Symphosius (sometimes Symposius ) is an ancient Roman poet who probably lived in the 4th – 5th centuries AD. e., although some, based on the style of his poems, indicate the period of his life as the II — III centuries A.D. e.
| Symphosy | |
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| Occupation | ancient roman poet |
| Language of Works | Latin |
About 100 three-part puzzles written by hexameters attributed to Symphosia have been preserved. In a short poetic introduction, the poet explains that these puzzles are improvisations that arose at his fun feast during the Saturnalia as part of the entertainment. The content of riddles, for the most part very straightforward, is taken from household utensils (e.g. key, ring), natural phenomena (e.g. rain, snow, ice), animal and insect worlds (e.g. mole, turtle, spider), plant kingdom ( e.g. poppy, rose) and so on; some of the puzzles can be complicated, for example, about a woman giving birth to twins, and about a gout soldier. One arithmetic riddle (subtract seven out of eight so that six remains) still has not received a satisfactory explanation.
According to the ESBE, the author "was completely imbued with the antique worldview and nowhere does he discover a acquaintance with Christianity ." Riddles Symphosia - the only Latin mysteries that have survived to our time; they had a great influence on the development of the Western European tradition of riddles.
In the XVIII century, his riddles were sometimes attributed to Lactantius , but now this hypothesis is rejected by science. Symphony was imitated by Aldhelm, Bishop of Shernbursky , Tatvin, Archbishop of Canterbury , and anonymous Scot, author of riddles about the letters of the alphabet ("Scoti versus de alphabeto"). Three riddles of Symphosy are cited in a novel about Apollonius of Tire .
Among the numerous manuscripts, Symphosia is one of the oldest and best (VIII century) is stored in the St. Petersburg Public Library . The first print publication was published in Paris in 1533, and was published by . Riddles were published by Alexander Reese in Anthologia Latina (I, 1894). They were translated into English in 1912 and 1928.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Record # 14753002 // VIAF - 2012.
Sources
- Symphosy // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- This article (section) contains text taken (translated) from the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica , which went into the public domain .