Wilson
| title = Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature
| title = Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature
| location = Oxford
| location = Oxford
Line 19: Line 19:
== Possible Abbasid link ==
== Possible Abbasid link ==


Some older scholarship had speculated that ''Bibliotheca'' might have been composed in [[Baghdad]] at the time of Photius' embassy to the [[Abbasid]] court, since many of the mentioned works are rarely cited during the period before Photius, i.e. the so-called Byzantine "[[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]]," (c. 630 – c.800),<ref>Paul Lemerle, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase: Notes and Remarks on Education and Culture in Byzantium from its Origins to the 10th century''. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1986, 81-84.</ref> and since it was known that the Abbasids were interested in [[Arab transmission of the classics to the west|translating Greek science and philosophy]].<ref>Jokisch, Islamic Imperial Law (2007), pp. 364–386)</ref> However, modern specialists of the period, such as [[Paul Lemerle]], have pointed out that this cannot be the case, since Photius himself clearly states in his preface and postscript to the ''Bibliotheca'' that after he was chosen to take part in the embassy, he sent his brother a summary of the works he had read ''previously'' "since the time that I learned how to understand and evaluate literature," i.e. from his youth.<ref>As Lemerle says "it is clear that this was written, and therefore that the collection has been composed, ''before'' the completion of the embassy. (Lemerle, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase'', 40.)</ref> A further difficulty with supposing that ''Bibliotheca'' was composed during rather than before the embassy, besides Photius' own explicit statement, is that the majority of the works in ''Bibliotheca'' are of Christian [[patristic theology]], and most of the secular works are histories, grammars, and works of literature, particularly rhetoric, rather than works of philosophy or science, and the Abbasids showed no interest in having Greek history or Greek high literature like rhetoric translated, nor were they interested in translating Greek Christian works. Their interest in Greek texts was confined almost exclusively to science, philosophy and medicine.<ref>As Paul Lemerle puts it, "while the renaissance in Hellenism in Byzantium extended progressively and more or less rapidly to all spheres of ancient literature including poetry, theatre, rhetoric, history, etc., Islam took an interest only in the sciences on the one hand, and philosophy on the other, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase'', 26–27</ref> In fact, "there is almost no overlap (other some [[Galen]], [[Dioscurides]], and [[Anatolius]]) between the inventory of secular works in Photius's ''Bibliotheca'' and those works that were translated into Arabic"<ref>Dmitri Gutas, ''Greek thought, Arab Culture,'' 1998, 186.</ref> in the Abbasid period.
Some older scholarship had speculated that ''Bibliotheca'' might have been composed in [[Baghdad]] at the time of Photius' embassy to the [[Abbasid]] court, since many of the mentioned works are rarely cited during the period before Photius, i.e. the so-called Byzantine "[[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]]" ({{circa}} 630–800),<ref>Paul Lemerle, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase: Notes and Remarks on Education and Culture in Byzantium from its Origins to the 10th century''. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1986, 81–84.</ref> and since it was known that the Abbasids were interested in [[Arab transmission of the classics to the west|translating Greek science and philosophy]].<ref>Jokisch, Islamic Imperial Law (2007), pp. 364–386)</ref> However, modern specialists of the period, such as [[Paul Lemerle]], have pointed out that this cannot be the case, since Photius himself clearly states in his preface and postscript to the ''Bibliotheca'' that after he was chosen to take part in the embassy, he sent his brother a summary of the works he had read ''previously'' "since the time that I learned how to understand and evaluate literature," i.e. from his youth.<ref>As Lemerle says "it is clear that this was written, and therefore that the collection has been composed, ''before'' the completion of the embassy (Lemerle, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase'', 40).</ref> A further difficulty with supposing that ''Bibliotheca'' was composed during rather than before the embassy, besides Photius' own explicit statement, is that the majority of the works in ''Bibliotheca'' are of Christian [[patristic theology]], and most of the secular works are histories, grammars, and works of literature, particularly rhetoric, rather than works of philosophy or science, and the Abbasids showed no interest in having Greek history or Greek high literature like rhetoric translated, nor were they interested in translating Greek Christian works. Their interest in Greek texts was confined almost exclusively to science, philosophy and medicine.<ref>As Paul Lemerle puts it, "while the renaissance in Hellenism in Byzantium extended progressively and more or less rapidly to all spheres of ancient literature including poetry, theatre, rhetoric, history, etc., Islam took an interest only in the sciences on the one hand, and philosophy on the other, ''Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase'', 26–27</ref> In fact, "there is almost no overlap (other than some [[Galen]], [[Dioscorides]], and [[Vindonius Anatolius]]) between the inventory of secular works in Photius's ''Bibliotheca'' and those works that were translated into Arabic"<ref>Dmitri Gutas, ''Greek thought, Arab Culture,'' 1998, 186.</ref> in the Abbasid period.


