The Bibliotheca (Ancient Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη, Bibliothēkē, 'Library'), also known as the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD.[1]
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
The author was traditionally thought to be Apollodorus of Athens, yet that attribution is now regarded as false, as a result "Pseudo-" has been affixed to Apollodorus.
The Bibliotheca has been called "the most valuable mythographical work which has passed down from ancient times."[2] An epigram recorded by the important intellectual Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople expressed its purpose:[i]
It has the following not ungraceful epigram: 'Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned lore. Look neither at the page of Homer, nor of elegy, nor tragic muse, nor epic strain. Seek not the vaunted verse of the cycle; but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains'.
The brief and unadorned accounts of myth in the Bibliotheca have led some commentators to suggest that even its complete sections are an epitome of a lost work.[3]
A certain "Apollodorus" is indicated as author on some surviving manuscripts.[4] This Apollodorus has been mistakenly identified with Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BC), a student of Aristarchus of Samothrace, mainly as it is known—from references in the minor scholia on Homer—that Apollodorus of Athens did leave a similar comprehensive repertory on mythology, in the form of a verse chronicle. The text which has survived to the present, however, cites a Roman author: Castor the Annalist, a contemporary of Cicero in the 1st century BC. The mistaken attribution was made by scholars following Photius' mention of the name, though Photius did not name him as the Athenian and the name was in common use at the time.[5] As (for chronological reasons, Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book) the author of the Bibliotheca is at times referred to as the "Pseudo-Apollodorus", to distinguish him from Apollodorus of Athens. Modern works often simply call him "Apollodorus".
One of his many sources was the Tragodoumena (Subjects of Tragedies) a 4th-century BC analysis of the myths in Greek tragedies by Asclepiades of Tragilus,[6] the first known Greek mythographic compilation.[7]
Manuscript tradition
The first mention of the work is by Photius in the 9th century. It was almost lost in the 13th century, surviving in one now-incomplete manuscript,[8] which was copied for Cardinal Bessarion in the 15th century; the other surviving manuscripts derive from Bessarion's copy.[ii]
Although the Bibliotheca is undivided in the manuscripts, it is conventionally divided into three books. Part of the third book, which breaks off abruptly in the story of Theseus, has been lost. Photius had the full work before him, as he mentions in his "account of books read" that it contained stories of the heroes of the Trojan War and the nostoi, missing in surviving manuscripts. Sir James George Frazer published an epitome of the book by conflating two manuscript summaries of the text,[9] which included the lost part.
Printed editions
The first printed edition of the Bibliotheca was published in Rome in 1555, edited by Benedetto Egio (Benedictus Aegius) of Spoleto, who divided the text in three books,[iii] but made many unwarranted emendations in the very corrupt text. Hieronymus Commelinus [fr] published an improved text at Heidelberg, 1559. The first text based on comparative manuscripts was that of Christian Gottlob Heyne, Göttingen, 1782–83.[10]
^Frazer, J. G.; Apollodorus (2017-06-21). The Library of Greek Mythology. Independently Published. ISBN9781521558911.
^Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition, edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.
Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition, edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.
Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." Classical Antiquity 27:59–91. JSTOR 10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59.
Hard, Robin (2004), The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology" (7th ed.), London: Routledge, ISBN978-0-415-18636-0
Higbie, Carolyn. 2007. "Hellenistic Mythographers." Pp. 237–54 in The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology, edited by R. D. Woodard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" Rheinisches Museum 140 308–27.
Kenens, Ulrike. 2013. "Text and Transmission of Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca: Avenues for Future Research." Pp. 95–114 in Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World, edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters.
Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 97:129–46. JSTOR 23048902.
Scully, Stephen. 2015. "Echoes of the Theogony in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods." In Hesiod's 'Theogony', From Near Eastern Creation Myths to 'Paradise Lost'. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, R. Scott; Trzaskoma, Stephen M., eds. (2007), Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing, ISBN978-0-87220-820-9
Trzaskoma, Stephen. 2013. "Citation, Organization and Authorial Presence in Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca." Pp. 75–94 in Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World, edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters.
Trzaskoma, Stephen M. and R. Scott Smith. 2008. "Hellas in the Bibliotheke of Apollodorus." Philologus 152(1):90–6. Online version at De Gruyter.
