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{{Short description|Compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends}} {{Short description|Compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends}}
{{italic title}} {{italic title}}
] ]'s 1805 edition and French translation of the ''Bibliotheca'']]
The '''''Bibliotheca''''' (]: {{lang-grc|Βιβλιοθήκη|lit=Library|translit=Bibliothēkē|label=none}}), also known as the '''''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus''', is a ] of ] and ], genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century CE.<ref>{{harvtxt|Hard|2004|loc=}}; ''Perseus Encyclopedia'', ; {{harvtxt|Simpson|1976|loc=}}.</ref> The author was traditionally thought to be ], but that attribution is now regarded as false. As a result "]" has been affixed to ]. The '''''Bibliotheca''''' (]: {{langx|grc|Βιβλιοθήκη|lit=Library|translit=Bibliothēkē|label=none}}), is a ] of ] and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been written by '''Apollodorus''' (or sometimes '''Pseudo-Apollodorus'''), a result of its false attribution to the 2nd-century BC scholar ].


== General Overview == == General overview ==
The ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus is a compressive collection of myths, genealogies and histories that presents a continuous history of ] from the ] to the death of ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref> The narratives are organized by genealogy, chronology and geography in summaries of myth.<ref name=":0" /> <ref>Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." ''Classical Antiquity'' 27:59–91. JSTOR 10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59.</ref>The myths are sourced from a wide number of sources like early epic, early Hellenistic poets, and mythographical summaries of tales.<ref name=":0" /> ] and ] are the most frequently named along with other poets.<ref name=":2">Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." ''Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica'' 97:129–46. JSTOR 23048902.</ref> Oral tradition and the plays written by ], ] and ] also factored into the compilation of myth in the ''Bibliotheca''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" ''Rheinisches Museum'' 140 308–27.</ref> The ''Bibliotheca'' was written in the first or second century CE by an author who is referred to as Pseudo-Apollodorus to differentiate from Apollodorus of Athens, who did not write the ''Bibliotheca''.<ref name=":1">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> The text is largely intact except for the last section, ending in the middle of the narrative of ].<ref name=":0" /> In the later scholarship it is used as a reference material.<ref name=":0" /> The ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus is a compressive collection of myths, genealogies and histories that presents a continuous history of ] from the earliest gods and the origin of the world to the death of ].<ref name=":06">{{harvtxt|Aldrich|1975|pp=1–4}}.</ref> The narratives are organized by genealogy, chronology and geography in summaries of myth.<ref name=":06"/><ref>Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." ''Classical Antiquity'' 27:59–91. {{JSTOR|10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59}}.</ref> The myths are sourced from a wide number of sources like early epic, early Hellenistic poets, and mythographical summaries of tales.<ref name=":06"/> ] and ] are the most frequently named along with other poets.<ref name=":22">Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." ''Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica'' 97:129–46. {{JSTOR|23048902}}.</ref> Oral tradition and the plays written by ], ] and ] also factored into the compilation of myth in the ''Bibliotheca''.<ref name=":06"/><ref>Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" ''Rheinisches Museum'' 140 308–27.</ref> The ''Bibliotheca'' was written in the first or second century CE by an author who is referred to as Pseudo-Apollodorus to differentiate from Apollodorus of Athens, who did not write the ''Bibliotheca''.<ref name=":15">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> Most extant manuscripts of the text end during the narration of ]'s exploits, with there surviving only two codices, discovered in the 19th century, which transmit the remainder of the work.<ref name=":06"/> In the later scholarship it is used as a reference material.<ref name=":06"/>

== List of Myths<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apollodorus, Library, book 1, chapter 1, section 1 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022:text=Library |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref> ==

* ] orders ] to fetch the golden fleece.
* Catalogue of the ].
* The women of Lemnos; in the land of the Doliones.
* The loss of Hylas and abandonment of ] Polydeuces and Amycos; Phineus and the ]; the Clashing Rocks.
* Jason, ], and the seizure of the fleece.
* The murder of Apsyrtos and journey to ].
* To the land of the Phaeacians Anaphe; Talos in Crete.
* The return to lolcos and murder of Pelias.
* The later history of Medea.