== Editions ==
== Editions ==
* ''[[Editio princeps]]'' (in Greek): [[David Hoeschel]], Augsburg, 1601. Modern critical edition by R. Henry.
* ''[[Editio princeps]]'' (in Greek): [[David Hoeschel]], Augsburg, 1601. Modern critical edition by R. Henry.
== Contents ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! N°
! Author
! Title
! Religion
! Cons.
|-
|1
| [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]]
| On the Genuineness of the works of Dionysius the Areopagite
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|2
| Hadrian the monk
| Introduction to the Scriptures
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|3
| [[Nonnosus (historian)|Nonnosus]]
| History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|4
| Theodore of Mopsuestia
| For Basil Against Eunomius
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|5
|Sophronius
|For Basil Against Eunomius
|Christian
|Lost
|-
|6
| [[Gregory of Nyssa]]
| For Basil Against Eunomius 1
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|7
| Gregory of Nyssa
| For Basil Against Eunomius 2
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|8
| [[Origen]]
| De Principiis
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|9
| Eusebius
| [[Praeparatio Evangelica]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|10
| Eusebius
| Demonstratio Evangelica
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|11
| Eusebius
| Praeparatio Ecclesiastica
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|12
| Eusebius
| Demonstratio Ecclesiastica
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|13
| Eusebius
| Refutation and defence
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|14
| [[Apollinaris of Laodicea|Apollinarius]]
| Against the Heathen
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|14
| Apollinarius
| On Piety
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|14
| Apollinarius
| On Truth
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|15
| Gelasius of Cyzicus
| Acts of the First Council – Nicaea
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|16
| Various
| Acts of the Third Council – Ephesus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|17
| Various
| Acts of the Fourth Council – Chalcedon
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|18
| Various
| Acts of the Fifth Council – Constantinople
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|19
| Various
| Acts of the Sixth Council – Constantinople II
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|20
| Various
| Acts of the Seventh Council – Nicaea II
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|21
| [[John Philoponus]]
| On the Resurrection
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|22
| Theodosius the Monk
| Refutation of John Philoponus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|23
| Conon
| Refutation of John Philoponus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|23
| Eugenius
| Refutation of John Philoponus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|23
| Themistius
| Refutation of John Philoponus
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|24
| Anonymous
| Acts of a disputation between Tritheites and Hesitators
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|25
| John Chrysostom
| Notes on Death
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|25
| [[John Chrysostom]]
| Homilies on the Ascension
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|25
| John Chrysostom
| Homilies on Pentecost
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|26
| [[Synesius of Cyrene]]
| On Providence
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|26
| Synesius of Cyrene
| On the Kingdom
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|27
| [[Eusebius]]
| [[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|28
| [[Socrates of Constantinople|Socrates]]
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|29
| [[Evagrius Scholasticus]]
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|30
| [[Sozomen]]
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|31
| [[Theodoret]]
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|32
| [[Athanasius]]
| Letters
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|33
| [[Justus of Tiberias]]
| Chronicle of the Kings of the Jews
| Jewish
| Lost
|-
|34
| [[Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]]
| Chronography
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|35
| [[Philip of Side]]
| Christian History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|36
| [[Cosmas Indicopleustes]]
| [[Christian Topography]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|37
| Anonymous
| On Government
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|38
| [[Theodore of Mopsuestia]]
| Commentary on Genesis
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|39
| Eusebius
| Against Hierocles
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|40
| [[Philostorgius]]
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|41
| John of Aegae
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|42
| Basil of Cilicia
| Ecclesiastical History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|43
| John Philoponus
| On the Hexaemeron
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|44
| [[Philostratus]]
| [[Life of Apollonius of Tyana]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|45
| [[Andronicianus]]
| Against the Eunomians
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|
| Theodoret
| Eranistes
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|
| Theodoret
| Polymorphos
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|47
| Josephus
| [[The Jewish War]]
| Jewish
| Extant
|-
|48
| Hippolytus
| On the Universe
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|49
| [[Cyril of Alexandria]]
| Against Nestorius
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|50
