Arethas of Caesarea
Arethas of Caesarea | |
|---|---|
 A portion of Plato's Phaedrus from the Codex Clarkianus believed to have been commissioned by Arethas of Caesarea (from the Bodleian Library Collection | |
| Born | c. 860 AD |
| Died | c. 939 AD |
| Era | Macedonian Renaissance |
| Region | Byzantine Empire |
| School | Greek commentaries |
Main interests | Patristic Theology, Christian Eschatology, Christian theology, Stoicism, The reproduction and preservation of ancient texts |
Arethas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀρέθας; born c. 860 AD) was Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern Kayseri, Turkey) early in the 10th century, and is considered one of the most scholarly theologians of the Greek Orthodox Church. The codices produced by him, containing his commentaries are credited with preserving many ancient texts, including those of Plato and Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations".[1][2]
Life
He was born at Patrae (modern-day Greece). He was a disciple of Photius. He studied at the University of Constantinople. He became Deacon of Patrea around 900 and was made Archbishop of Caesarea by Nikolas of Constantinople in 903.[3] He was deeply involved in court politics and was a principal actor in the controversy over the scandal created when Emperor Leo VI attempted to marry a fourth time after his first three wives had died and left him without an heir.[4] Despite Arethas' fame as a scholar, Jenkins thinks little of him as a person. When recounting the details of the scandal, Arethas is described as "...narrow-minded, bad-hearted... morbidly ambitious and absolutely unscrupulous..."[5]
Works
He is the compiler of a Greek commentary (scholia) on the Apocalypse, for which he made considerable use of the similar work of his predecessor, Andrew of Caesarea. It was first printed in 1535 as an appendix to the works of Oecumenius.[6] Ehrhard inclines to the opinion that he wrote other scriptural commentaries. To his interest in the earliest Christian literature, caught perhaps from the above-named Andrew, we owe the Arethas Codex,[7] through which the texts of almost all of the ante-Nicene Greek Christian apologists have, in great measure, reached us.[8]
He is also known as a commentator of Plato and Lucian; the famous manuscript of Plato (Codex Clarkianus), taken from Patmos to London, was copied by order of Arethas. Other important Greek manuscripts, e.g. of Euclid,[9] the rhetor Aristides, and perhaps of Dio Chrysostom, are owing to him. Not a few of his minor writings, contained in a Moscow manuscript, are said still to await an editor.[10] Krumbacher emphasizes his fondness for ancient classical Greek literature and the original sources of Christian theology, in spite of the fact that he lived in a "dark" century, and was far away from any of the few remaining centers of erudition.
Arethas' works also contain the oldest known references to the Meditations (written c. 175 AD) by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.[11] Arethas admits to holding the work in high regard in letters to the Byzantine emperor Leo VI the Wise and in his comments to Lucian and Dio Chrysostom'. Arethas is credited with reintroducing the Meditations to public discourse.
Notes
- ^ Hadot, Pierre (1998). The Inner Citadel The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Translated by Michael Chase). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 24.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Novotny 1977, p. 282-283.
- ^ Jenkins, Romilly (1987). Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries Ad 610-1071. Canada: University of Toronto Press. pp. 219–229.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Jenkins, p. 220-226.
- ^ Jenkins, p. 219.
- ^ It is found in P.G., CVI, 493.
- ^ Paris, Gr. 451.
- ^ Otto Bardenhewer, Patrologie, 40.
- ^ L.D. Reynolds and Nigel G. Wilson, Scribes and Scholars 2nd. ed. (Oxford, 1974) p. 57
- ^ See P.G., loc. cit., 787.
- ^ Gourinat, Jean-Baptiste (2 April 2012). "Chapter 27: Ethics". In Marcel van Ackeren (ed.). A Companion to Marcus Aurelius. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. John Wiley & Sons. p. 420. ISBN 978-1-118-21984-3. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Shahan, Thomas Joseph (1907). "Arethas of Caesarea". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
Sources
- Novotny, Frantisek [in Czech] (1977). The Posthumous Life of Plato. The Hague: Springer Science & Business Media, Dec 6, 2012.
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