Hesychius of Alexandria ( grc, Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit=Hesychios the Alexandrian) was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD,E. Dickey, Ancient Greek Scholarship (2007) p. 88. compiled the richest

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived, probably by absorbing the works of earlier lexicographers. The work, titled "Alphabetical Collection of All Words" (, ''Synagōgē Pasōn Lexeōn kata Stoicheion''), includes more than 50,000 entries, a copious list of peculiar words, forms and phrases, with an explanation of their meaning, and often with a reference to the author who used them or to the district of Greece where they were current. Hence, the book is of great value to the student of the

Ancient Greek dialects Ancient Greek in classical antiquity, before the development of the common Koine Greek of the Hellenistic period, was divided into several varieties. Most of these varieties are known only from inscriptions, but a few of them, principally Aeolic ...

and in the restoration of the text of the classical authors generallyparticularly of such writers as Aeschylus and Theocritus, who used many unusual words. Hesychius is important, not only for Greek philology, but also for studying lost languages and obscure dialects (such as Thracian) and in reconstructing Proto-Indo-European. Many of the words that are included in this work are not found in surviving ancient Greek texts. Hesychius' explanations of many epithets and phrases also reveal many important facts about the religion and social life of the ancients. In a prefatory letter Hesychius mentions that his lexicon is based on that of Diogenianus (itself extracted from an earlier work by

Pamphilus Pamphilus may refer to: * Pamphilus of Amphipolis, painter of 4th century BC, head of Sicyonian School * Pamphilus of Alexandria, grammarian in the 1st century * Saint Pamphilus of Caesarea (late 3rd century - 309), scholarly creator of the librar ...

), but that he has also used similar works by the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, Apion, Heliodorus,

Amerias Amerias (Greek: Ἀμερίας, 3rd century BC) was an ancient Macedonian lexicographer, known for his compilation of a glossary titled '' Glossai'' (', terms or words). Αnother of his works was called ''Rhizotomikos'' ('), an etymological treat ...

and others. Hesychius was probably not a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. Explanations of words from Gregory Nazianzus and other Christian writers (''glossae sacrae'') are later interpolations. The lexicon survives in one deeply corrupt 15th-century manuscript, which is preserved in the library of San Marco at Venice, (Marc. Gr. 622, 15th century). The best edition is by (1858–1868), but no complete comparative edition of the manuscript has been published since it was first printed by Marcus Musurus (at the press of

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preserv ...

) in Venice, 1514 (reprinted in 1520 and 1521 with modest revisions). A modern edition has been published under the auspices of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, begun by Kurt Latte (vol. 1 published in 1953, vol. 2 posthumously in 1966) and completed by Peter Allan Hansen and Ian C. Cunningham (vol. 3, 2005, vol. 4, 2009).

References

* Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'', 1898. * Eleanor Dickey, ''Ancient Greek Scholarship'' (Oxford 2007) 88-90

External links

*
The new continuation of Latte's editionVol. III (pi through sigma)Vol. IV (tau through omega)
*
Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon
', Moritz Schmidt (ed.), Ienae, typis Maukij, 1867. *
Hesychii glossographi discipulus et epiglōssistēs russus in ipsa Constantinopoli, sec. XII-XIII.: e Codice Vindobonensi graecorussica omnia, additus aliis pure graecis, et trium aliorum Cyrilliani lexici codicum speciminibus: aliisque miscellaneis philologici maxime et slavistici argumenti
', Bartholomaeus Kopilar (ed.), Vindobonae, 1839, prostat apud G. Gerold. * Kurt Latte, Ian Campbell Cunningham (ed.),

'. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter, 2018. Pp. xxxvii, 660. . €169,95. Review by Eleanor Dickey. {{Authority control 5th-century Byzantine people 6th-century Byzantine people 5th-century Egyptian people 6th-century Egyptian people Ancient Greek grammarians Ancient Greek lexicographers Roman-era Alexandrians Ancient Greek writers 5th-century Byzantine writers 6th-century Byzantine writers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown