Anthologies and Anthologists 105epigrams by Leo the Philosopher and Theophanes the Grammarian. Leo’s
epigrams are there because Cephalas used a ninth-century manuscript of the
Palladas Sylloge copied by or for Leo the Philosopher. It is reasonable to
conjecture that Cephalas included Theophanes’ epigram for exactly the same
reason: Cephalas made use of a copy of the Sylloge Rufiniana made in the mid-
ninth century by Theophanes and faithfully transcribed the epigram
Theophanes had written himself at the end of the sylloge.
Leo the Philosopher and his pupils evidently liked poetry, but while they
were busy studying and copying epigrams, voices of dissent could be heard
protesting against the mythological oddities and gross obscenities of ancient
poetry. The entry on Theognis in the Epitome of Hesychius (c. 840–850) pro-
vides a good example: “Theognis also wrote gnomic epigrams, but among these
you may find disgusting love poems on boys and many other things that are
repugnant to those who live a pious life”^68. Photios is another dissenting voice.
In general Photios does not have much to say on the topic of ancient poetry,
but its conspicuous absence in the Bibliotheca strongly suggests that he had
little taste for the poets. In the entry on Empress Eudokia’s religious centos,
however, Photios treats her with lavish deference and compliments her for
telling the plain truth and not seducing the minds of young people with sweet
lies^69. Truth is beauty, but beauty is not necessarily truth. Photios objects to
ancient poetry because of its contents, false and full of illusions, acting counter
to the incontestable truths of Christianity^70. In his view, classical poetry was at
best only of secondary importance; it might provide students with the tools for
acquiring a good style, but its role in the educational programme, as he
envisaged it, had perforce to be ancillary^71. This viewpoint is radically different
from that of Leo the Philosopher. Leo and Photios are the greatest scholars of
the ninth century, but apart from their immense erudition they really have
(^68) See M.L. WEST, Studies in Greek Elegy and Iambus. Berlin–New York 1974, 44–45. The
Epitome of Hesychius is probably the work of Ignatios the Deacon: see W. TREADGOLD,
The Nature of the Bibliotheca of Photius. Washington 1980, 31–32 and 36, and MANGO
1997: 4–5.
(^69) Photius. Bibliothèque. Tome II, ed. R. HENRY. Paris 1960, 195–196 (cod. 183). See B.
BALDWIN, BMGS 4 (1978) 9–14 (Studies on Late Roman and Byzantine History, Liter-
ature and Language. Amsterdam 1984, 397–402) and Aevum 60 (1986) 218–222 (Roman
and Byzantine Papers. Amsterdam 1989, 334–338).
(^70) See, for instance, letters 56 and 209 (Photii patriarchae Constantinopolitani Epistulae et
Amphilochia, ed. B. LAOURDAS & L.G. WESTERINK. Leipzig 1983–85, I, 103 and II, 109).
See also ALPERS 1988: 357, n. 89, and 359–360.
(^71) See the comment by A. HEISENBERG, Historische Zeitschrift 133 (1926) 398: “Photios war
weit davon entfernt eine klassische Philologie begründen zu wollen oder sich gar als
Humanist zu fühlen”. See also H. HUNGER, Reich der Neuen Mitte. Graz 1965, 361.