'''4. Early Argive mythology (the Inachids, Belid line)'''

* The early descendants of ].
* The wanderings of ], and division of the Inachid line.
* Aigyptos, Danaos, and the Danaids Proitos and Acrisios divide the Argolid Bias, Melampous, and the daughters of Proitos Excursus: the story of ] Danae and the birth of ].
* Perseus fetches the ]'s head (]) Perseus and ].
* The later history of Perseus.
* The immediate descendants of Perseus.
* The exile of ].

'''5. Heracles, and the Heraclids'''

* Amphitryon in Thebes, and the war against the Teleboans.
* The birth and early life of ]
* Heracles and the Minyans; his first marriage, and madness.
* First labour: the ].
* Second labour: the ].
* Third labour: the ].
* Fourth labour: the ].
* Fifth labour: the cattle of Augeias.
* Sixth labour: the ].
* Seventh labour: the ].
* Eighth labour: the ].
* Ninth labour: the belt of ].
* Tenth labour: the ].
* Eleventh labour: the ].
* Twelfth labour: the capture of ].
* The murder of Iphitos and Heracles' enslavement to Omphale.
* The first sack of ].
* Campaigns in the Peloponnese.
* Marriage to Deianeira; Heracles in northern Greece The sack of Oichalia; the death and apotheosis of Heracles.
* The children of Heracles.
* The return of the Heraclids.

'''6. Cretan and Theban mythology (the Inachids, Agenorid line).'''

* The abduction of Europa to Crete, and dispersal of the sons of Agenor Minos and his brothers.
* ], Pasiphae, and the origin of the ] Catreus and Althaimenes.
* Polyidos and the revival of Glaucos.
* Cadmos and the foundation of Thebes Semele and Dionysos; the death of Actaion Successors and usurpers at Thebes Amphion, Niobe, and their children Laios and ].

'''7. The Theban Wars'''

* ] and the exile of ] to ].
* Prelude in Argos: Amphiaraos and Eriphyle.
* The advance against ] and stationing of the champions.
* Excursus: the earlier history of ].
* The Theban victory and its aftermath.
* The Epigoni and the Second Theban War.
* The later history of Alcmaion.

'''8. Arcadian mythology (the Pelasgids)'''

* ] and his sons.
* ] and the birth of ]; early Arcadian genealogies.
* Atalante.

'''9. Laconian and Trojan mythology (the Atlantids)'''

* The ].
* The birth and early exploits of ].
* Early ] (]) genealogies; the story of ].
* Tyndareus, Leda, and their children ] and her suitors.
* The fate of the ].

* Early Trojan mythology.
* ], ], and their children.

'''10. The Asopids'''

* Aiacos in ].
* The exile of ] and ]
* Peleus in ], Calydon, and lolcos.
* The marriage of ] and ], and early life of ].

'''11. Cecrops and his descendants; the story of Adonis Three early kings: Cranaos, Amphictyon, and Erichthonios.'''

* Pandion I and his children; Icarios and Erigone; Tereus, Procne, and Philomele.
* Procris and Cephalos; Oreithuia and her children Eumolpos, and the war with Eleusis; the exile of Pandion II Aigeus and the conception of ].
* The war with Minos and the origin of the tribute to the Minotaur.
* The labours of Theseus, and his arrival at Athens.

'''Epitome'''

* ], Ariadne, and the killing of the ]
* Excursus: ] and ], and the death of ].
* Theseus and ]; Phaedra and Hippolytos.
* Theseus and Peirithoos.

'''12. The Pelopids'''

* ].
* Pelops and Hippodameia
* ] and Thyestes.
* ] and ].