| Nicias the Monk
| Against the Seven Chapters of Philoponus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|51
| Hesychius
| On the Brazen Serpent
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|52
| Anonymous
| Acts of the synod of Side, 383, against the Messalians
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|53
| Anonymous
| Acts of the synod of Carthage, 412 or 411, against the Pelagians
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|54
| Various
| Copy of the Proceedings taken against the Doctrines of Nestorius
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|55
| John Philoponus
| Against the Fourth Council
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|56
| Theodoret
| Against Heresies
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|57
| [[Appian]]
| Roman History
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|58
| Arrian
| Parthica
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|59
| Various
| Acts of the Synod of the Oak, 403
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|60
| [[Herodotus]]
| [[Histories (Herodotus)|History]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|61
| [[Aeschines]]
| [[Against Timarchus]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|61
| Aeschines
| [[On the False Embassy]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|61
| Aeschines
| Against Ctesiphon
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|62
| [[Praxagoras of Athens]]
| History of Constantine the Great
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|
| Praxagoras of Athens
| The Kings of Athens
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|
| Praxagoras of Athens
| Alexander King of Macedon
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|63
| [[Procopius]]
| History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|64
| [[Theophanes of Byzantium]]
| History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|65
| [[Theophylact Simocatta]]
| Histories
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|66
| [[Nikephoros I of Constantinople|Nicephorus]]
| Historical Epitome
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|67
| Sergius the Confessor
| History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|68
| [[Cephalion (historian)|Cephalion]]
| Historical Epitome
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|69
| [[Hesychius of Miletus|Hesychius]]
| History
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|
| Hesychius
| On Justin
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|70
| [[Diodorus Siculus]]
| [[Bibliotheca historica|Historical Library]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|71
| [[Cassius Dio]]
| History
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|72
| [[Ctesias]]
| [[Persica (Ctesias)|Persica]]
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|72
| Ctesias
| [[Indica (Ctesias)|History of India]]
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|73
| [[Heliodorus of Emesa|Heliodorus]]
| [[Aethiopica]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|74
| [[Themistius]]
| Political Orations
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|74
| [[Lesbonax]]
| Speeches
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|75
| John Philoponus
| On the Trinity against John Scholasticus
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|76
| [[Josephus]]
| [[Antiquities of the Jews]]
| Jewish
| Extant
|-
|77
| [[Eunapius]]
| Chronicle
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|78
| [[Malchus (historian)|Malchus]]
| Byzantine History
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|79
| [[Candidus Isaurus|Candidus]]
| History
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|80
| [[Olympiodorus the Younger|Olympiodorus]]
| Histories
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|81
| Theodore of Mopsuestia
| On Persian Magic
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|82
| [[Dexippus]]
| History
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|82
| Dexippus
| Historical Epitome
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|
| Dexippus
| Scythia
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|83
| [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]
| Histories
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|84
| Dionysius of Halicarnassus
| Synopsis
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|85
| Heraclian
| Against the Manichaeans
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|86
| John Chrysostom
| Letters
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|87
| [[Achilles Tatius]]
| [[Leucippe and Clitophon]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|88
| [[Gelasius of Cyzicus]]
| Proceedings of the Synod of Nicaea
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|89
| Gelasius of Caesarea
| Continuation of the History of Eusebius Pamphili
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|90
| [[Libanius]]
| Various works
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|91
| [[Arrian]]
| [[The Anabasis of Alexander|History of the Reign of Alexander]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|92
| Arrian
| Continuation
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|93
| Arrian
| Bithynica
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|94
| [[Iamblichus]]
| Dramaticon
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|95
| [[John of Scythopolis|John Scythopolita]]
| Against Schismatics
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|
| John Scythopolita
| Against Eutyches and Dioscorus
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|96
| [[Patriarch George I of Alexandria|George of Alexandria]]
| Life of St. Chrysostom
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|97
| [[Phlegon of Tralles]]
| Collection of Chronicles and List of Olympian Victors
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|98
