The Greek Classics

Aldus Manutius (1451 - 1515) is an attractive figure. His Aldine Press was responsible for printing more first editions than any other publishing house during the Renaissance. He was a friend of the first and second generation Greek scholars/ refugees. As a matter of fact the official language of Manutius workshop was Greek.

This book is a translation of the prefaces and other ...

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Aldus Manutius (1451 - 1515) is an attractive figure. His Aldine Press was responsible for printing more first editions than any other publishing house during the Renaissance. He was a friend of the first and second generation Greek scholars/ refugees. As a matter of fact the official language of Manutius workshop was Greek.

This book is a translation of the prefaces and other dedicatory material that accompanied Manutius' editions. A quick glance shows how productive the years 1495 to 1514 were.

This book has dedications for:

Aristotle - Organon (1495)

Aristotle - Natural Philosophy (1497)

Aristotle - Zoological Works (1497)

Aristophanes - Nine Comedies (1498)

Thucydides - Histories (1502)

Sophocles - Seven Tragedies (1502)

Herodotus - Histories (1502)

Euripides - Seventeen Tragedies (1503)

Xenophon - Hellenica (1503)

Homer - Illiad and Odessey (1504)

Demosthenes - Speeches (1504)

Aesop - Fables (1505)

Plutarch - Moralia (1509)

Greek Orators in 2 volumes (1513)

Plato - Complete Works (1513)

Athenaeus - The Learned Banqueters (1514)

As you can see the Aldine Press was prolific. Also included in this book are prefaces to the works of lexicographers like Constantine Lascaris, Theodore Gaza, Julius Pollux, Chrysoloras, Hesychius, Sudias and Johannes Crastonus. These prefaces have not seen the light of day since the days of the Aldine Press. They are great snapshots into how these scholars perceived their work. None of the prefaces are particularly long. It includes 47 prefaces plus a series of appendices with supplementary texts.

If you are interested in the Renaissance or the history of printing or the reception of Classical Greek literature in the west then this book is for you.

Prefaces
I. Constantine Lascaris, Grammar (March 8, 1495)
II. Musaeus, Hero and Leander (ca. 1495/97)
III. Aristotle, Organon (November 1, 1495)
IV. Theodore Gaza, Introduction to Grammar; Apollonius Dyscolus, On Syntax (December 25, 1495)
V. Theocritus, Hesiod, Theognis, Selected Works (February 1496)
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Prefaces
I. Constantine Lascaris, Grammar (March 8, 1495)
II. Musaeus, Hero and Leander (ca. 1495/97)
III. Aristotle, Organon (November 1, 1495)
IV. Theodore Gaza, Introduction to Grammar; Apollonius Dyscolus, On Syntax (December 25, 1495)
V. Theocritus, Hesiod, Theognis, Selected Works (February 1496)
VI. The Treasury, The Cornucopia of Amalthea, and The Gardens of Adonis (August 1496)
VII. Aristotle, Natural Philosophy (February 1497)
VIII. Aristotle, Zoological Works (June 1, 1497)
IX. Aristotle, Metaphysics, Mechanics, and Problems; Theophrastus, Botanical Writings (June 1, 1497)
X. Joannes Crastonus, Greek Dictionary (December 1497)
XI. Urbano da Belluno, Greek Grammar (January 1498)
XII. Aristotle, Moral Philosophy (June 1498)
XIII. Aristophanes, Nine Comedies (July 13, 1498)
XIV. The Greek Epistolographers (April 15, 1499)
XV. Dioscorides, The Materials of Medicine; Nicander, Theriaca and Alexipharmaca (July 8, 1499)
XVI. Julius Firmicus Maternus, Astronomica; Marcus Manilius, Astronomica; Aratus, Phaenomena; Proclus, Sphaera (October 14, 1499)
XVII. Constantine Lascaris, The Eight Parts of Speech (December 1501?)
XVIII. Stephanus Byzantinus, On Cities (March 18, 1502)
XIX. Julius Pollux of Naucratis, Onomasticon (April 11, 1502)
XX. Thucydides, Histories (May 14, 1502)
XXI. Sophocles, Seven Tragedies (August 1502)
XXII. Herodotus, Histories (September 1502)
XXIII. Euripides, Seventeen Tragedies (February 1503)
XXIV. Ammonius of Alexandria, On Aristotle’s “De interpretatione” (October 17, 1503)
XXV. Xenophon, Hellenica; Pletho, Events in Greece after the Battle of Mantinea; Herodian, History from the Death of Marcus Aurelius; Greek Scholia on Thucydides (November 14, 1503)
XXVI. John Philoponus, Commentary on the Posterior Analytics; Anonymous, Commentary on the Posterior Analytics (March 1504)
XXVII. Aristotle and Theophrastus, Zoological and Botanical Writings; Pseudo-Aristotle and Alexander of Aphrodisias, Problemata, translated into Latin by Theodore Gaza (March 27, 1504)
XXVIII. Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana; Eusebius of Caesarea, Against Hierocles (May 1504)
XXIX. Gregory of Nazianzus, Poetry (June 1504)
XXX. Homer, Iliad (October 31, 1504)
XXXI. Homer, Odyssey, Batrachomyomachia, Hymns (October 31, 1504)
XXXII. Demosthenes, Sixty-two Speeches; Libanius, Life of Demosthenes and summaries of the speeches; Plutarch, Life of Demosthenes (October 1504)
XXXIII. Hours in Praise of the Most Blessed Virgin; Seven Penitential Psalms; Athanasian Creed; Sacrifice in Praise of the Most Holy Virgin (July 1505)
XXXIV. Aesop’s Fables and related texts (October 1505)
XXXV. The Greek Rhetoricians, Volume 1 (November 1508)
XXXVI. Plutarch, Moralia (March 1509)
XXXVII. The Greek Rhetoricians, Volume 2 (May 21, 1509)
XXXVIII. Chrysoloras, Erotemata (1512)
XXXIX. Constantine Lascaris, The Eight Parts of Speech (New edition, October 1512)
XL. Pindar, Odes; Callimachus, Hymns; Dionysius Periegetes, Description of the World; Lycophron, Alexandra (January 1513)
XLI. The Greek Orators, Volume 1 (April 1513)
XLII. The Greek Orators, Volume 2 (May 6, 1513)
XLIII. Plato, Complete Works (September 1513)
XLIV. Alexander of Aphrodisias, Commentaries on the Topics of Aristotle (February 15, 1514)
XLV. Suidas, Lexicon (February 1514)
XLVI. Hesychius, Dictionary (August 1514)
XLVII. Athenaeus, The Learned Banqueters (August 1514)
Appendices
I. Marsilio Ficino on textual errors in his translations of Platonica ( July 1, 1497)
II. Musurus on Aristophanes (1498)
III. Musurus on the Epistolographi graeci (1499)
IV. William Grocyn’s letter to Aldus (August 27, [1499])
V. Statutes of the New Academy (1502?)
VI. Aldus’ preface to Bessarion’s In calumniatorem Platonis ( July 1503)
VII. Letter of Scipione Forteguerri to Aldus in the 1503 edition of the Greek Anthology
VIII. The title page of Aldus’ Aesop (October 1505)
IX. Aldus’ preface to Erasmus’ translation of Euripides (December 1507)
X. Musurus’ poem on Plato, in the Complete Works (1513)
Note on the Text
Notes to the Translation
Bibliography
Index
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