Dionysius of Thrace

Dionysius of Thrace ( Thracian , other Greek Διονύσιος ὁ Θρᾷξ ; 170 BC - 90 BC ) is an ancient grammar , a prominent representative of the Alexandrian grammar school .

The lifetime is not exactly known; traditional dating indicates dates approx. 170 - approx. 90 BC e., however, some researchers attribute its activities to a later time, until the II century BC. e .; according to P. Matthews, the traditional dating of the Thracian life time is correct, but his grammar came to us only in a revised (several centuries later) form. The only thing known about the life of Dionysius of Thrace is that he lived (perhaps born) in Alexandria , and about 144 BC. e., after the expulsion of his teacher, Aristarchus of Samothrace , followed him to Rhodes , where he presumably died. The nickname the Thracian and the name of his father that has come down to us suggests the Thracian origin of the scientist.

Dionysius is known as the author of the Greek grammar Τέχνη Γραμματική (The Art of Grammar ), which turned out to be one of the few surviving grammars of the Alexandrian school. This grammar for almost one and a half millennia - right up to the Renaissance - had a strong influence on the development of European linguistic tradition. In particular, in the grammar of Dionysius some basic linguistic concepts were defined ( grammar , punctuation , syllable , tone , word ), and a system of parts of speech, still used to describe European languages, was borrowed from the Thracian from Aristarchus and slightly modified. Dionysius of Thrace defines grammar at the beginning of his textbook "χνη Γραμματική as “the general use of the practical knowledge of prose and poetry authors ”. Thus, Dionysius, as a modern Alexandrian scholar who edited the Attic and Homeric texts, facilitated the teaching of classical Greek literature to the audience who spoke Greek Koin .