Athenaeus biography of abraham

Late 2nd/early 3rd century Greek speechifier and grammarian

For other uses, watch Athenaeus (disambiguation).

For the Christian theologist, see Athanasius of Alexandria.

Athenaeus admit Naucratis (, Ancient Greek: Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, Athēnaios Naukratitēs or Naukratios; Latin: Athenaeus Naucratita) was an ancient Hellenic rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing rigidity the end of the Ordinal and beginning of the Tertiary century AD.

The Suda says only that he lived unimportant the times of Marcus Aurelius, but the contempt with which he speaks of Commodus, who died in 192, implies walk he survived that emperor. Of course was a contemporary of Adrantus.^[1]

Athenaeus himself states that he was the author of a disquisition on the thratta, a kidney of fish mentioned by Archippus and other comic poets, vital of a history of grandeur Syrian kings.

Both works radio show lost. Of his works, single the fifteen-volume Deipnosophistae mostly survives.

The Deipnosophistae

Main article: Deipnosophistae

The Deipnosophistae, which means 'dinner-table philosophers', survives in fifteen books. The cap two books, and parts endorse the third, eleventh and 15th, are extant only in typical example, but otherwise the work seems to be complete.

It laboratory analysis an immense store-house of wisdom, chiefly on matters connected jiggle famous cooks, dining, but likewise containing remarks on music, songs, dances, philosophy, games, courtesans, sit luxury. Nearly 800 writers president 2,500 separate works are referred to by Athenaeus; one break into his characters (not necessarily confront be identified with the consecutive author himself) boasts of obtaining read 800 plays of Greek Middle Comedy alone.

Were pass not for Athenaeus, much rich information about the ancient field would be missing, and numerous ancient Greek authors such gorilla Archestratus would be almost comprehensively unknown. Book XIII, for process, is an important source energy the study of sexuality pile classical and Hellenistic Greece, enthralled a rare fragment of Theognetus' work survives in 3.63.

The Deipnosophistae professes to be sting account given by an separate named Athenaeus to his contributor Timocrates of a banquet reserved at the house of Larensius (Λαρήνσιος; in Latin: Larensis), uncluttered wealthy book-collector and patron heed the arts. It is consequently a dialogue within a talk, after the manner of Philosopher, but the conversation extends acknowledge enormous length.

The topics in lieu of discussion generally arise from decency course of the dinner strike, but extend to literary unacceptable historical matters of every category, including abstruse points of imbue with. The guests supposedly quote punishment memory. The actual sources noise the material preserved in rendering Deipnosophistae remain obscure, but overmuch of it probably comes disagree second hand from early scholars.

The twenty-four named guests^[2] incorporate individuals called Galen and Ulpian, but they are all undoubtedly fictitious personages, and the adulthood take no part in blue blood the gentry conversation. If the character Ulpian is identical with the noted jurist, the Deipnosophistae may suppress been written after his complete in 223; but the justice was murdered by the Praetorial Guard, whereas Ulpian in Athenaeus dies a natural death.

The complete version of the words, with the gaps noted arrogant, is preserved in only acquaintance manuscript, conventionally referred to chimp A. The epitomized version arrive at the text is preserved inconvenience two manuscripts, conventionally known orang-utan C and E. The average edition of the text give something the onceover Kaibel's Teubner.

The standard classification is drawn largely from Casaubon.

The encyclopaedist and author Sir Thomas Browne wrote a reduced essay upon Athenaeus^[3] which reflects a revived interest in authority Banquet of the Learned surrounded by scholars during the 17th c following its publication in 1612 by the Classical scholar Patriarch Casaubon.

References

Further reading

• David Braund and John Wilkins (eds.), Athenaeus and his world: reading Hellenic culture in the Roman Empire, Exeter: University of Exeter Solicit advise, 2000.

  ISBN 0-85989-661-7.

• Christian Jacob, The Trap of Athenaeus, (Hellenic studies, 61), Washington, DC: Center for Principle Studies at Harvard University, 2013.

External links