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1. GENERAL PECULIARITIES OF THE GREEK CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
2. The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
3. FATHERS OF THE CHURCH. APOLOGISTS
4. THE GREEK FATHERS OF CONSTANTINE UP

1. GENERAL PECULIARITIES OF THE GREEK CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

The usual practice in the study of Literature Greek is to separate the study of ancient pagan literature of the Christian this is related to the very origins of Classical Studies, which emerged in late S. Eighteenth to the emancipation of theological studies.

• If you look at the problem from the standpoint of history of religions, it makes sense to establish this caesura (polytheism to monotheism), not so much if we look at the issue as a confrontation between schools of thought.
• This approach is also rooted in antiquity, since Josephus and presented to the public pagan differences between branches of Judaism as if try to clashes between different philosophical schools.
• On the other hand, it is obvious that the differences between one text and others are radical: p. eg., Paul's concept of man's salvation is incompatible with any idea of \u200b\u200bthe philosophical schools of his time on the final end of man.

While it must be stressed in connection with the Christian literary forms of the Greek tradition: that is the soil and the habitat that develops Christian Greek literature:

• The New Testament epistles can be linked with the tradition of philosophical letter doctrinal
• homilies of the Fathers, with the diatribes of philosophers
• comments to the Bible, written comments to the philosophical writings
• dogmatic Christians, philosophical treatises,
• the polemical writings against pagans, with the written polemic against other schools of philosophy or against the Christians.

The only types of Christian writings with no connection to the Greek tradition

• 
  
• the prophetic writings that refer to Jewish tradition,
• and writings that respond to new situations, typical of community Christian (as the minutes of martyrs).

is usual to study the ancient Christian literature caesurae dividing as marking the history of Christianity. So speaking of

1. a period of consolidation, until the Council of Nicea (325);
2. a period of swing, until the Council of Chalcedon (451);
3. a period of decline, until the death of John Damascus (c. 750).

At first, the scriptural canon remained for Christians the Old Testament, read as a foreshadowing of Christ and his teachings.
The New Testament canon was not established until the second half of S. II, and that the threat posed by the Gnosis.

The movement of the Gnosis, which is documented in the imperial era, blending Hellenistic philosophical ideas with religious ideas about salvation. Not know the origins of the movement, partly because the victory of Christianity over the Gnosis led to the disappearance of almost all sources.
Gnosis represented a danger to the Christians for their syncretic nature and its capacity to assimilate doctrines next, so that could be confused with Christianity.
Thus, the Gnostic writings that were produced Christians go through: thus, the Acts of Thomas, apparently an account of the mission of Thomas in India - but under the surface, an exhibition of Gnostic doctrines.
A fundamental idea of \u200b\u200bGnosticism is the belief in a dualism of God - Subject:

• Well God is not left to know.
• Matter is the Evil
• God created through his Lógos the world of Spirit, which, in turn, the spiritual forces (ideas) and the spirits created the heaven, earth and man in the image of God.
• On the other hand, departed spirits of God and joined Matter, becoming wicked, trying to prevent the union of men with God.
• why God had to send along with your Lógos men to show them the way of salvation.

The similarity with Christian ideas is evident. Upon Gnostic literature which exploited this similarity to Christianity (Acts of Apostles , look before you said about Acts of Thomas; stories featuring Jesus, Gospel, dialogue with the disciples), the reaction from Christian consisted to establish a canon of writings that were to be considered disclosed.


2. THE NEW TESTAMENT And the Apostolic Fathers

is not easy to define the process of consolidating the New Testament canon until the 27 books considered disclosed. The oldest testimony of our New Testament seems to be an epistle of St. Athanasius (367).
From a formal point of view, the New Testament writings are left divided into three groups:

• historical books (narrative): the four gospels plus Acts ;
• cards: 13, San Pablo plus Hebrews and the "Catholic Epistles" (from James, Peter, John, Judas);
• the Revelation.

Of these three groups, which has fewer problems from the point of view as are the letters: they are texts written in the tradition of the letter of doctrine. Some may be aimed at specific communities and, sometimes, to all Christians.

