DOI 10.1515/bz-2018-0021 BZ 2018; 111(3): 777–792 Maria Tomadaki An unpublished poem on Porphyry Abstract: This paper offers an editio princeps,anEnglish translation and acom- mentary of an interesting epigram on Porphyry,the commentator of Aristotle. The epigram was transcribed in Vat.Reg. 166 by IoannesMalaxos (16th c.) and is ascribed to Petros Servilos, apoet unknown from other sources. The paper dis- cusses the poem’smanuscript context,aswell as its authorship, genre, content and function. Further,itattempts to shed light on the poem’srelation to Por- phyry’sphilosophyand his reception in Byzantine poetry. Adresse: Dr.Maria Tomadaki,Ghent University, Department of LiteraryStudies, Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium;
[email protected] 1. Introduction Despite writing an anti-Christian work,¹ Porphyry waspopularinByzantium mainlybecause of his Eisagoge,which became the standard handbook for the teachingofAristotle’slogic and philosophyingeneral.² Awitness of Porphyry’s reception is an unpublished encomiastic epigram that is transmitted in the paper-octavo codex Vat. Reg. 166,f.14v–15r as part of asmall poetic collection transcribed by Ioannes Malaxos(16th c.). In the present studyIprovide an editio princeps of the epigram accompanied by an English translation, acommentary, as well as information about its manuscript context and its function. This paper waswritten within the framework of the project Database of Byzantine Book Epi- grams(DBBE) funded by the Special Research Fund of Ghent University.Ithas been much im- proved during my research stay at the Academia BelgicainRome,whereIhad the opportunity to consult Vat. Reg. in situ. Iwould like to express my sincerethankstothe director of the DBBE, Prof.Kristoffel Demoen forhis supportand his useful comments, to the Academia Belgica of Rome forthe one-month scholarship in May ,aswell as to the two anonymous reviewers fortheir valuable remarks.