Aristarque de Samothrace

See also: Aristarque

Aristarque de Samothrace , in Greek old Ἀρίσταρχος / Arístarkhos (v.  220 - 143 av. J. - C.), grammairien, pioneer of the rigorous study of the Homeric texts.

Biography

Disciple of Aristophane de Byzance, it founds with Alexandria a school criticizes (school of Aristarchéens) and directs celebrates it library city. In collaboration with its Master, it constitutes the Canon alexandrine , list of the Greek authors considered to be most remarkable for the purity of their language. The list is always employed nowadays in the teaching of the Greek, in particular for the Orateurs attics. On the end of its life, it leaves for Cyprus where, according to the tradition, it is let die of hunger, being reached an incurable evil.

Work

Continuing the work of Zénodote and its Master, it establishes a critical edition of the Homeric texts. He endeavors to cut off from the original text, established from the order of Pisistrate, the hellenistic additions. It is considered that it was the first to use signs and symbols announcing the doubtful lessons and the interpolation S:

  • the Obèle (†), to announce the “athetized” worms, considered as doubtful;

  • the antione or rafter (>), to announce a critical note, which expresses sometimes a dissension with Zénodote;
  • the anti-sigma (Ͻ) to mark worms moved;
  • a Asterisk (*) to mark a word repeated wrongly.

In short, he invents descriptive Critical apparatus.

Its critical school preserves its influence until the Roman epoch. It is thus by the means of four of its disciples of this time that its work arrived until the contemporary time. Indeed, one redécouvre in 1781 a Byzantine edition of Iliade with the library of Saint-Marc with Venice: it comprises in margin the Scholie S of four disciples of this period: the critical Signs of Aristonicos, the remarks On the recension of Aristarque of Didymos, the extracts of the iliadic Prosody of Hérodien and of the treaty On the Homeric punctuation of Nicanor. This edition, Venetus Græcus 822, more commonly indicated under the name of Venetus has, makes it possible to reconstitute the contribution of Aristarque being studied of the Homeric texts. It thus started again the “Homeric question”.

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