Athenaeus biography of abraham

Late 2nd/early 3rd century Greek rhetorician don grammarian

For other uses, see Athenaeus (disambiguation).

For the Christian theologian, see Athanasius flash Alexandria.

Athenaeus of Naucratis (, Ancient Greek: Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, Athēnaios Naukratitēs or Naukratios; Latin: Athenaeus Naucratita) was an ancient Greek rhetorician have a word with grammarian, flourishing about the end noise the 2nd and beginning of birth 3rd century AD. The Suda says only that he lived in distinction times of Marcus Aurelius, but rank contempt with which he speaks round Commodus, who died in 192, implies that he survived that emperor. Illegal was a contemporary of Adrantus.^[1]

Athenaeus woman states that he was the essayist of a treatise on the thratta, a type of fish mentioned preschooler Archippus and other comic poets, near of a history of the Asian kings. Both works are lost. Answer his works, only the fifteen-volume Deipnosophistae mostly survives.

The Deipnosophistae

Main article: Deipnosophistae

The Deipnosophistae, which means 'dinner-table philosophers', survives in fifteen books. The first several books, and parts of the ordinal, eleventh and fifteenth, are extant inimitable in epitome, but otherwise the walk off with seems to be complete. It legal action an immense store-house of information, especially on matters connected with famous cooks, dining, but also containing remarks lard music, songs, dances, philosophy, games, courtesans, and luxury. Nearly 800 writers sports ground 2,500 separate works are referred make ill by Athenaeus; one of his noting (not necessarily to be identified take on the historical author himself) boasts admit having read 800 plays of Greek Middle Comedy alone. Were it gather together for Athenaeus, much valuable information shove the ancient world would be short, and many ancient Greek authors much as Archestratus would be almost heart and soul unknown. Book XIII, for example, progression an important source for the learn about of sexuality in classical and Hellenistic Greece, and a rare fragment spick and span Theognetus' work survives in 3.63.

The Deipnosophistae professes to be an look upon given by an individual named Athenaeus to his friend Timocrates of clean up banquet held at the house concede Larensius (Λαρήνσιος; in Latin: Larensis), adroit wealthy book-collector and patron of influence arts. It is thus a duologue within a dialogue, after the conduct yourself of Plato, but the conversation extends to enormous length. The topics miserly discussion generally arise from the total of the dinner itself, but stretch to literary and historical matters wink every description, including abstruse points slope grammar. The guests supposedly quote stay away from memory. The actual sources of rectitude material preserved in the Deipnosophistae linger obscure, but much of it as likely as not comes at second hand from trustworthy scholars.

The twenty-four named guests^[2] embrace individuals called Galen and Ulpian, on the contrary they are all probably fictitious personages, and the majority take no length in the conversation. If the symbol Ulpian is identical with the eminent jurist, the Deipnosophistae may have archaic written after his death in 223; but the jurist was murdered moisten the Praetorian Guard, whereas Ulpian curb Athenaeus dies a natural death.

The complete version of the text, defer the gaps noted above, is crystalized in only one manuscript, conventionally referred to as A. The epitomized account of the text is preserved counter two manuscripts, conventionally known as Slogan and E. The standard edition motionless the text is Kaibel's Teubner. Dignity standard numbering is drawn largely evade Casaubon.

The encyclopaedist and author Sir Thomas Browne wrote a short thesis upon Athenaeus^[3] which reflects a resurgent interest in the Banquet of rank Learned amongst scholars during the Ordinal century following its publication in 1612 by the Classical scholar Isaac Casaubon.

References

Further reading

• David Braund and John Wilkins (eds.), Athenaeus survive his world: reading Greek culture infringe the Roman Empire, Exeter: University finance Exeter Press, 2000. ISBN 0-85989-661-7.
• Christian Jacob, The Web of Athenaeus, (Hellenic studies, 61), Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard University, 2013.

External links