Stephanus Byzantinus

Istanbul, Turkey

He was the author of a geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica, of which, apart from some fragments, we possess only the meagre epitome of one Hermolaus. This work was first edited under the title Aldine Press (Aldus, Venice, 1502); the best modern editions are by W. Dindorf and others (4 vols. , Leipzig, 1825), A. Westermann (Leipzig, 1839), and A. Meineke (vol. i. , Berlin, 1849). Hermolaus dedicates his epitome to Justinian; whether the first or second emperor of that name is meant is disputed, but it seems probable that Stephanus flourished in the earlier part of the 6th century, under Justinian I. The chief fragments remaining of the original work (which certainly contained lengthy quotations from classical authors and many interesting topographical and historical details) are preserved by Constantine Porphyrogennetos, De administrando imperio, ch. 23 (the article Ίβηρίαι δύο) and De thematibus, ii. ro (an account of Sicily); the latter includes a passage from the comic poet Alexis on the Seven Largest Islands. Another respectable fragment, from the article Δύμη to the end of Δ, exists in a manuscript of the Fonds Coislin, the library formed by Pierre Séguier.