For his part, Rev. is in the tradition of Jewish literature of resistance to the Hellenistic monarchs: a revelation of hidden meaning announces future events. (See entry 58. The Hebrew literature in the Greek language and literature of ancient cross ). Some critics assume
that the work was written around AD 90, possibly against the threat of persecution by the state: the text announcing the final triumph of Christianity. It belonged to the canon
perhaps in the S. II, Apocalypse of Peter seems to indicate the so-called "fragment [or Canon] Muratori, a previous index of the canonical writings, the text of this Revelation fragments remain suggesting that arose at the time of the revolt Bar Kochba (135 AD).

regard to the historical books (narrative) can be read as follows:

1. The Acts are written in the line of historiography Hellenistic. Hence the role granted to the speeches. The key figure in the text is Paul, whose arrival in Rome says. At the other end of the work, the preamble speaks of a first logos written by Luke (the Gospel).
2. The Gospels are complex to design from the point of view of gender. Along with features of Jewish religious literary tradition have features of the Greek tradition. On one side are similarities with the stories about the lives of the prophets and the wisdom books (which represent a correlate to the direct words of Jesus). On the other hand can be put in connection with the Hellenistic tradition and the lives paradoxografía philosophers.

Beside the canonical New Testament writings are a series of texts that claim to have been written by the apostles but in any case, by his disciples. It is written of S. II and their authors are known from the S. XVII as "Apostolic Fathers."
Contents of this literature are, above all, letters, attributed to Barnabas, Clement, Polycarp and Ignatius of Antioch (seven cards in his case).
also part of this group Hermas, author of a book of prophetic type, the Shepherd of Hermas , near the canon under Muratori fragment.


3. PARENTS OF THE CHURCH.
APOLOGISTS
A turning point represented by the Apologetics, "literature of defense", because that it produces an approximation of Christianity in the mold of Greek Philosophy: Christianity needs to speak the language of pagan philosophy in order to plant face.

• It should be noted that in the context of S. II, confronted with Christianity class intellectual figures: Fronton, or Celso Luciano.
• Celso, for example, tried to show in real discourse the inconsistency of the Christian ideas from a philosophical standpoint, and certainly know the work only through the polemics of Christian authors.

on all of this had to stand against the defenders of Christianity. For example, to refute the idea that Christians were conspiring against the state.
In other cases, the literature tried to gain new converts, which was close to "Protrepticus" of philosophers. This approach was perfectly feasible while the authors were trained intellectuals pagan philosophy and rhetoric: they start with Christian theology.
At this first moment of Apologetics belongs, among others, St. Justin, "philosopher and martyr, who was retains complete work.

S. Late II Christianity had already acquired sufficient intellectual content to appeal to the elites who sought a direction for their lives.
About this time were due to open early Christian schools, similar to those of the philosophers, though different from them to be under the authority of the bishop.
For example, this is the case of the school that was in Alexandria Clement (140/150 - 220), whose work is fundamental triad Protrepticus, Pedagogue, Stromata.

Another name connected with Alexandria is that of Origen (in around 185 - 253 / 254). Natural
of that city, sustained persecution of political power and eventually died because of them. Also quarreled with the ecclesiastical authority, had to leave Alexandria and moved to Caesarea in Palestine, where he founded another school.
was an individual trained in pagan philosophy, perhaps he was a teammate of Plotinus and Ammonius Saccas listener.
wrote an extensive work: we speak of 6000 writings. Some of them were comments, like the Gospel of John , in 32 books, but only commented to chapter 13. Of all his comments remains only a part.
As Origen did not know Hebrew, should working with a match of six different translations of the Old Testament, the Hexapla. worked from this material providing it with the characteristic signs from the Alexandrian philology.
A seminal work of Origen is the De principiis , preserved in full only in the translation of Rufinus (although we have extensive passages in Greek Books III and IV). In principiis
The fundamental questions about the doctrine (eg., Book I: The Triune God), the translation of Rufinus left aside the heretical parties. The text is important, among other things, because it is exposed in a scientific theory of the different senses of Scripture, so important in the whole tradition.

In the school founded by Origen in Caesarea came two generations later, Eusebio (approximately at 269 - 340), witnessed the conversion of Constantine starring Empire.
Today he is remembered primarily as a Church historian, for his Chronicle and Ecclesiastical History : in these works are reinterpreted all previous sufferings of Christians in the light of events of 314.
The Chronicle belongs to a genre with a certain tradition among Christians. Part of the belief the history of the world will last 6000 years (think of the 6 days of Creation), to be followed by a Saturday in 1000 years, the birth of Jesus is set in the year 5500, which made it clear to the contemporary the end of the world was still far away.
Through the Latin version of Jerome, the book had great influence in the Middle Ages.
Moreover, the 10 books of the Ecclesiastical History offer a story of Christianity from Jesus to Constantine. Constitute a history of salvation and try, as the chronicles, banish the idea that the world's end is near.
addition, Eusebius wrote Evangelica Præparatio also and Demonstratio Evangelica: the first demonstrates the superiority of Judeo-Christian tradition about pagan and the second, the superiority of the Christian tradition on Jewish.


