Harpocration

Valerius Harpocration (Greek Ἁρποκρατίων ) was an Alexandrian grammarian of the imperial period. His life data are not known. Because of the authors cited by him, he may have lived earlier than the reign of Tiberius. If it is identical to the above-mentioned as a teacher of Lucius Verus in the Historia Augusta Harpocration, he had lived in the 2nd century.

In the Suda he is as the author of a lexicon of Attic orators ( Λέξεις τῶν ί ' ῥητόρων ) and a collection of dictums ( συναγωγή ἀνθηρῶν lost ) mentioned. The lexicon was probably one of the sources of Suda. It contains alphabetical remarks about people and explanations of terms (in particular in the fields of law and trade). Since the works to which relied Harpocration ( this includes the grammarian Didymus Chalkenteros and the Attic history of Atthides ) were lost early on, is the lexicon in some areas today, the only remaining source dar.

The text of the work lies both in whole and also in excerpts. The epitomisierte version is already in the 9th century detectable because it found its way in Myrobiblion of Photios. Also, the full version shows traces of revision and interpolation.

Expenditure

• Aldine, Venice 1503
• Ph. J. Maussac, Paris 1614
• Immanuel Bekker et Harpocration Moeris. Reimer, Berlin 1833
• Wilhelm Dindorf: Harpocrationis Lexicon in decem oratores Atticos ex recensione Guilelmi Dindorfii. 2 volumes, Typographeo Academico, Oxford 1853