Mythographus Homericus
Encyclopedia
Mythographus Homericus, the "Homeric Mythographer", is the unknown writer of a text of tales collected from Greek mythology
that are transmitted in two manuscript tradition
s.
transmitted in Byzantine
manuscripts as the so-called "D-scholia". In the other, recently-recovered manuscript tradition, a 3rd-century CE papyrus
, conserved at Berlin
, of the source or one based on it has provided a parallel text, confirming the text offered by Mythographus Homericus. There are several fragmentary papyri, four of them from Oxyrhynchus
, providing additional evidence. They date from the first or second to the fifth century CE; seventy-seven fragments relating to Iliad 18-24 were published in 1995 as P. Oxy. LXI 4096.
In distinction from the texts interspersed among the Homeric D-scholia, where the actual individual authors are submerged in sources that are merely cited as scholia, the papyrus text preserves the original format in which these summary histories were transmitted. They follow the canonic Homeric text, with headword
s or lemmata that link them to the relevant Homeric line. Most of them are brief accounts of an episode or etiologies
of names, genealogies or explanations of an Homeric term; they do not provide a grammarian's gloss
.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
that are transmitted in two manuscript tradition
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
s.
Writings
In one, they are found among those scholia on the works of HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
transmitted in Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
manuscripts as the so-called "D-scholia". In the other, recently-recovered manuscript tradition, a 3rd-century CE papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, conserved at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, of the source or one based on it has provided a parallel text, confirming the text offered by Mythographus Homericus. There are several fragmentary papyri, four of them from Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
, providing additional evidence. They date from the first or second to the fifth century CE; seventy-seven fragments relating to Iliad 18-24 were published in 1995 as P. Oxy. LXI 4096.
In distinction from the texts interspersed among the Homeric D-scholia, where the actual individual authors are submerged in sources that are merely cited as scholia, the papyrus text preserves the original format in which these summary histories were transmitted. They follow the canonic Homeric text, with headword
Headword
A headword, head word, lemma, or sometimes catchword is the word under which a set of related dictionary or encyclopaedia entries appear. The headword is used to locate the entry, and dictates its alphabetical position...
s or lemmata that link them to the relevant Homeric line. Most of them are brief accounts of an episode or etiologies
Etiology
Etiology is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" ....
of names, genealogies or explanations of an Homeric term; they do not provide a grammarian's gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
.