Procopius of Gaza (; 465 – 528) was a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
sophist
A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...
and
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
ian, one of the most important representatives of the famous
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
of his native place.
[Vikan, Gary, Alexander Kazhdan, and Zvi 'Uri Ma῾oz. "Gaza." In ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium''. Oxford University Press, 1991.]
Life and work
The little that is known of him is to be found in his letters and the ''
encomium
''Encomium'' (: ''encomia'') is a Latin word deriving from the Ancient Greek ''enkomion'' (), meaning "the praise of a person or thing." Another Latin equivalent is '' laudatio'', a speech in praise of someone or something.
Originally was the ...
'' by his pupil and successor
Choricius. Like many other members of the
rhetorical school of Gaza, he studied in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
and then became a teacher for rhetorics in his home town of Gaza though other cities like
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...
,
Tyre and
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea () also Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Judaea (Roman province), ...
vied for his service.
He was the author of numerous rhetorical and theological works. Of the former, his
panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of - ' ...
on the emperor
Anastasius alone is extant; the description of the
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...
and the
monody
In music, monody refers to a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melody, melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italy, ...
on its partial destruction by an earthquake are spurious.
His letters (163 in number), addressed to persons of rank, friends, and literary opponents, throw valuable light upon the condition of the sophistical rhetoric of the period and about the academic circles in Alexandria and Gaza.
Procopius' theological writings consist of commentaries on the ''
Octateuch'', the books of
Kings and
Chronicles,
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
, the
Proverbs
A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...
, the
Song of Songs
The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...
and
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...
. They are amongst the earliest examples of the "catenic" (''
catena'', chain) form of commentary, consisting of a series of extracts from the fathers, arranged, with independent additions, to elucidate the portions of Scripture concerned.
Photius
Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...
(cod. 206), while blaming the diffuseness of these commentaries, praises the writer's learning and style, which, however, he considers too ornate for the purpose. He also wrote a monody on the
earthquake of Antioch in 526 AD in and an
ekphrasis
Ekphrasis or ecphrasis (from the Greek) is a rhetorical device indicating the written description of a work of art. It is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined. Thus, "an ekphrastic poem ...
of a clock in Gaza.
Complete editions of the works of Procopius in
Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...
, ''
Patrologia Graeca'', lxxxvii; the letters also in ''Epistolographi graeci'', ed.
R. Hercher (1873); see also
K. Seitz, ''Die Schule von Gaza'' (1892);
L. Eisenhofer, ''Procopius von Gaza'' (1897); further bibliographical notices in
K Krumbacher, ''Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur'' (1897), and article by G. Kruger in ''Herzog-Hauck's Realencyclopädie für protestantische Theologie'' (1905).
References
*
Bibliography
* ''Procopius Gazaeus. Opuscula rhetorica et oratoria''. E. Amato (ed.). Berolini-Novi Eboraci 2009.
* ''Prokop von Gaza. Eclogarum in libros historicos Veteris Testamenti epitome''. Teil 2: Der Exoduskommentar. Hrsg. von K. Metzler. Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter 2020.
* ''Prokop von Gaza. Der Exoduskommentar''. Über-setztundmitAnmerkungenversehen (DiegriechischenchristlichenSchrift-steller der ersten Jahrhunderte. Neue Folge 28). Berlin–Boston: De Gruyter 2020.
* ''Rose di Gaza: gli scritti retorico-sofistici e le Epistole di Procopio di Gaza''. Eugenio Amato (ed.), (Alessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 2010) (Hellenica, 35).
* Amato E. "Un discorso inedito di Procopio di Gaza: In Meletis et Antoninae nuptias", ''Revue des études tardo-antiques'' 1 (2011-2012), pp. 15–69.
* Corcella A. "Tre nuovi testi di Procopio di Gaza: una dialexis inedita e due monodie già attribuite a Coricio", ''Revue des études tardo-antiques'' 1 (2011-2012), pp. 1–14.
External links
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia GraecaGuide to Procopius of Gaza, Epitome Eclogarum in Heptateuchum et Canticum Canticorum. Manuscript, 1696-1697
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{Authority control
5th-century Christians
6th-century Christians
6th-century Byzantine writers
465 births
528 deaths
Rhetorical School of Gaza