'''13. The Trojan war'''

* The ] and abduction of ].
* ] assembles the Greek army.
* The attack on ]; the Greeks assemble for a second time.
* The Greeks call in at Tenedos.
* The landing at Troy, and the first nine years of the war.
* The wrath of ] (a summary of the Iliad) Penthesileia the Amazon; Memnon and the death of Achilles; the suicide of ].
* Philoctetes and the death of Paris; conditions for the ]
* The ].
* The sack of Troy.

'''14. The returns'''

* ] and Agamemnon quarrel; Calchas and Mopsos.
* Agamemnon sails with the main fleet; the storm at Tenos, and Nauplios the wrecker.
* The fate of ]; various wanderings and returns.
* The later history of the Pelopids.
* The return of ] (a summary of the ]).
* The later history of Odysseus.


== Authorship == == Authorship ==
A certain "Apollodorus" is indicated as author on some surviving manuscripts,<ref name=":12">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> this Apollodorus has been mistakenly identified with ] (born {{circa|180 BC}}E), a student of ] who also worked in Alexandria. It is known—from references in the minor ] on Homer—that Apollodorus of Athens did leave a similar comprehensive repertory on mythology, in the form of a verse chronicle.<ref name=":12" /> The mistaken attribution was made by scholars following Photius' mention of the name, though Photius did not name him as the Athenian and the name was in common use at the time.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref> For chronological reasons, Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book, the author of the ''Bibliotheca'' is at times referred to as the "Pseudo-Apollodorus", to distinguish him from Apollodorus of Athens.<ref name=":12" /> Modern works often simply call him "Apollodorus".<ref name=":03" /> The form of the text that has survived is generally placed in late 1st or second century BCE.<ref name=":03" /> A certain "Apollodorus" is indicated as author on some surviving manuscripts,<ref name=":15"/> this Apollodorus has been mistakenly identified with ] (born {{circa|180 BC}}E), a student of ] who also worked in Alexandria. It is known—from references in the minor ] on Homer—that Apollodorus of Athens did leave a similar comprehensive repertory on mythology, in the form of a verse chronicle.<ref name=":15"/> The mistaken attribution was made by scholars following mention of the name by ], though Photius did not name him as the Athenian and the name was in common use at the time.<ref name=":06"/> For chronological reasons, Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book, the author of the ''Bibliotheca'' is at times referred to as the "Pseudo-Apollodorus", to distinguish him from Apollodorus of Athens.<ref name=":15"/> Modern works often simply call him "Apollodorus".<ref name=":06"/> The work is generally dated to the first or second centuries AD.<ref>{{harvtxt|Hard|2004|loc=}}; ''Perseus Encyclopedia'', ; {{harvtxt|Simpson|1976|loc=}}.</ref>


== Manuscript Tradition == == Manuscript tradition ==
The first mention of the work is by Photius, patriarch of ] in 9<sup>th</sup> century CE, in his "account of books read".<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref> The last section of the ''Bibliotheca'' which breaks off during the section on Theseus is missing in surviving manuscripts, Photius had the full work and mentions that the lost section had myths about the heroes of the ].<ref name=":04" /> Byzantine author ], who lived in Constantinople in the twelfth century, often cited the Bibliotheca in his writings.<ref name=":13">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> It was almost ] in the 13th century, surviving in one now-incomplete manuscript,<ref>], Paris.</ref> which was copied for ] in the 15th century.<ref group="lower-roman">Bessarion's copy, deposited in the ], Venice, found its way into the Greek manuscripts of ] and came with them to the ] in 1636. (Diller 1935:308, 310).</ref> Any surviving manuscripts of the Bibliotheca are descended from a fourteenth century manuscript in the ] in Paris.<ref name=":04" /> The first mention of the work is by Photius, patriarch of ] in 9th century CE, in his "account of books read".<ref name=":06"/> The last section of the ''Bibliotheca'' which breaks off during the section on Theseus is missing in surviving manuscripts, Photius had the full work and mentions that the lost section had myths about the heroes of the ].<ref name=":06"/> Byzantine author ], who lived in Constantinople in the twelfth century, often cited the ''Bibliotheca'' in his writings.<ref name=":15"/> It was almost ] in the 13th century, surviving in one now-incomplete manuscript,<ref>], Paris.</ref> which was copied for ] in the 15th century.<ref group="lower-roman">Bessarion's copy, deposited in the ], Venice, found its way into the Greek manuscripts of ] and came with them to the ] in 1636. (Diller 1935:308, 310).</ref> Any surviving manuscripts of the ''Bibliotheca'' are descended from a fourteenth century manuscript in the ], in Paris.<ref name=":06"/>


