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Hellenizing School

The Hellenizing school (in Cassical Armenian : Յունաբան Դպրոց, romanized Yownaban Dproc̕), also called the Philhellenic School, was an Armenian intellectual movement of the Early Middle Ages (5th–8th centuries). It was characterized by significant attention to Greek texts and notable translation work from Greek to Armenian, often performing literal translations from Greek. It substantially influenced the Armenian language.

Illumination depicting David the Invincible, also known as David Anhaght, at the beginning of his Definition of Philosophy in a manuscript dating back to 1280.

The authors belonging to this school were involved in creating words and grammatical categories heavily inspired by Greek in Armenian. The translations carried out by the members of this school are interesting for philologists and modern researchers, as they preserved, in some cases, Greek texts lost in their original versions.

Some Armenian authors writing directly in Greek, such as David the Invincible or Anania of Shirak, are considered to have been part of this school.

Background edit

In the first part of the 5th century, Armenian adopted an alphabet for writing its language, traditionally attributed to Mesrop Mashtots.[1][2] Historical analysis of the reasons behind this choice varies, but is generally understood as an attempt to expedite and facilitate the evangelization of Armenia by ecclesiastical authorities.[1][2] Until that moment, religious texts had been exclusively in Greek and Syriac.[1][2]

Following Mesrop Mashtots, who translated the New Testament into Armenian from Greek and Syriac sources,[2] the Armenian Church undertook significant translation work.[2] Initially, this involved religious literature, including liturgical and patristic texts, and later extended to Greek philosophical texts.[2]

History edit

 
Statue depicting Anania of Shirak at the entrance of the Matenadaran.

In the pursuit of translations, from the late 5th century onward in Armenia, an intellectual movement called the "Hellenizing School" emerged. This school translated numerous works of Greek literature into Armenian.[3] Some scholars consider that the early Armenian translations, including those by Mesrop Mashtots, are already part of this school and should be regarded as a "pre-Hellenizing School".[4] This school significantly influenced the Armenian language,[4][5] as the translators employed translation methods very close to the original Greek.[4] Thus, they created Armenian words to translate certain Greek terms,[5][6] devised prefixes and prepositions that did not exist in Armenian,[4] and conceived of tenses and numbers, such as the dual or optative.[7]

Translations edit

The first works translated by this school were Dionysius Thrax's Grammar,[3][8] Aelius Theon's Progymnasmata, the Book of Chries, a Christian version of Aphtonius's Progymnasmata.[3] The school also translated a significant number of works from Greek patristic literature,[9][10] including Irenaeus, which only survived in Greek fragments but had a complete version in Latin and Armenian.[11]

The translators showed a particular interest in Platonic or Neoplatonic literature.[3][12] Consequently, they translated Euthyphro, the Apology of Socrates, the Minos, the Laws, and the Timaeus.[12][13] They also translated Aristotelian texts,[3] such as On the Universe, On Virtues and Vices, the Categories, or On Interpretation.[3] Additionally, translated works included the Hermetica attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, Zeno of Citium's On Nature,[3] or the Book of Causes.[14] Philo, John Philoponus, and Proclus were also authors translated extensively.[3][15]

David the Invincible, an Armenian philosopher writing in Greek during the 5th and 6th centuries, was translated into Armenian by this school.[3][4][15] He, along with Anania of Shirak, is considered to be a part of this school as they wrote their works in Greek during the same period.[16]