| [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]]
| New History
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|99
| [[Herodian]]
| History
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|100
| [[Hadrian|The Emperor Hadrian]]
| Declamations
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|101
| [[Gaius Marius Victorinus|Victorinus]]
| Panegyrics on the Emperor Zeno
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|102
| [[Gelasius of Caesarea]]
| Against the Anomoeans
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|103
| Philo Judaeus
| Allegories of the Sacred Laws
| Jewish
| Lost
|-
|103
| Philo Judaeus
| On the Civil Life
| Jewish
| Lost
|-
|104
| [[Philo Judaeus]]
| On the Essenes and Therapeutae
| Jewish
| Extant
|-
|105
| Philo Judaeus
| Against Flaccus
| Jewish
| Extant
|-
|105
| Philo Judaeus
| Against Gaius
| Jewish
| Extant
|-
|106
| [[Theognostus of Alexandria]]
| Outlines
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|107
| Basil of Cilicia
| Against John Scythopolita
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|108
| Theodore of Alexandria
| Against Themistius
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|109
| Clement of Alexandria
| Outlines
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|110
| Clement of Alexandria
| [[Paedagogus|The Tutor]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|111
| [[Clement of Alexandria]]
| [[Stromata|The Miscellanies]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|112-3
| Clement of Rome
| Apostolic Constitutions and Recognitions
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|114
| [[Leucius Charinus]]
| Circuits of the Apostles
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|115
| Anonymous
| Against the Quartodecimans
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|115
| [[Metrodorus (grammarian)|Metrodorus]]
| On the date of Easter
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|116
| Anonymous
| A Third Volume on the Holy Easter Feast
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|117
| Anonymous
| In Defense of Origen
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|118
| [[Pamphilus of Caesarea]]
| Defense of Origen
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|119
| [[Pierius]]
| Homilies
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|120
| [[Irenaeus]]
| [[Against Heresies (Irenaeus)|Against Heresies]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|121
| [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]
| [[Refutation of All Heresies|Against Heresies]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|122
| [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]]
| [[Panarion]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|123
| Epiphanius
| Ancoratus
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|124
| Epiphanius
| [[On Weights and Measures]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|125
| [[Justin Martyr]]
| [[First Apology of Justin Martyr|Apology]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|126
| [[Clement of Rome]]
| [[First Epistle of Clement|Letters to the Corinthians]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|126
| [[Polycarp]]
| [[Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians|Letter to the Philippians]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|127
| Eusebius
| [[Life of Constantine]]
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|128
| [[Lucian]]
| [[List of works by Lucian|Dialogues]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|129
| Lucius of Patrae
| Metamorphoses
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|130
| [[Damascius]]
| Incredible Stories
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|131
| [[Amyntianus]]
| On Alexander
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|132-5
| Palladius et.al.
| Declamations
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|136
| Cyril of Alexandria
| Thesauri
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|137
| Eunomius of Cyzicus
| Apology
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|138
| Eunomius of Cyzicus
| Against Basil
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|138
| [[Eunomius of Cyzicus]]
| Letters
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|139
| Athanasius
| Commentary on Ecclesiastes
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|139
| Athanasius
| Commentary on the Song of Songs
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|166
| [[Antonius Diogenes]]
| The Wonders Beyond Thule
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|167
| [[Stobaeus|Joannes Stobaeus]]
| Anthology
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|168
| [[Basil of Seleucia]]
| Sermons
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|170
| Anonymous
| Precursors of Christianity
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|171
| [[Eustratios of Constantinople]]
| On the Status of Souls after Death
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|172-4
| John Chrysostom
| Homilies on Genesis
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|175
| [[Pamphile of Epidaurus]]
| Historical Commentaries
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|176
| [[Theopompus]]
| Philippica
| Pagan
| Lost
|-
|177
| Theodore of Mopsuestia
| Against those who say that men sin by nature and not by intention
| Christian
| Lost
|-
|178
| [[Pedanius Dioscorides]]
| [[De materia medica]]
| Pagan
| Extant
|-
|179
| [[Agapius (Manichaean)]]
| Manichaean pamphlets
| Manichaean
| Lost
|-
|180
| [[John the Lydian]]
| On Prodigies
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|180
| John the Lydian
| On the months
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|180
| John the Lydian
| On the Public Magistracies
| Christian
| Extant
|-
|181
| Damascius
| Life of Isidore
| Pagan
| Lost
|}