== Printed Editions == == Printed editions ==
The first printed edition of the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus was published in ] in 1555.<ref name=":14">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> ] (Benedictus Aegius) of ], was the first to divide the text in three books.<ref group="lower-roman">He based his division on attributions in the ] to Apollodorus, in three books. ({{harvtxt|Diller|1935|loc=pp. 298, 308&ndash;9}}).</ref> {{ill|Hieronymus Commelinus|fr}} published an improved text at ], 1559. The first text based on comparative manuscripts was that of ], ], 1782–83. Subsequent editions Jurgen Muller (1841) and Richard Wagner (1894) collated earlier manuscripts.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Richard |title=Mythographi Graeci: Apollodorus .Bibliotheca; Pediasimi Libellus De Duodecim Herculis Labores |date=1894 |publisher=Nabu Press |year=1894 |isbn=978-1142820275 |publication-date=2010 |language=Ancient Greek, German |trans-title=Greek mythology: Bibliotheca of Apollodorus, a small book of the twelve labors of Hercules}}</ref> <ref name=":05">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref>In 1921 ] published an epitome of the book by conflating two manuscript summaries of the text,<ref>] 1913. ''Apollodorus.'' ].</ref> which included the lost section. The first printed edition of the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus was published in ] in 1555.<ref name=":15"/> ] (Benedictus Aegius) of ], was the first to divide the text in three books.<ref group="lower-roman">He based his division on attributions in the ] to Apollodorus, in three books. ({{harvtxt|Diller|1935|loc=pp. 298, 308&ndash;9}}).</ref> {{ill|Hieronymus Commelinus|fr}} published an improved text at ], 1559. The first text based on comparative manuscripts was that of ], ], 1782–83. Subsequent editions Jurgen Muller (1841) and Richard Wagner (1894) collated earlier manuscripts.<ref name=":15"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Richard |title=Mythographi Graeci: Apollodorus .Bibliotheca; Pediasimi Libellus De Duodecim Herculis Labores |publisher=Nabu Press |year=1894 |isbn=978-1142820275 |publication-date=2010 |language=Ancient Greek, German |trans-title=Greek mythology: Bibliotheca of Apollodorus, a small book of the twelve labors of Hercules}}</ref><ref name=":06"/> In 1921 ] published an epitome of the book by conflating two manuscript summaries of the text,<ref>] 1913. ''Apollodorus.'' ].</ref> which included the lost section.


