Ioannes Tzetzes

Ioannes Tzetzes

 

Born 1110; died 1185. Byzantine writer.

Ioannes Tzetzes wrote narrative poems in hexameter on Homeric themes as well as a short drama whose characters are a sage (the author himself) who grieves over the lamentable position of scholars, and a peasant, a chorus, and the Muses. He also wrote treatises on metrics and grammar and commentaries on the ancient Greek poets and philosophers. His principal work, The Book of Stories, is a valuable source of information on history, literature, and mythology.

WORKS

Historiarum variorum chiiiades. Leipzig, 1826.

REFERENCE

Krumbacher, K. Geschichte der byzantinischen Literatur, 2nd ed. Mu-nich, 1897.