4. THE GREEK FATHERS OF CONSTANTINE UP

From Constantine, disputes among theologians became matters of state, because political power was keen to have unity of doctrine in Christianity.
The first major controversy arose in this new climate is that of Arius (around 260 to 336), who played on the position of the Son within the Trinity.

reacted primarily against Arius Athanasius (295 - 373), who managed to excommunicate Arius at the Synod of Alexandria (318), unfinished and with the problem for the strong support that had the now heretical. In fact, Constantine was forced to convene the Council of Nicea (325), which was enacted identity of substance between the Father and the Son ( consubstantialem Patri, homoousia).
Athanasius was the author of various works:

• treated apologetic;
• letters;
• polemical writings against the Arians: first, its fragmented History of the Arians;
• and the work that inaugurated a new genre, his life Antonio, written during exile in Egypt, it has to Antonio as an embodiment of the ideal of monastic life. In this paper the model adapted Athanasius the philosopher's life and inaugurated the genre of the "lives of saints" model continued after St. Jerome.

next generation to that of Athanasius is that of the three Cappadocian Fathers, St. Basil (about 330 to 379), St. Gregory of Nyssa (around 335 to 394) and St. Gregory Nazianzen (329 / 330 - 390/391). The three have in common:

• the actions of a family Christian
• have a traditional education, pagan,
• he embraced monasticism;
• after having been elected as bishops.

Most of the writings of the three are rooted in the episcopal ministry performance: therefore in their homilies masterpieces or treaties against Arianism, and also the pastoral letters (some 350 in the case of Basil the more letters are preserved). Plus:

• Basil and Gregory Nazianzen wrote an anthology of Origen ( Philokalia)
• Basilio also promoted a Corpus asceticum, in the proposed standards of life for monks and priests ("Rule of St. Basil").

The most relevant figure for literary history is St. Gregory Nazianzen for the following reasons:

and grouped
• wrote letters to the fashion collections of letters of the Greek literary tradition - even developed a theory about the epistolary style ( look at the Epistle 51);
• also wrote poetry, which sometimes takes on a highly personal. 17000

retain traditional metrics verses (couplets and iambs). The topics are varied:

• issue, p. eg., biblical themes like the Ten Commandments or the parables of Jesus is also
• theological issues, such as virtue, and in doing so also evidence their knowledge of pagan literature (Plutarch).

In some ninety poems Gregory brings to the fore, sometimes featuring his personal thoughts (in the manner of Marcus Aurelius in Meditations : entry looks 53. The philosophy of the Empire ), sometimes in an attitude of defense.
This is especially the case in so-called "Autobiography" (Carmina II 1, 11), almost 2000 iambic.
The work was composed after that, tensions with the Arians, was forced to leave the See of Constantinople (381), which had occupied for only eighteen months.
His intention in writing the paper was to justify himself to his contemporaries and posterity: "I wanted to write as follows for all to hear, contemporary and future" (vv. 40-41).
Note the peculiarity of the text as poetry first autobiography, a kind of autobiography that contemporary scholars (see what is said in the Dictionary of Literary Terms of Estébanez Calderón) tend to distinguish from the autobiography itself. For translation

the autobiography of San Gregorio, you can go to S. García Jalón (trans.), Gregory Nazianzen . Fuga & Autobiography , Madrid, Ciudad Nueva, 1996.

on the meaning of the Cappadocian for the literary history can say that with them open ends of Christianity to the literary forms of the ancient pagan Greek. This is a transformation that take place in theory and practice:

• in theoretical Basil makes his Ad adulescentes (Homily 22), which indicates how you can take advantage spiritual pagan authors;
• in practical terms what Nazianzus does with his letters and poetry.

According to critics, from here you can differentiate between Christian literature and theological production "technique", which properly belongs to the field of Patristics.