== Scholarship == == Scholarship ==
The ''Bibliotheca'' has been referenced in scholarship throughout history. As a mythographical work It has influenced scholarship on Greek Mythology.<ref>{{harvtxt|Diller|1935|loc=pp. , }}.</ref>An ] recorded by the important intellectual ] expressed its purpose:<ref group="lower-roman">Victim of its own suggestions, the ], ironically, does not survive in the manuscripts. For the classic examples of ] and ] substituting in Christian hands for the literature of ] itself, see ]'s '']'' and ].</ref><blockquote>It has the following not ungraceful epigram: 'Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned ]. Look neither at the page of ], nor of ], nor ], nor ]. Seek not the vaunted verse of the ]; but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains'.</blockquote>Photius is one of the first surviving reviews of the use of the ''Bibliotheca'' in the field.<ref name=":15">Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.</ref> Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries BCE, the ''Bibliotheca'' was referred to in scholarship about Ancient Greece most often found in letters from scholars of the time.<ref name=":15" /> Much of the modern scholarship on the work has focused on the interpretation of its manuscripts by various translators and compilers of the ''Bibliotheca'' in later editions.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":22">Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." ''Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica'' 97:129–46. JSTOR 23048902.</ref> A critical view of past interpretations, compilations, and organization has also been a source of contention. The sources of information that may have informed the creation of the ''Bibliotheca'' are also studied in the modern scholarship.<ref name=":22" /> The question of authorship is another area of study that has shaped the interpretation of the work throughout history.<ref name=":06">{{Cite book |last=Aldrich |first=Keith |title=The Library of Greek Mythology |date=January 1, 1975 |publisher=Lawrence, Kan : Coronado Press |year=1975 |isbn=0872910725 |pages=1-4}}</ref> The ''Bibliotheca'' has been referenced in scholarship throughout history. As a mythographical work it has influenced scholarship on Greek mythology.<ref>{{harvtxt|Diller|1935|loc=pp. , }}.</ref> An ] recorded by the important intellectual Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople expressed its purpose:<ref group="lower-roman">Victim of its own suggestions, the ], ironically, does not survive in the manuscripts. For the classic examples of ]s and ]s substituting in Christian hands for the literature of ] itself, see ]'s '']'' and ].</ref><blockquote>It has the following not ungraceful epigram: 'Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned ]. Look neither at the page of ], nor of ], nor ], nor ]. Seek not the vaunted verse of the ]; but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains'.</blockquote>Photius is one of the first surviving reviews of the use of the ''Bibliotheca'' in the field.<ref name=":15"/> Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries CE, the ''Bibliotheca'' was referred to in scholarship about Ancient Greece most often found in letters from scholars of the time.<ref name=":15" /> Much of the modern scholarship on the work has focused on the interpretation of its manuscripts by various translators and compilers of the ''Bibliotheca'' in later editions.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":22"/> A critical view of past interpretations, compilations, and organization has also been a source of contention. The sources of information that may have informed the creation of the ''Bibliotheca'' are also studied in the modern scholarship.<ref name=":22" /> The question of authorship is another area of study that has shaped the interpretation of the work throughout history.<ref name=":06"/>


== See also == == See also ==
*{{portal-inline|Ancient Greece}} * {{portal-inline|Ancient Greece}}


