Background
Tzetzes was Greek on his fathers side and Iberian (Georgian) on his mother's side. he was born about 1110 in Constantinople.
(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)
This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1110973403/?tag=2022091-20
Tzetzes was Greek on his fathers side and Iberian (Georgian) on his mother's side. he was born about 1110 in Constantinople.
Tzetzes was for a time secretary to a provincial governor, then earned a meagre living by teaching and writing. He has been described as the perfect specimen of the Byzantine pedant. His literary and scholarly output was enormous, although it contained many inaccuracies—mostly because he was quoting from memory, lacking books, which he said his poverty forced him to do without.
Of his numerous and varied works the most important is the Chiliades (“Thousands”). Also known as the Book of Histories, the work is a long poem (more than 12, 000 lines of 15 syllables) containing literary, historical, antiquarian, and mythological miscellanies, intended to serve as a commentary on Tzetzes’ own letters, which are addressed to friends and famous contemporaries as well as to fictitious persons. Though the whole work suffers from an unnecessary display of learning, the total number of authors quoted being more than 400, it contains much information unavailable elsewhere. Another work is Allegoriai on the Iliad and the Odyssey, two long didactic poems containing interpretations of Homeric theology. Interspersed in his learned commentaries are vignettes of everyday life in Constantinople.
(This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)