==See also==
==See also==
Line 35: Line 1,089:
*Photius, [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_01toc.htm ''Bibliotheca''] at [http://www.tertullian.org The Tertullian Project]
*Photius, [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_01toc.htm ''Bibliotheca''] at [http://www.tertullian.org The Tertullian Project]
*Photius, [http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Photius%20of%20Constantinople_PG%20101-104/Bibliotheca.pdf ''Bibliotheca''] (original text in Greek)
*Photius, [http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Photius%20of%20Constantinople_PG%20101-104/Bibliotheca.pdf ''Bibliotheca''] (original text in Greek)
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:9th-century books]]
[[Category:9th-century books]]

Revision as of 16:27, 17 April 2024

Cover of Bibliotheca

The Bibliotheca (Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη) or Myriobiblos (Μυριόβιβλος, "Ten Thousand Books") was a ninth-century work of Byzantine Patriarch of Constantinople Photius, dedicated to his brother and composed of 279 reviews of books which he had read.

Overview

Bibliotheca was not meant to be used as a reference work, but was widely used as such in the 9th century, and is one of the first Byzantine works that could be called an encyclopedia.[1] Reynolds and Wilson call it "a fascinating production, in which Photius shows himself the inventor of the book-review,"[2] and say its "280 sections... vary in length from a single sentence to several pages".[2] The works he notes are mainly Christian and pagan authors from the 5th century BC to his own time in the 9th century AD. Almost half the books mentioned no longer survive. These would have disappeared in the Sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, in the final Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, or in the following centuries of Ottoman rule, during which wealth and literacy contracted dramatically in the subordinate Greek community.

Possible Abbasid link

Some older scholarship had speculated that Bibliotheca might have been composed in Baghdad at the time of Photius' embassy to the Abbasid court, since many of the mentioned works are rarely cited during the period before Photius, i.e. the so-called Byzantine "Dark Ages" (c. 630–800),[3] and since it was known that the Abbasids were interested in translating Greek science and philosophy.[4] However, modern specialists of the period, such as Paul Lemerle, have pointed out that this cannot be the case, since Photius himself clearly states in his preface and postscript to the Bibliotheca that after he was chosen to take part in the embassy, he sent his brother a summary of the works he had read previously "since the time that I learned how to understand and evaluate literature," i.e. from his youth.[5] A further difficulty with supposing that Bibliotheca was composed during rather than before the embassy, besides Photius' own explicit statement, is that the majority of the works in Bibliotheca are of Christian patristic theology, and most of the secular works are histories, grammars, and works of literature, particularly rhetoric, rather than works of philosophy or science, and the Abbasids showed no interest in having Greek history or Greek high literature like rhetoric translated, nor were they interested in translating Greek Christian works. Their interest in Greek texts was confined almost exclusively to science, philosophy and medicine.[6] In fact, "there is almost no overlap (other than some Galen, Dioscorides, and Vindonius Anatolius) between the inventory of secular works in Photius's Bibliotheca and those works that were translated into Arabic"[7] in the Abbasid period.