== References == == References ==

=== Notes === === Notes ===
{{Reflist|group=lower-roman}} {{Reflist|group=lower-roman}}
Line 162: Line 32:
* {{citation|last=Aldrich|first=Keith|title=The Library of Greek Mythology|year=1975|publisher=Coronado Press|location=Lawrence, Kansas|isbn=0872910725}} * {{citation|last=Aldrich|first=Keith|title=The Library of Greek Mythology|year=1975|publisher=Coronado Press|location=Lawrence, Kansas|isbn=0872910725}}
* {{citation|last=Diller|first=Aubrey|title=The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus|year=1935|journal=]|volume=66|pages=296–313|doi=10.2307/283301 |jstor=283301}} * {{citation|last=Diller|first=Aubrey|title=The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus|year=1935|journal=]|volume=66|pages=296–313|doi=10.2307/283301 |jstor=283301}}
* Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert. * Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp.&nbsp;199–216 in ''Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition,'' edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert. {{ISBN|902560837X}}.
* Dowden, Ken. 1992. ''The Uses of Greek Mythology.'' London: ]. {{ISBN|978-0-415-06135-3}}. . * Dowden, Ken. 1992. ''The Uses of Greek Mythology.'' London: ]. {{ISBN|978-0-415-06135-3}}. .
* Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." '']'' 27:59–91. {{JSTOR|10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59}}. * Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." '']'' 27:59–91. {{JSTOR|10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59}}.
* Hard, Robin. 1997. ''Apollodorus: The Library of Greek Mythology''. Oxford: ]. {{ISBN|978-0-199-53632-0}}. * Hard, Robin. 1997. ''Apollodorus: The Library of Greek Mythology''. Oxford: ]. {{ISBN|978-0-199-53632-0}}.
* {{citation|last=Hard|first=Robin|title=The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"|year=2004|edition=7th|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-18636-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC}} * {{citation|last=Hard|first=Robin|title=The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"|year=2004|edition=7th|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-18636-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC}}
* Higbie, Carolyn. 2007. "Hellenistic Mythographers." Pp. 237–54 in ''The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology'', edited by R. D. Woodard. Cambridge: ]. * Higbie, Carolyn. 2007. "Hellenistic Mythographers." Pp.&nbsp;237–54 in ''The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology'', edited by R. D. Woodard. Cambridge: ]. {{ISBN|9780521845205}}.
* Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" ''Rheinisches Museum'' 140 308–27. * Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" ''Rheinisches Museum'' 140 308–27. {{JSTOR|41234289}}.
* Kenens, Ulrike. 2013. "Text and Transmission of Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca: Avenues for Future Research." Pp. 95–114 in ''Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World'', edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: ]. * Kenens, Ulrike. 2013. "Text and Transmission of Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca: Avenues for Future Research." Pp. 95–114 in ''Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World'', edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: ]. {{ISBN|9789042929111}}.
* Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." ''Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica'' 97:129–46. {{JSTOR|23048902}}. * Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." ''Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica'' 97:129–46. {{JSTOR|23048902}}.
* Scully, Stephen. 2015. "Echoes of the Theogony in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods." In ''Hesiod's 'Theogony', From Near Eastern Creation Myths to 'Paradise Lost'.'' New York: Oxford University Press. * Scully, Stephen. 2015. "Echoes of the Theogony in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods." In ''Hesiod's 'Theogony', From Near Eastern Creation Myths to 'Paradise Lost'.'' New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|9780190253967}}.
* {{citation|editor-last=Simpson|editor-first=Michael|title=Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The "Library" of Apollodorus|year=1976|publisher=]|location=Amherst|isbn=978-0-870-23206-0|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_2900870232069/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater}} * {{citation|editor-last=Simpson|editor-first=Michael|title=Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The "Library" of Apollodorus|year=1976|publisher=]|location=Amherst|isbn=978-0-870-23206-0|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_2900870232069/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater}}
* {{citation|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=R. Scott|editor2-last=Trzaskoma|editor2-first=Stephen M.|year=2007|title=Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=978-0-87220-820-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8pgDwAAQBAJ}} * {{citation|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=R. Scott|editor2-last=Trzaskoma|editor2-first=Stephen M.|year=2007|title=Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=978-0-87220-820-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8pgDwAAQBAJ}}
* Trzaskoma, Stephen. 2013. "Citation, Organization and Authorial Presence in Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca." Pp. 75–94 in ''Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World'', edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters. * Trzaskoma, Stephen. 2013. "Citation, Organization and Authorial Presence in Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca." Pp. 75–94 in ''Writing Myth: Mythography in the Ancient World'', edited by S. M. Trzaskoma and R. S. Smith. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters. {{ISBN|9789042929111}}.
* Trzaskoma, Stephen M. and R. Scott Smith. 2008. "Hellas in the Bibliotheke of Apollodorus." ''Philologus'' 152(1):90–6. . * Trzaskoma, Stephen M. and R. Scott Smith. 2008. "Hellas in the Bibliotheke of Apollodorus." ''Philologus'' 152(1):90–6. {{DOI|10.1524/phil.2008.0016}}.