External links
Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article: (Ψευδο-)Ἀπολλόδωρος
Apollodorus The Library translated by J. G. Frazer
Works by Apollodorus at Perseus Digital Library
Mythographoi. Scriptores poetiace historiae graeci, Antonius Westermann (ed.), Brunsvigae sumptum fecit Georgius Westermann, 1843, pagg. 1-123.
Apollodori Bibliotheca, Immanuel Bekker (ed.), Lipsiae sumptibus et typis B. G. Teubneri, 1854.
Mythographi graeci, Richardus Wagner (ed.), vol. 1, Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1894: pp. 1-169 (the epitome in pp. 171-237).
Apollodorus, The Library translated by J. G. Frazer
Apollodorus the Mythographer
Online text: Apollodorus The Library translated by J. G. Frazer (condensed text)
May 20, 2023
bibliotheca, pseudo, apollodorus, bibliotheca, ancient, greek, Βιβλιοθήκη, bibliothēkē, library, also, known, bibliotheca, pseudo, apollodorus, compendium, greek, myths, heroic, legends, arranged, three, books, generally, dated, first, second, century, author,. The Bibliotheca Ancient Greek Biblio8hkh Bibliotheke Library also known as the Bibliotheca of Pseudo Apollodorus is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends arranged in three books generally dated to the first or second century AD 1 Bibliotheca Pseudo Apollodorus The author was traditionally thought to be Apollodorus of Athens yet that attribution is now regarded as false as a result Pseudo has been affixed to Apollodorus The Bibliotheca has been called the most valuable mythographical work which has passed down from ancient times 2 An epigram recorded by the important intellectual Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople expressed its purpose i It has the following not ungraceful epigram Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned lore Look neither at the page of Homer nor of elegy nor tragic muse nor epic strain Seek not the vaunted verse of the cycle but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains The brief and unadorned accounts of myth in the Bibliotheca have led some commentators to suggest that even its complete sections are an epitome of a lost work 3 Contents 1 Pseudo Apollodorus 2 Manuscript tradition 3 Printed editions 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Citations 5 3 Works cited 6 External linksPseudo Apollodorus EditA certain Apollodorus is indicated as author on some surviving manuscripts 4 This Apollodorus has been mistakenly identified with Apollodorus of Athens born c 180 BC a student of Aristarchus of Samothrace mainly as it is known from references in the minor scholia on Homer that Apollodorus of Athens did leave a similar comprehensive repertory on mythology in the form of a verse chronicle The text which has survived to the present however cites a Roman author Castor the Annalist a contemporary of Cicero in the 1st century BC The mistaken attribution was made by scholars following Photius mention of the name though Photius did not name him as the Athenian and the name was in common use at the time 5 As for chronological reasons Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book the author of the Bibliotheca is at times referred to as the Pseudo Apollodorus to distinguish him from Apollodorus of Athens Modern works often simply call him Apollodorus One of his many sources was the Tragodoumena Subjects of Tragedies a 4th century BC analysis of the myths in Greek tragedies by Asclepiades of Tragilus 6 the first known Greek mythographic compilation 7 Manuscript tradition EditThe first mention of the work is by Photius in the 9th century It was almost lost in the 13th century surviving in one now incomplete manuscript 8 which was copied for Cardinal Bessarion in the 15th century the other surviving manuscripts derive from Bessarion s copy ii Although the Bibliotheca is undivided in the manuscripts it is conventionally divided into three books Part of the third book which breaks off abruptly in the story of Theseus has been lost Photius had the full work before him as he mentions in his account of books read that it contained stories of the heroes of the Trojan War and the nostoi missing in surviving manuscripts Sir James George Frazer published an epitome of the book by conflating two manuscript summaries of the text 9 which included the lost part Printed editions EditThe first printed edition of the Bibliotheca was published in Rome in 1555 edited by Benedetto Egio Benedictus Aegius of Spoleto who divided the text in three books iii but made many unwarranted emendations in the very corrupt text Hieronymus Commelinus fr published an improved text at Heidelberg 1559 The first text based on comparative manuscripts was that of Christian Gottlob Heyne Gottingen 1782 83 10 See also Edit Ancient Greece portalReferences EditNotes Edit