Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a
Byzantine Greek scholar and
Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the
sack of Thessalonica by the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
in 1185, for his orations and for his commentaries on
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
, which incorporate many remarks by much earlier researchers.
He was officially canonized on June 10, 1988, and his feast day is on
September 20
Events Pre-1600
*1058 – Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland.
*1066 – At the Battle of Fulford, Harald Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin.
*1187 – Saladin b ...
.
[Great Synaxaristes: ]
Ὁ Ἅγιος Εὐστάθιος ὁ Κατάφλωρος Ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Θεσσαλονίκης
'' 20 Σεπτεμβρίου. ΜΕΓΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΑΡΙΣΤΗΣ.
Life
A pupil of
Nicholas Kataphloron, Eustathius was appointed to the offices of superintendent of petitions (, ''
epi ton deeseon
The ''epi tōn deēseōn'' ( el, , "the one in charge of petitions") was a Byzantine office, whose holder was responsible for receiving and answering petitions to the Byzantine emperor. Subordinate officials with the same title also existed in the ...
''), professor of rhetoric (), and was ordained a deacon in Constantinople.
He was ordained bishop of
Myra. Around the year 1178, he was appointed to the archbishopric of Thessalonica, where he remained until his death around 1195/1196.
Accounts of his life and work are given in the funeral orations by
Euthymius
Euthymius the Great (377 – 20 January 473) was an abbot in Palestine. He is venerated in both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Euthymius' ''vita'' was written by Cyril of Skythopolis, who describes him as the founder of several ...
and
Michael Choniates (of which manuscripts survive in the
Bodleian Library in the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
).
Niketas Choniates (viii.238, x.334) praised him as the most learned man of his age, a judgment which is difficult to dispute. He wrote commentaries on
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
poets, theological treatises, addresses, letters, and an important account of the sack of Thessalonica by
William II of Sicily in 1185.
Of his works, his commentaries on
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
are the most widely referred to: they display an extensive knowledge of
Greek literature
Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today.
Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...
from the earliest to the latest times. Other works exhibit impressive character, and oratorical power, which earned him the esteem of the
Komnenoi
Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...
emperors. Politically, Eustathios was a supporter of emperor
Manuel I. An original thinker, Eustathios sometimes praised such secular values as military prowess. He decried
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and believed in the concept of
historical progress of civilization from a primitive to a more advanced state.
Works
His most important works are the following:
* ''On the Capture of Thessalonica'', an eye-witness account of the
siege of 1185 and subsequent sufferings of the people of Thessalonica. In early sections of this memoir Eustathios describes also political events at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
from the death of emperor
Manuel I through the short reign of
Alexios II to the usurpation of
Andronikos I, with sharp comments on the activities of all involved. The Greek text was edited by Kyriakidis, with an Italian translation by V. Rotolo; there is an English translation (with a commentary and associated essays) by J. Melville-Jones (Byzantina Australiensia Volume 8), and a German translation by H. Hunger.
* A number of orations, some of which have been edited by P. Wirth (''Eustathii Thessalonicensis Opera Minora''). In 2013 a translation of six of the earliest of these speeches was published with a commentary by Andrew F. Stone (Byzantina Australiensia Volume 19).
* Commentaries on Homer's ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...
'' and ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...
'' (). These address questions of grammar, etymology, mythology, history and geography. They are not so much original commentaries as extracts from earlier commentators - there are many correspondences with
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
ic
scholia. Drawing on numerous extensive works of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
n grammarians and critics and later commentators, they are a very important contribution to
Homeric scholarship
Homeric scholarship is the study of any Homeric topic, especially the two large surviving epics, the '' Iliad'' and '' Odyssey''. It is currently part of the academic discipline of classical studies. The subject is one of the oldest in scholarsh ...
, not least because some of the works from which Eustathios made extracts are lost.