== External links ==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Bibliotheca |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Ψευδο-Απολλόδωρος|(Ψευδο-)Ἀπολλόδωρος}}
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* ''Mythographoi. Scriptores poetiace historiae graeci'', Antonius Westermann (ed.), Brunsvigae sumptum fecit Georgius Westermann, 1843, .
* '''', ] (ed.), Lipsiae sumptibus et typis B. G. Teubneri, 1854.
* ''Mythographi graeci'', Richardus Wagner (ed.), vol. 1, Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1894: (the epitome in ).
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*{{cite book | last =Michels | first =Johanna Astrid | title =Agenorid Myth in the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus: A Philological Commentary of Bibl. III.1-56 and a Study Into the Composition and Organization of the Handbook | publisher =De Gruyter | date =2022 | language =English | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=rbWbEAAAQBAJ | isbn = 9783110610529 | accessdate=2024-08-25}}


==External links==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Bibliotheca
|viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
*{{wikisourcelang-inline|el|Ψευδο-Απολλόδωρος|(Ψευδο-)Ἀπολλόδωρος}}
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*''Mythographoi. Scriptores poetiace historiae graeci'', Antonius Westermann (ed.), Brunsvigae sumptum fecit Georgius Westermann, 1843, .
*'''', ] (ed.), Lipsiae sumptibus et typis B. G. Teubneri, 1854.
*''Mythographi graeci'', Richardus Wagner (ed.), vol. 1, Lipsiae in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1894: (the epitome in ).
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* (condensed text)


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Latest revision as of 10:32, 19 January 2025

Compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends

The title page of Étienne Clavier's 1805 edition and French translation of the Bibliotheca

The Bibliotheca (Ancient Greek: Βιβλιοθήκη, Bibliothēkē, 'Library'), is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been written by Apollodorus (or sometimes Pseudo-Apollodorus), a result of its false attribution to the 2nd-century BC scholar Apollodorus of Athens.

General overview

The Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus is a compressive collection of myths, genealogies and histories that presents a continuous history of Greek mythology from the earliest gods and the origin of the world to the death of Odysseus. The narratives are organized by genealogy, chronology and geography in summaries of myth. The myths are sourced from a wide number of sources like early epic, early Hellenistic poets, and mythographical summaries of tales. Homer and Hesiod are the most frequently named along with other poets. Oral tradition and the plays written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides also factored into the compilation of myth in the Bibliotheca. The Bibliotheca was written in the first or second century CE by an author who is referred to as Pseudo-Apollodorus to differentiate from Apollodorus of Athens, who did not write the Bibliotheca. Most extant manuscripts of the text end during the narration of Theseus's exploits, with there surviving only two codices, discovered in the 19th century, which transmit the remainder of the work. In the later scholarship it is used as a reference material.

Authorship

A certain "Apollodorus" is indicated as author on some surviving manuscripts, this Apollodorus has been mistakenly identified with Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE), a student of Aristarchus of Samothrace who also worked in Alexandria. It is known—from references in the minor scholia on Homer—that Apollodorus of Athens did leave a similar comprehensive repertory on mythology, in the form of a verse chronicle. The mistaken attribution was made by scholars following mention of the name by Photius I of Constantinople, though Photius did not name him as the Athenian and the name was in common use at the time. For chronological reasons, Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book, the author of the Bibliotheca is at times referred to as the "Pseudo-Apollodorus", to distinguish him from Apollodorus of Athens. Modern works often simply call him "Apollodorus". The work is generally dated to the first or second centuries AD.

Manuscript tradition

The first mention of the work is by Photius, patriarch of Constantinople in 9th century CE, in his "account of books read". The last section of the Bibliotheca which breaks off during the section on Theseus is missing in surviving manuscripts, Photius had the full work and mentions that the lost section had myths about the heroes of the Trojan War. Byzantine author John Tzetes, who lived in Constantinople in the twelfth century, often cited the Bibliotheca in his writings. It was almost lost in the 13th century, surviving in one now-incomplete manuscript, which was copied for Cardinal Bessarion in the 15th century. Any surviving manuscripts of the Bibliotheca are descended from a fourteenth century manuscript in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris.