Victim of its own suggestions the epigraph ironically does not survive in the manuscripts For the classic examples of epitomes and encyclopedias substituting in Christian hands for the literature of Classical Antiquity itself see Isidore of Seville s Etymologiae and Martianus Capella Bessarion s copy deposited in the Biblioteca Marciana Venice found its way into the Greek manuscripts of Archbishop Laud and came with them to the Bodleian Library in 1636 Diller 1935 308 310 He based his division on attributions in the scholia minora on Homer to Apollodorus in three books Diller 1935 pp 298 308 9 Citations Edit Hard 2004 p 3 Perseus Encyclopedia Apollodorus 4 Simpson 1976 p 1 Diller 1935 pp 296 300 Frazer J G Apollodorus 2017 06 21 The Library of Greek Mythology Independently Published ISBN 9781521558911 Diller Aubrey 1983 The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo Apollodorus Pp 199 216 in Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition edited by A Diller Amsterdam A M Hakkert Aldrich 1975 p 1 Smith amp Trzaskoma 2007 pp xxii xxiii Graf Fritz 1996 Greek Mythology An Introduction Baltimore Maryland Johns Hopkins University Press p 193 ISBN 978 0 8018 5395 1 Bibliotheque nationale Paris Frazer James G 1913 Apollodorus Loeb Classical Library Diller 1935 Works cited Edit Aldrich Keith 1975 The Library of Greek Mythology Lawrence Kansas Coronado Press ISBN 0872910725 Diller Aubrey 1935 The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo Apollodorus Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 66 296 313 doi 10 2307 283301 JSTOR 283301 Diller Aubrey 1983 The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo Apollodorus Pp 199 216 in Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition edited by A Diller Amsterdam A M Hakkert Dowden Ken 1992 The Uses of Greek Mythology London Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 06135 3 Internet Archive Fletcher K F B 2008 Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth Classical Antiquity 27 59 91 JSTOR 10 1525 ca 2008 27 1 59 Hard Robin 1997 Apollodorus The Library of Greek Mythology Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 199 53632 0 Hard Robin 2004 The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology Based on H J Rose s Handbook of Greek Mythology 7th ed London Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 18636 0 Higbie Carolyn 2007 Hellenistic Mythographers Pp 237 54 in The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology edited by R D Woodard Cambridge Cambridge University Press Huys Marc 1997 Euripides and the Tales from Euripides Sources of Apollodoros Bibliotheca Rheinisches Museum 140 308 27 Kenens Ulrike 2013 Text and Transmission of Ps Apollodorus Bibliotheca Avenues for Future Research Pp 95 114 in Writing Myth Mythography in the Ancient World edited by S M Trzaskoma and R S Smith Leuven Belgium Peeters Kenens Ulrike 2011 The Sources of Ps Apollodorus Library A Case Study Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 97 129 46 JSTOR 23048902 Scully Stephen 2015 Echoes of the Theogony in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods In Hesiod s Theogony From Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost New York Oxford University Press Simpson Michael ed 1976 Gods and Heroes of the Greeks The Library of Apollodorus Amherst University of Massachusetts Press ISBN 978 0 870 23206 0 Smith R Scott Trzaskoma Stephen M eds 2007 Apollodorus Libraryand Hyginus Fabulae Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology Indianapolis Indiana Hackett Publishing ISBN 978 0 87220 820 9 Trzaskoma Stephen 2013 Citation Organization and Authorial Presence in Ps Apollodorus Bibliotheca Pp 75 94 in Writing Myth Mythography in the Ancient World edited by S M Trzaskoma and R S Smith Leuven Belgium Peeters Trzaskoma Stephen M and R Scott Smith 2008 Hellas in the Bibliotheke of Apollodorus Philologus 152 1 90 6 Online version at De Gruyter External links Edit Greek Wikisource has original text related to this article PSeydo Ἀpollodwros Apollodorus The Library translated by J G Frazer Works by Apollodorus at Perseus Digital Library Mythographoi Scriptores poetiace historiae graeci Antonius Westermann ed Brunsvigae sumptum fecit Georgius Westermann 1843 pagg 1 123 Apollodori Bibliotheca Immanuel Bekker ed Lipsiae sumptibus et typis B G Teubneri 1854 Mythographi graeci Richardus Wagner ed vol 1 Lipsiae in aedibus B G Teubneri 1894 pp 1 169 the epitome in pp 171 237 Apollodorus The Library translated by J G Frazer Apollodorus the Mythographer Online text Apollodorus The Library translated by J G Frazer condensed text Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bibliotheca Pseudo Apollodorus amp oldid 1152031172, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