Before concluding the subject of Greek Christian literature should focus on the peculiar figure Synesius (370 - around 415).
came from an old noble family of Cyrene (Libya). He studied traditional philosophy and then in Alexandria. There he came into contact with the Neoplatonic Hypatia, with which continued to maintain contact by letter throughout his life.
Around 397 or 399 Sinesio was on official (for a tax cut for Cyrene) to the court of Emperor remained in Constantinople for three years to carry out his assignment.
Returned to Africa was established in Alexandria, married and raised a family.
But being in that situation, was proposed in 410 for the bishopric of Ptolemais in Cyrenaica (do not know if it was already a Christian before.) It took a long time about his decision for the reasons stated in a letter to his brother ( Epistle 105).
His work can be divided into three groups:

• Letters: letters, about 150, were published by him and are our primary source on his life. Appear aimed at relatives as his brother or his teacher Hypatia Evoptio. It is striking that the letter describes a trip by sea (Epistle 5), the episodes of this and encounters with exotic natives, all reminiscent of the novel.
• Hymns: is 9, in which are combined with ideas of Platonic philosophy with Christian views.
• minor works: here we include works of various kinds: Some

written in the line of the Second Sophistic, is a paradoxical encomium (Praise of Bald ) : look at the hair Praise Dion of Prusa.
In another case ( Dion, or the change of life of the author) Synesius defends fundamentalist Christian theologians and philosophers, the work was dedicated to Hypatia.
Finally, it is curious case of Egyptian Tales (written in which he plays with the allegorical interpretation of myths), and the Book sleep in interpreting dreams from a Platonic perspective.

Joseph B. Torres Guerra

SOME REFERENCES:

* About Christian Greek literature (general):
BRAVO GARCÍA, A., "The rejection of the world in the Christian Greek literature of the fourth century and its philosophical implications," in Proceedings of the IX English Congress of Studies Classics Madrid, 1998. Volume 4, pp. 81-85.
COLPE, C., "Gnosis. II "in für Antike und Christentum Reallexikon 11 (1981), 537-659.
Dopp, S., and Geerlings, W. (Eds.), Lexikon der antike christliche Literatur, Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 1998th
DUMMER, J., "The position of the Greek Christian scriptures in the ancient literature," de J. y K. Irmscher Treu (eds.), The corpus of the Greek Christian writers, Berlín, 1977, pp. 65-76.
JAEGER, W., Cristianismo primitivo y paideia griega, México, 1965 ( Early Christianity and Greek culture , Berlin, 1963).
LENS Tuero, J., "Literatura Judeo helenística", en López Férez JA (ed.), Historia Greek Literature, Madrid, 1988, pp. 954-960.
MORESCHINI, C. and Norelli, E., Storia della letteratura antica greca e latina christiana. I: Da Paolo all 'età costantiniana, Brescia, 1995.
PIÑERO SÁENZ, A., "Early Christian Literature," in A. Díez Martínez (ed.), Scientific update in Greek philology, Madrid, 1984, pp. 599-609.
* On the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers:
AYAN CALVO, JJ (trans.) Hermas. El pastor , Madrid, 1995.
CAMPHAUSEN, HV, The emergence of the Christian Bible, Tubinga, 1968.
Dorman, D., The New Testament in the ancient literature, Darmstadt, 1993.
* Sobre Patrologia y Patrística:
ALTANES, B., y Stuiber, A., Patrology, Viena, 1981 (9 ª ed.)
Drobné, H., textbook Patrology, Friburgo, 1994th
FUHRMANN, M., "The stories of the monk Jerome. Form experiments in narrative literature ", en M. Fuhrmann (ed.), Christianisme et formes littéraires de l'Antiquité tardive en occident, Ginebra, 1976, pp. 41-99.
Hübner, R., "Theses on the authenticity and dating of the seven letters of Ignatius," Zeitschr. f. Ancient Christianity 1 (1997), pp. 44-72.
KRAFT, H., Introduction to Patristic, Darmstadt, 1991.
POCHOSHAJEW, I., The soul in Plato, Plotinus, Porphyry, and Gregory of Nyssa: discussion of the relationship between Platonism and Christianity on the subject of the human soul in Gregory of Nyssa, Frankfurt a. M., 2004.
VOGT, HJ, "Why Origen was declared a heretic?" Origeniana 4 (1987), pp. 78-111.
* Sobre Sinesio:
GARCÍA ROMERO, FA (Traditional), Sinesio de Cirene. Himnos. Tratados, Madrid, 1993.
GARCÍA ROMERO, FA (trad) Sinesio de Cirene. Cartas, Madrid, 1995.
Gartner, HA, "The Synesios speech about the monarchy", en Philanthropia kai eusebeia. Festschrift A. Dihl, Gotinga, 1993, pp. 105-21.
PANTS, M., "The bishop and the philosopher. About the staging of a pair in the letters of Hypatia Synesios to ", de A. Heitmann, P. Nieboer, B. y S. Schülting Schaff (eds.), Bi-textuality. Productions of the pair , Berlin, 2001, pp. 323-333.
VOGT, J., Synesios Begegnung mit, dem Philosopher, Priester und Feldherrn, Darmstadt, 1985.
Vollenweider, S., und christliche Theologie bei Neuplatonische Synesios von Kyrene, Göttingen, 1985.

