Hesychius of Alexandria

Hesychius of Alexandria was an ancient Greek philologist and lexicographer. He wrote a lexicon of the Greek language and its dialects.

Life

Little is handed over the person of the Hesych. His name and place of origin are apparent from the title of his work: Ἡσυχίου γραμματικοῦ Ἀλεξανδρέως συναγωγὴ πασῶν λέξεων κατὰ στοιχεῖον ἐκ τῶν Ἀριστάρχου καὶ Ἀπίωνος καὶ Ἡλιοδώρου. The chronology of the work and its author is not secured; a dedication to a Eulogios makes the 5th century AD conceivable if it is equated with the Scho loads Eulogios. Further experiments are from the 4th century to the Byzantine Late Period.

Work

About the models of Hesych taught us his Widmungsepistel that is perceived by the research as sincere and circumspect. So Hesych called as a model for the alphabetical arrangement of his lexicon philologists Diogenianos Grammatikos who applied this as the first isolation of specialized dictionaries (such as the Apion Apollonius and Archibiu ) and up to 4 letters. At the same time he criticized the sources that role model and highlights the necessity of citations in rare and controversial words out.

The dictionary of Diogenian used Hesych so obviously as a template; He also has specialized dictionaries have consulted and a Homer Encyclopedia (perhaps the aforementioned philologists Aristarchus, Apion and Heliodor ).

The lexicon of the Hesych survives only in a single manuscript with the signature Marcianus graecus 622, which was written in the 15th century on paper. It contains 439 sheets described in the 19.5- to 29 cm and is in good condition except for a few flaws; pages 438 and 439 are lost.

The lexicon we most likely will not fully narrated, as the degree of handwriting teaches. In addition, numerous references found in the declarations and supporting documents of the glosses that lead nowhere. In addition, individual items second hand indicate interpolations, the fall out from the alphabetical order.

Expenditure

• Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon. Edited by Kurt Latte and Peter Allan Hansen. Copenhagen in 1953 and 1966, de Gruyter, Berlin 2005 and 2009
• Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon. Edited by Moritz Schmidt. Hermann fragrance, Jena from 1858 to 1868. Reprint. Amsterdam 1965 Digitalisat the 2nd edition 1867