Printed editions

The first printed edition of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus was published in Rome in 1555. Benedetto Egio (Benedictus Aegius) of Spoleto, was the first to divide the text in three books. Hieronymus Commelinus [fr] published an improved text at Heidelberg, 1559. The first text based on comparative manuscripts was that of Christian Gottlob Heyne, Göttingen, 1782–83. Subsequent editions Jurgen Muller (1841) and Richard Wagner (1894) collated earlier manuscripts. In 1921 Sir James George Frazer published an epitome of the book by conflating two manuscript summaries of the text, which included the lost section.

Scholarship

The Bibliotheca has been referenced in scholarship throughout history. As a mythographical work it has influenced scholarship on Greek mythology. An epigram recorded by the important intellectual Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople expressed its purpose:

It has the following not ungraceful epigram: 'Draw your knowledge of the past from me and read the ancient tales of learned lore. Look neither at the page of Homer, nor of elegy, nor tragic muse, nor epic strain. Seek not the vaunted verse of the cycle; but look in me and you will find in me all that the world contains'.

Photius is one of the first surviving reviews of the use of the Bibliotheca in the field. Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries CE, the Bibliotheca was referred to in scholarship about Ancient Greece most often found in letters from scholars of the time. Much of the modern scholarship on the work has focused on the interpretation of its manuscripts by various translators and compilers of the Bibliotheca in later editions. A critical view of past interpretations, compilations, and organization has also been a source of contention. The sources of information that may have informed the creation of the Bibliotheca are also studied in the modern scholarship. The question of authorship is another area of study that has shaped the interpretation of the work throughout history.

See also

References

Notes

  1. Bessarion's copy, deposited in the Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, found its way into the Greek manuscripts of Archbishop Laud and came with them to the Bodleian Library in 1636. (Diller 1935:308, 310).
  2. He based his division on attributions in the scholia minora on Homer to Apollodorus, in three books. (Diller (1935, pp. 298, 308–9)).
  3. Victim of its own suggestions, the epigraph, ironically, does not survive in the manuscripts. For the classic examples of epitomes and encyclopedias substituting in Christian hands for the literature of Classical Antiquity itself, see Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae and Martianus Capella.

Citations

  1. ^ Aldrich (1975, pp. 1–4).
  2. Fletcher, K. F. B. 2008. "Systematic Genealogies in Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca and the Exclusion of Rome from Greek Myth." Classical Antiquity 27:59–91. JSTOR 10.1525/ca.2008.27.1.59.
  3. ^ Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-Apollodorus' Library: A Case Study." Quaderni Urbinati di Cultura Classica 97:129–46. JSTOR 23048902.
  4. Huys, Marc. 1997. "Euripides and the Tales from Euripides: Sources of Apollodoros' Bibliotheca?" Rheinisches Museum 140 308–27.
  5. ^ Diller, Aubrey. 1983. "The Text History of the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus." Pp. 199–216 in Studies in Greek Manuscript Tradition, edited by A. Diller. Amsterdam: A. M. Hakkert.
  6. Hard (2004, p. 3); Perseus Encyclopedia, "Apollodorus (4)"; Simpson (1976, p. 1).
  7. Bibliothèque nationale, Paris.
  8. Wagner, Richard (1894). Mythographi Graeci: Apollodorus .Bibliotheca; Pediasimi Libellus De Duodecim Herculis Labores [Greek mythology: Bibliotheca of Apollodorus, a small book of the twelve labors of Hercules] (in Ancient Greek and German). Nabu Press (published 2010). ISBN 978-1142820275.
  9. Frazer, James G. 1913. Apollodorus. Loeb Classical Library.
  10. Diller (1935, pp. 296, 300).

Works cited

External links

Library resources about
Bibliotheca


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