Editions

Contents

N° Author Title Religion Cons.
1 Theodore of Mopsuestia On the Genuineness of the works of Dionysius the Areopagite Christian Lost
2 Hadrian the monk Introduction to the Scriptures Christian Extant
3 Nonnosus History Christian Lost
4 Theodore of Mopsuestia For Basil Against Eunomius Christian Lost
5 Sophronius For Basil Against Eunomius Christian Lost
6 Gregory of Nyssa For Basil Against Eunomius 1 Christian Extant
7 Gregory of Nyssa For Basil Against Eunomius 2 Christian Lost
8 Origen De Principiis Christian Extant
9 Eusebius Praeparatio Evangelica Christian Extant
10 Eusebius Demonstratio Evangelica Christian Extant
11 Eusebius Praeparatio Ecclesiastica Christian Lost
12 Eusebius Demonstratio Ecclesiastica Christian Lost
13 Eusebius Refutation and defence Christian Lost
14 Apollinarius Against the Heathen Christian Lost
14 Apollinarius On Piety Christian Lost
14 Apollinarius On Truth Christian Lost
15 Gelasius of Cyzicus Acts of the First Council – Nicaea Christian Extant
16 Various Acts of the Third Council – Ephesus Christian Lost
17 Various Acts of the Fourth Council – Chalcedon Christian Lost
18 Various Acts of the Fifth Council – Constantinople Christian Lost
19 Various Acts of the Sixth Council – Constantinople II Christian Lost
20 Various Acts of the Seventh Council – Nicaea II Christian Lost
21 John Philoponus On the Resurrection Christian Lost
22 Theodosius the Monk Refutation of John Philoponus Christian Lost
23 Conon Refutation of John Philoponus Christian Lost
23 Eugenius Refutation of John Philoponus Christian Lost
23 Themistius Refutation of John Philoponus Pagan Lost
24 Anonymous Acts of a disputation between Tritheites and Hesitators Christian Lost
25 John Chrysostom Notes on Death Christian Lost
25 John Chrysostom Homilies on the Ascension Christian Extant
25 John Chrysostom Homilies on Pentecost Christian Extant
26 Synesius of Cyrene On Providence Christian Extant
26 Synesius of Cyrene On the Kingdom Christian Lost
27 Eusebius Ecclesiastical History Christian Extant
28 Socrates Ecclesiastical History Christian Extant
29 Evagrius Scholasticus Ecclesiastical History Christian Extant
30 Sozomen Ecclesiastical History Christian Extant
31 Theodoret Ecclesiastical History Christian Extant
32 Athanasius Letters Christian Extant
33 Justus of Tiberias Chronicle of the Kings of the Jews Jewish Lost
34 Julius Africanus Chronography Christian Lost
35 Philip of Side Christian History Christian Lost
36 Cosmas Indicopleustes Christian Topography Christian Extant
37 Anonymous On Government Christian Lost
38 Theodore of Mopsuestia Commentary on Genesis Christian Lost
39 Eusebius Against Hierocles Christian Extant
40 Philostorgius Ecclesiastical History Christian Lost
41 John of Aegae Ecclesiastical History Christian Lost
42 Basil of Cilicia Ecclesiastical History Christian Lost
43 John Philoponus On the Hexaemeron Christian Extant
44 Philostratus Life of Apollonius of Tyana Pagan Extant
45 Andronicianus Against the Eunomians Christian Lost
Theodoret Eranistes Christian Lost
Theodoret Polymorphos Christian Lost
47 Josephus The Jewish War Jewish Extant
48 Hippolytus On the Universe Christian Lost
49 Cyril of Alexandria Against Nestorius Christian Extant
50 Nicias the Monk Against the Seven Chapters of Philoponus Christian Lost
51 Hesychius On the Brazen Serpent Christian Lost
52 Anonymous Acts of the synod of Side, 383, against the Messalians Christian Lost
53 Anonymous Acts of the synod of Carthage, 412 or 411, against the Pelagians Christian Lost
54 Various Copy of the Proceedings taken against the Doctrines of Nestorius Christian Lost