Endometriomas More Condition_symptoms

THE TRANSMISSION OF THE GREEK LITERATURE

1. APPROACH
2. STEPS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE GREEK LITERATURE
3. PRINTING AND THE PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE
4. THE WIDENING OF TRADITION: Palimpsest and papyrus


1. APPROACH

A general question to be addressed when discussing Greek literature is the problem of transmission of this literature.
might think that is a secondary question (which might not we consider, for example., Speaking in English literature.)
But the truth is that the channels through which transmitted the Greek Literature condition our view of it: we have only a partial picture of Greek Literature, fragmentary, because there is much that we have lost it in the process transmission.

P. eg., do not keep any book full of lyric poets before Pindar (SS. VII-VI BC), Archilochus, Sappho Stesichorus are known to us only in fragments. P.
eg., we retain only 7 tragedies of Aeschylus, of the 79 that were known in Alexandria

• similar data could be Sophocles or Euripides (although we have had more luck this);
• Please also note that in Athens in S. V, each year represented nine tragedies satirists three dramas;
• however, there remain only thirty-one tragedies drama ("a 2 / 3% of the tragedy of S. V a. C.?).

Why have we lost so much Greek Literature? Why has narrowed the transmission?
This is a process that was once for all, but occurred in phases.


2. STEPS IN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE GREEK LITERATURE: THE "HOMER" TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING

1) In its early stages (archaic: SS. VIII-VI BC), Greek Literature is literature strong oral, in the sense that its execution, its transmission and, according to many critics, also its composition is oral.
This is the golden age of the epic, and if we have lost much of the archaic epic is because, perhaps, was never written.
Likewise, a huge mass of archaic oral literature must have lost because they never put in writing, to disappear from people's memory, eventually dying out. This might be p.
eg. the case of the Greek tale, which we ignore almost everything (see the entry 57. The folk tale and fable in Greece ).

2) In a second stage, the transmission of Greek literature is in writing. The idea of \u200b\u200bsetting
writing literary works should the model of what happens to the laws that are put in writing because they have to survive their legislator.
Similarly, get to write literary works in order to ensure their survival, and survive and its composer, who begins to become aware of copyright.
First, fixation was done in writing through single copies, usually enshrined in a temple

• p. eg. We heard that this might be the case Homeric Hymn to Apollo (preserved in the temple of Apollo at Delos);
• so does the book of Heraclitus (preserved in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus).

The fact that only single copies made indicates that by the time we talked (sixth century BC), there was no book trade, this trade could not even exist at that time by the absence of a reading public:

• the degree of literacy was low;
conditions
• reading materials were complex;
• the material to copy books (the papyrus) was scarce and therefore expensive.

The "book industry" does not arise until about the 450 in Athens. In S. IV appear as the first library (the Academy of the Lyceum).
Books that host these libraries, which have existed for the S. V a. C., are "volumes", uolumina , papyrus scrolls that have to operate for reading and then have to wrap again.
The procedure is very cumbersome, especially if the papyrus is long: p. eg. we retain a papyrus of Platonic banquet with a length of ten meters.

arise in the Hellenistic era large libraries such as the Museum of Alexandria (see entry 34. The world of Hellenism and the development of Philology ).
These libraries are created and supported by the Hellenistic monarchs for a political motivation: they are interested in preserving ancient literature because they see it as a sign of identity that can hold its own against other cultures.
The Museum Library was busy seeking true copies of ancient authors, using sometimes dubious procedures:

• in the case of Ptolemy evergetism;
Athens
• loan requests the canonical text of the tragic;
• should be left as security in Athens astronomical amount of fifteen talents of gold,
• the end, would rather lose the money and keep the official texts Athenians
• yes, at Athens sent a careful copy of the text held in Alexandria.

is obvious that libraries play an important role in the transmission of Greek Literature: at this time, and as a result of the work of philologists who work in libraries, arise "prearquetipos" Alexandrian, who will then step to the Roman archetypes.
Please note, however, that libraries can help preserve ancient literature, and in the case of the rare authors is irreplaceable role. However, for that matter, the damage in libraries also produce irreparable loss.
Thus, the burning of the Library of Alexandria in the S. I a. C. (During the stay of Caesar, 48-47 BC) determined the loss of many authors.