Philological interest edit

The fact that the translators of this movement remain very close to the original Greek, which serves as a model for their translations, makes the school interesting for modern philology. Scholars can rely on their work to try to restore the history of certain texts and even reconstruct lost originals,[5][17][18][19] both for studies related to ancient philosophy, the Church Fathers, or the biblical text.[5][10][11][17][19]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Sarkissian, Sarkis (2017-12-05). Le substrat préchrétien et la réception arménienne du christianisme (phdthesis thesis) (in French). Université Paris sciences et lettres. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mahé, Jean-Pierre (2018). L'alphabet arménien dans l'histoire et dans la mémoire. Bibliothèque de l'Orient chrétien. Paris: les Belles lettres. ISBN 978-2-251-44823-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Calzolari, Valentina. "David et la tradition arménienne". Les œuvres grecques et les traductions arméniennes de David l'Invincible, et leur réception au Moyen Age et à l'époque moderne. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e Alpi, Federico; Meyer, Robin; Tinti, Irene; Zakarian, David; Bonfiglio, Emilio; Lint, Theo Maarten van; Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, eds. (2022). Armenia through the lens of time: multidisciplinary studies in honour of Theo Maarten van Lint. Armenian texts and studies. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-52760-7.
  5. ^ a b c d Calzolari, Valentina; Stone, Michael E.; Di Cosmo, Nicola, eds. (2014). Armenian philology in the modern era: from manuscript to digital text. Handbook of Oriental studies = Handbuch der Orientalistik Sect. 8, Uralic and Central Asian studies / ed. by Nicola Di Cosmo. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-27096-1.
  6. ^ "Les Differents Emplois Du Mot Qui Designe L' « Art » En Armenien, En Grec Et En Latin". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 75 (2). 2022-06-30. doi:10.1556/062.2022.75.issue-2. ISSN 0001-6446. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  7. ^ Lamberterie, Charles de (1987). "Grammaire de l'arménien classique". Annuaires de l'École pratique des hautes études. 116 (3): 147. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  8. ^ Lallot, Jean; Dionysius (2003). La grammaire de Denys le Thrace. Sciences du langage (2. éd. revue et augmentée ed.). Paris: CNRS Éd. ISBN 978-2-271-05591-0.
  9. ^ Calzolari, Valentina; Stone, Michael E.; Di Cosmo, Nicola, eds. (2014). Armenian philology in the modern era: from manuscript to digital text. Handbook of Oriental studies = Handbuch der Orientalistik Sect. 8, Uralic and Central Asian studies / ed. by Nicola Di Cosmo. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-27096-1.
  10. ^ a b Outtier, Bernard; Horn, Cornelia B.; Lurʹe, Vadim Mironovič; Ostrovsky, Alexey; Yowzbašyan, Karen Mkrtč'i, eds. (2020). Armenia between Byzantium and the Orient: celebrating the memory of Karen Yuzbashyan (1927-2009). Text and studies in Eastern Christianity. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-39774-3.
  11. ^ a b Irenaeus (2008). Contre les hérésies. 1,1: Introd., notes justificatives, tables. Sources chrétiennes (Réimpr. ed.). Paris: Cerf. ISBN 978-2-204-01489-2.
  12. ^ a b Gazzano, Francesca; Pagani, Lara; Traina, Giusto (2016-08-22). Greek Texts and Armenian Traditions: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-048994-1. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  13. ^ Calzolari, Valentina. "Du pouvoir de la musique dans la version arménienne des Prolégomènes à la philosophie de David le Platonicien (Orphée et Alexandre le Grand)". Κορυφαιω ανδρι. Archived from the original on 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  14. ^ Shishmanian, Aum Alexandre (2017), Fidora, Alexander; Polloni, Nicola (eds.), Bagdad, Paris, Lemberg, Etchmiadzin (Arménie), la trajectoire inattendue du Livre des causes, Textes et Etudes du Moyen Âge, vol. 88, Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, pp. 279–302, doi:10.1484/m.tema-eb.4.2017181, ISBN 978-2-503-57744-9, archived from the original on 2024-02-09, retrieved 2024-02-09
  15. ^ a b David l'Invincible; Calzolari Bouvier, Valentina; Barnes, Jonathan (2009). L'oeuvre de David l'Invincible et la transmission de la pensée grecque dans la tradition arménienne et syriaque. Commentaria in Aristotelem armeniaca. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-16047-7.
  16. ^ Keyser, Paul Turquand; Irby-Massie, Georgia Lynette (2008). The encyclopedia of ancient natural scientists: the greek tradition and its many heirs. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-34020-5.
  17. ^ a b Verheul, A. (1973). "Review of Die grosse catechetische Rede. Oratio catechetica magna. (Bibliothek der griechischen Literatur, herausgegeben von P. Wirth und W. Gessel, I); (Bibliothek der griechischen Literatur, 2); Briefe. Zweiter Teil. (Bibliothek der griechischen Literatur, 3); Rhomäische Geschichte. Historia Rhomaïke. Teil I : Kapitel I-VII (Bibliothek der griechischen Literatur, 4)". Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale. 40: 219–221. ISSN 0034-1266. JSTOR 26188529. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  18. ^ Sgarbi, Romano (2009). "Ex Oriente Lux: Su Alcuni Contributi Armeni Alla Lessicologia Colta Greca Nell'ambito Della Yownaban Dproc' O 'Scuola Ellenistica'". Aevum. 83 (1): 221–227. ISSN 0001-9593. JSTOR 20862185. Archived from the original on 2023-08-19. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  19. ^ a b TRADUZIONI ARMENE DI TESTI GRECI TRA LINGUISTICA E FILOLOGIA. Romano Sgarbri, 2002 : https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/_flysystem/fedora/pdf/113920.pdf Archived 2023-08-19 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography edit

  • Terian, Abraham (1980). "The Hellenizing School: Its Time, Place, and Scope of Activities Reconsidered". In Nina Garsoïan; Thomas F. Mathews; Robert W. Thomson (eds.). East of Byzantium: Syria and Armenia in the Formative Period. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks. pp. 175-186.

Further reading edit

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