55 John Philoponus Against the Fourth Council Christian Lost
56 Theodoret Against Heresies Christian Extant
57 Appian Roman History Pagan Extant
58 Arrian Parthica Pagan Lost
59 Various Acts of the Synod of the Oak, 403 Christian Lost
60 Herodotus History Pagan Extant
61 Aeschines Against Timarchus Pagan Extant
61 Aeschines On the False Embassy Pagan Extant
61 Aeschines Against Ctesiphon Pagan Extant
62 Praxagoras of Athens History of Constantine the Great Pagan Lost
Praxagoras of Athens The Kings of Athens Pagan Lost
Praxagoras of Athens Alexander King of Macedon Pagan Lost
63 Procopius History Christian Extant
64 Theophanes of Byzantium History Christian Lost
65 Theophylact Simocatta Histories Christian Extant
66 Nicephorus Historical Epitome Christian Lost
67 Sergius the Confessor History Christian Lost
68 Cephalion Historical Epitome Pagan Lost
69 Hesychius History Christian Lost
Hesychius On Justin Christian Lost
70 Diodorus Siculus Historical Library Pagan Extant
71 Cassius Dio History Pagan Extant
72 Ctesias Persica Pagan Lost
72 Ctesias History of India Pagan Lost
73 Heliodorus Aethiopica Pagan Extant
74 Themistius Political Orations Pagan Lost
74 Lesbonax Speeches Pagan Lost
75 John Philoponus On the Trinity against John Scholasticus Christian Extant
76 Josephus Antiquities of the Jews Jewish Extant
77 Eunapius Chronicle Pagan Extant
78 Malchus Byzantine History Pagan Lost
79 Candidus History Christian Extant
80 Olympiodorus Histories Pagan Lost
81 Theodore of Mopsuestia On Persian Magic Christian Lost
82 Dexippus History Pagan Lost
82 Dexippus Historical Epitome Pagan Lost
Dexippus Scythia Pagan Lost
83 Dionysius of Halicarnassus Histories Pagan Extant
84 Dionysius of Halicarnassus Synopsis Pagan Lost
85 Heraclian Against the Manichaeans Christian Lost
86 John Chrysostom Letters Christian Extant
87 Achilles Tatius Leucippe and Clitophon Pagan Extant
88 Gelasius of Cyzicus Proceedings of the Synod of Nicaea Christian Extant
89 Gelasius of Caesarea Continuation of the History of Eusebius Pamphili Christian Lost
90 Libanius Various works Pagan Extant
91 Arrian History of the Reign of Alexander Pagan Extant
92 Arrian Continuation Pagan Lost
93 Arrian Bithynica Pagan Lost
94 Iamblichus Dramaticon Pagan Lost
95 John Scythopolita Against Schismatics Christian Lost
John Scythopolita Against Eutyches and Dioscorus Christian Lost
96 George of Alexandria Life of St. Chrysostom Christian Extant
97 Phlegon of Tralles Collection of Chronicles and List of Olympian Victors Pagan Lost
98 Zosimus New History Pagan Extant
99 Herodian History Pagan Extant
100 The Emperor Hadrian Declamations Pagan Extant
101 Victorinus Panegyrics on the Emperor Zeno Christian Lost
102 Gelasius of Caesarea Against the Anomoeans Christian Lost
103 Philo Judaeus Allegories of the Sacred Laws Jewish Lost
103 Philo Judaeus On the Civil Life Jewish Lost
104 Philo Judaeus On the Essenes and Therapeutae Jewish Extant
105 Philo Judaeus Against Flaccus Jewish Extant
105 Philo Judaeus Against Gaius Jewish Extant
106 Theognostus of Alexandria Outlines Christian Lost
107 Basil of Cilicia Against John Scythopolita Christian Lost
108 Theodore of Alexandria Against Themistius Christian Lost
109 Clement of Alexandria Outlines Christian Lost
110 Clement of Alexandria The Tutor Christian Extant
111 Clement of Alexandria The Miscellanies Christian Extant
112-3 Clement of Rome Apostolic Constitutions and Recognitions Christian Extant
114 Leucius Charinus Circuits of the Apostles Christian Lost
115 Anonymous Against the Quartodecimans Christian Lost