3) Authors who are being saved despite the fires are obviously the authors are read and copied out of libraries. Now But who are the authors who have this fate?
These are the authors who make up the first of the "fees" in the strict sense, the Alexandrian canon, a canon designed on the basis of school needs. Canon
reduced, which saves up to today, but takes some authors (with the exclusion) to the loss of others.
We see it with unquestionable clarity of the numbers if you look at the case of the authors of tragedy:

• The Alexandrian canon states that copied only the tragedies of the three great tragedians, and only seven of each of these .
• This will have lost (Or only a few fragments preserved in) the works of the other tragic, is identical to the situation of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles or Euripides did not enter the canon.
• For this reason we retain only seven tragedies of Aeschylus, of the 79 known at Alexandria (retain slightly less than 9% of the work of Aeschylus).
• data could be similar to Sophocles or Euripides, but with this one (by chance of transmission) have had more luck and eighteen tragedies retain a satirical drama.
• Please also note that in Athens, in the S. V a. C., each year represented nine tragedies plus three satirical plays: instead, we retain only thirty-one tragedies plus a satyr play, ie a 2 or 3% of the drama of S. V a. C.

The Alexandrian canon thus became, despite its intrinsic goodness, another bottleneck in the transmission of Greek Literature.

4) The cultural impoverishment of the late ancient world determines another kink in the transmission of classical culture, it fails to copy what is not understood:

• Dejan technical writers to copy: p. eg., authors of astronomy and scientific geography.
Dejan
• to copy the authors of works long: the trivialization of culture makes only be stored in the form of extracts and epitome. Dejan
• to copy writers in dialect: this affects both authors of literary interest as the lyrical, p. eg. Sappho: lesbian dialect in which it was written to present real difficulties for a late Greek period.

We exemplify the phenomenon of trivialization of the previous culture in the case of an author mythography (Paléfato).

Paléfato
• 's work (Extraordinary Stories ) as the preserve, consists of 52 stories brief exegesis of myths and rationalistic in appearance is a rather simplistic.
• However, according to the Suda's work consisted of 5 books Paléfato: so what we have is an epitome, which some critics would be all the work and for others only the first book.
• Note also that a work like Paléfato lent itself especially to be abridged, not only because of its presumed extension: the case of the work (the collection of myths and their interpretation) made it especially useful for use in school, and hence its abbreviation and simplification.
• What may be the original work is minimal and difficult to interpret, perhaps there is some personal imprint ironic or disparaging remarks (among others).

5) further narrowing of the Classical Tradition also speaks (or spoke) with true passion is the "Christian censorship. But:

• More than "censorship" should talk about "disinterest" (indifference, contempt ...): pagan authors copied because no longer interested.
• systematic burning was the work of heretical sects.
• Several Church fathers writing indicating how spiritual can take advantage of pagan authors, in a clear process of "inculturation" (cf. St. Basil, Homily 22).
• to justify the reading of pagan authors often resorted to allegorical reading: A famous case is that of the messianic interpretation of Virgil, Eclogue IV.
• It should be well aware that censorship is not in any sense a Christian invention: in ancient Greece Plato advocated control of the poets and poetry.

6) In the Middle Ages (the so-called "Dark Ages") increases the portion of lost Greek Literature:

• in the West has disappeared almost completely lost Greek Literature at the language.
• Although also here are copying works, particularly in the Benedictine monasteries.
• In the East the situation was different because of the slow evolution of the Greek language, to allow the continued understanding and copying the ancient authors.
• East's education system is also based on the classics, which remained copied in monasteries.
• copying of books was very driven in the Renaissance of the patriarch Photius (ninth century): it is worth remembering, of course, that what we call the Renaissance was not the only "Renaissance" of history, that the phenomenon was even in the "Dark Ages."