:Although it is likely that Eustathios quotes some authors second-hand, he seems personally acquainted with the works of the greatest ancient critics -
Aristarchos of Samothrace,
Zenodotos,
Aristophanes of Byzantium, and others. This is a great tribute to the state of the libraries of Constantinople and of classical scholarship there in the 12th century. He was also an avid reader of the ''
Deipnosophistae'' of
Athenaeus. Some of the etymological and grammatical comments by Eustathios's Alexandrian predecessors are full of errors; and Eustathios's own comments are diffuse and frequently interrupted by digressions.
:The first printed edition, by Majoranus, was published in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1542-1550 (4 vols., fol.), an inaccurate reprint being later published in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
in 1559-1560.
A. Politi's edition (Florence, 1730, 3 vols., folio), contains only the commentary on the first five books of the ''Iliad'' with a Latin translation. A tolerably correct reprint of the Roman edition was published at Leipzig, the first part containing the ''Odyssey'' commentary (2 vols., 4to.), 1825-1826, and the second, containing the ''Iliad'' commentary (3 vols., 4to.), edited by
J. G. Stallbaum for the ''
Patrologia Graeca
The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...
,'' 1827-1829. These were superseded by the edition of M. van der Valk, 1971 onwards. Extracts from the commentaries are quoted in many editions of the Homeric poems.
* A commentary on
Dionysius Periegetes (dedicated to
John Doukas, son of
Andronikos Kamateros Andronikos Doukas Kamateros ( el, ) was a Byzantine aristocrat, senior official under Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and theologian, best known for his theological treatise ''Sacred Arsenal''.
Family and career
Born probably around 1110, Andronikos Ka ...
). This is as diffuse as the commentary on Homer, but includes numerous valuable extracts from earlier writers. (It was first printed in
R. Stephens' edition of Dionysius (Paris, 1547, 4to.), and later in that of
H. Stephens (Paris, 1577, 4to., and 1697, 8vo.), in Hudson's ''Geograph. Minor'', vol. iv., and lastly, in Bernhardy's edition of Dionysius (Leipzig, 1828, 8vo.).
* A commentary on
Pindar
Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
. No manuscript of this has come to light; but the introduction survives. (The introduction was first published by
Gottlieb Tafel
Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois.
History
The main office and plant was located at 1140-50 N. Kostner Avenue until the early 1970s when a new modern plant and office was lo ...
in his ''Eustathii Thessalonicensis Opuscula'' (Frankfurt, 1832, 4to.), from which it was reprinted separately by Schneidewin, ''Eustathii prooemium commentariorum Pindaricorum'' (Göttingen, 1837, 8vo.).
*Other published works. Some were first published by Tafel in the 1832 ''Opuscula'' just mentioned, some appeared later, as by P. Wirth for the ''
Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae {{Italic title
The ''Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzantinae'' (Latin: " Corpus of Byzantine history sources") or CFHB is an international project aiming to collect, edit and provide textual criticism on the historical sources from the time of the Byzan ...
'' series.
*Unpublished works. These include theological writings and commemorative speeches. Several of the latter are important historical sources.
Citations
References
*
*Eustathius. ''Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis commentarii ad Homeri'' Iliadem ''pertinentes'', vols. 1-4 (ed. Marchinus van der Valk). Leyden: Brill, 1:1971; 2:1976; 3:1979; 4:1987.
*
*
*
Smith, William (editor); ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...
''
"Eustathius (7)" Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, (1867)
*
Schaff, PhilipEustathius of Thessalonica from ''History of the Christian Church'', 1882.
*Stone, A.F., "Aurality in the Panegyrics of Eustathios of Thessaloniki in Theatron", Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, pp. 417–28.
Sources
*
Further reading
* Eustathios of Thessaloniki, ''The Capture of Thessaloniki'', tr. J. R. Melville-Jones (Canberra 1988).
External links
{{Authority control
1110s births
1190s deaths
12th-century Byzantine bishops
12th-century Byzantine writers
12th-century Byzantine historians
12th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops
Byzantine bishops of Thessalonica
Byzantine theologians
Byzantine Thessalonian writers
Byzantine grammarians
Eastern Orthodox metropolitans
Saints of medieval Greece
Writers from Constantinople
Saints of medieval Macedonia
12th-century Eastern Orthodox theologians
Homeric scholars