115 Metrodorus On the date of Easter Christian Lost
116 Anonymous A Third Volume on the Holy Easter Feast Christian Lost
117 Anonymous In Defense of Origen Christian Lost
118 Pamphilus of Caesarea Defense of Origen Christian Extant
119 Pierius Homilies Christian Lost
120 Irenaeus Against Heresies Christian Extant
121 Hippolytus Against Heresies Christian Extant
122 Epiphanius Panarion Christian Extant
123 Epiphanius Ancoratus Christian Extant
124 Epiphanius On Weights and Measures Christian Extant
125 Justin Martyr Apology Christian Extant
126 Clement of Rome Letters to the Corinthians Christian Extant
126 Polycarp Letter to the Philippians Christian Extant
127 Eusebius Life of Constantine Christian Extant
128 Lucian Dialogues Pagan Extant
129 Lucius of Patrae Metamorphoses Pagan Lost
130 Damascius Incredible Stories Pagan Lost
131 Amyntianus On Alexander Pagan Lost
132-5 Palladius et.al. Declamations Pagan Lost
136 Cyril of Alexandria Thesauri Christian Extant
137 Eunomius of Cyzicus Apology Christian Lost
138 Eunomius of Cyzicus Against Basil Christian Lost
138 Eunomius of Cyzicus Letters Christian Lost
139 Athanasius Commentary on Ecclesiastes Christian Lost
139 Athanasius Commentary on the Song of Songs Christian Lost
166 Antonius Diogenes The Wonders Beyond Thule Pagan Lost
167 Joannes Stobaeus Anthology Pagan Extant
168 Basil of Seleucia Sermons Christian Extant
170 Anonymous Precursors of Christianity Christian Lost
171 Eustratios of Constantinople On the Status of Souls after Death Christian Extant
172-4 John Chrysostom Homilies on Genesis Christian Extant
175 Pamphile of Epidaurus Historical Commentaries Pagan Lost
176 Theopompus Philippica Pagan Lost
177 Theodore of Mopsuestia Against those who say that men sin by nature and not by intention Christian Lost
178 Pedanius Dioscorides De materia medica Pagan Extant
179 Agapius (Manichaean) Manichaean pamphlets Manichaean Lost
180 John the Lydian On Prodigies Christian Extant
180 John the Lydian On the months Christian Extant
180 John the Lydian On the Public Magistracies Christian Extant
181 Damascius Life of Isidore Pagan Lost

See also

References

  1. ^ Jenkins, Romilly J. H. (1963). "The Hellenistic Origins of Byzantine Literature". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 17. JSTOR: 47. doi:10.2307/1291189. ISSN 0070-7546.
  2. ^ a b Reynolds, L. D. and N.G. Wilson (1991). Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature (3rd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 321. ISBN 0-19-872145-5.
  3. ^ Paul Lemerle, Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase: Notes and Remarks on Education and Culture in Byzantium from its Origins to the 10th century. Canberra: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1986, 81–84.
  4. ^ Jokisch, Islamic Imperial Law (2007), pp. 364–386)
  5. ^ As Lemerle says "it is clear that this was written, and therefore that the collection has been composed, before the completion of the embassy (Lemerle, Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase, 40).
  6. ^ As Paul Lemerle puts it, "while the renaissance in Hellenism in Byzantium extended progressively and more or less rapidly to all spheres of ancient literature including poetry, theatre, rhetoric, history, etc., Islam took an interest only in the sciences on the one hand, and philosophy on the other, Byzantine Humanism: The First Phase, 26–27
  7. ^ Dmitri Gutas, Greek thought, Arab Culture, 1998, 186.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bibliotheca_(Photius)&oldid=1219413380"