But Photius tried to further restrict the tragic canon, though fortunately he failed.
This would have been a new canon, the "Byzantine triad", which chooses for each of the tragic three works a bit "eccentric"

• Aeschylus Persians, Seven Against Thebes, Prometheus .
• Sophocles Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Rex .
• Euripides Hecuba, Orestes, Phoenician .

Had this fee tax have lost key works of the three tragic: we have lost also the effect of the Alexandrian canon?
Despite the work of Photius and the Byzantine Renaissance lost books followed:

• the random factor can be decisive in a very narrow transmission;
• accidental fires, accidental loss, wars (eg., Looting Constantinople by Crusaders in 1204) narrowed more and more of the preserved body of ancient literature.

3. PRINTING AND THE PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE

A selected literature as history is possibly destined to be a quality literature ... if you survive the gradual process of narrowing of the tradition.
Now, after a certain date, introduced new factors that guarantee the preservation and rescue of Greek Literature.
In this regard it is essential to the invention of printing, the so-called renaissance and interest in the indiscriminate printing of books.
In fact, since the S. XVI have not lost again authors or works (although, occasionally, lost manuscripts).
must be noted, however, that the printing of books in Greek was not easy at first. It was difficult for
the need for very special fonts, which also would have limited use (there were very few people would read Greek).
But books began to be printed in Greek, and in this respect was fundamental activity of Aldus Manutius, who owe a total of 27 first editions (Aldine editions.)
Similarly, the work was essential that developed in Spain Cisneros, whom we owe the publication of the Complutense Polyglot Bible (published between 1502-1517).
For printing books in the Renaissance is not part of a philological work:

• is part of codices known as impaired.
• Once printed, these codices are often discarded on the grounds that it is useless.

4. THE WIDENING OF TRADITION: Palimpsest and papyrus

The "happy end" of the whole story may be that in the last two centuries have produced widening of tradition, we have recovered texts that seemed lost:
* have been recovered through the palimpsest texts. These are parchment scraped
to rewrite them, this work was scraping

• to be passed from the capitalization (uncial) to writing in lower case,
• or when it is considered that certain texts and had no interest.

Thus we have recovered, p. eg., the Phaeton of Euripides, or Republic of Cicero.

* But, above all texts have been recovered through the papyrus.
papyri, writing the basic material in antiquity have been preserved only

• in very dry climates such as Egypt (in landfills as the Oxyrhynchus, in packing of mummies);
• occasionally contact temperatures high (as was the case Derveni papyrus, fallen from a funeral pyre, or in the case of the Papyri at Herculaneum in Pompeii).

Through the papyri we have recovered significant texts by authors who were previously only names, by way of example: lyric
Authors Bacchylides have recovered, have recovered their Epinicia and dithyrambs through a papyrus discovered in 1896 and published in late 1897.
Now Bacchylides text occupies 121 pages in the Teubner edition. Authors
comedians have recovered to Menander:

• above, this stock is only possessed collections of sentences;
• now have full or almost full recovered some of his comedies ( The wayward ) today
• These days, the text of Menander occupies 356 pages in the edition of the Oxford Classical Texts.

Joseph B. Torres Guerra

SOME REFERENCES:

BARNABAS, A., "Transmission of Greek literature," in JA Lopez Ferez (ed.), H istory of Greek Literature , Madrid, 1988, pp. 1189-1207.
BRAVO, A., "The written sources of Greek culture and its transmission to us," ECLAS 22 (1978), pp. 11-40.
GIL, L., Censorship in the ancient world , Madrid, 1961.
PFEIFFER, R., Historia de la Filología Clásica. I. Desde los comienzos hasta el final de la época helenística , Madrid, 1968 ( History of the Classical Scholarship. From the Beginnings to the End of the Hellenistic Age, Oxford, 1968).
PFEIFFER, R., Historia de la Filología Clásica. II. De 1300 a 1850 , Madrid, 1981 ( History of the Classical Scholarship. From 1300 to 1800 , Oxford, 1976).
REYNOLDS, L.D. y WILSON, N.G., Copistas y filólogos. Las vías de transmisión de las literaturas griega y latina , Madrid, 1986 ( Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature , Oxford, 1974, 2 nd ed.).


* literary texts on papyrus (partial access to the Mertens-Pack 3):

http://promethee.philo.ulg.ac.be/cedopal/index.htm

* About copyists:

http://www.ucm.es/info/copistas

Cf also the website Papyrologie und Zeitschrift für Epigraphik:

http://www.uni-koeln.de/ phil-fak/ifa/zpe