Gregory Magistros
Encyclopedia
Gregory Magistros was an Armenia
n linguist
, scholar and public functionary. A layman
of the princely Pahlavuni
family, he was the son of Vassak Pahlavuni. After Byzantium annexed the Kingdom of Ani
, Gregory went on to serve as the Governor-general of the province of Edessa
. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus bestowed upon him the title of Duke. He studied both sacred and secular literature, Syriac as well as Greek. He collected all Armenian manuscripts of scientific or philosophical value that were to be found, including the works of Anania Shirakatsi
, and translations from Callimachus
, Andronicus
and Olympiodorus
. He translated several works of Plato
— The Laws, the Eulogy of Socrates, Euthyphro
, Timaeus
and Phaedo
. Many ecclesiastics of the period were his pupils.
Foremost among his writings, are the "Letters" numbering eighty which shed light upon the political and religious problems of the time. His poetry bears the impress of both Homeric Greek and the Arabic of his own century. His chief poetical work is a long metrical narrative of the principal events recorded in the Bible. This work, we are told, was written in three days at the request of a Mohammedan noble, who, after reading it, became converted to Christianity
. Grigor was almost the first poet to adopt the use of rhyme introduced to Armenia by the Arabs.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n linguist
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, scholar and public functionary. A layman
Layman
A layperson or layman is a person who is not an expert in a given field of knowledge. The term originally meant a member of the laity, i.e. a non-clergymen, but over the centuries shifted in definition....
of the princely Pahlavuni
Pahlavuni
Pahlavuni was an Armenian noble family that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy.-Origins:...
family, he was the son of Vassak Pahlavuni. After Byzantium annexed the Kingdom of Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
, Gregory went on to serve as the Governor-general of the province of Edessa
Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa is the Greek name of an Aramaic town in northern Mesopotamia, as refounded by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.-Names:...
. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus bestowed upon him the title of Duke. He studied both sacred and secular literature, Syriac as well as Greek. He collected all Armenian manuscripts of scientific or philosophical value that were to be found, including the works of Anania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi was an Armenian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He is commonly attributed to having written the Geography .-Life:Scholars are split on where exactly Anania was born...
, and translations from Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
, Andronicus
Andronicus
Andronicus or Andronikos is a classical Greek name , from the Gr. words "andras", , i.e. man and "Nike" , i.e. victory. The name has the sense of "victorious, warrior"...
and Olympiodorus
Olympiodorus
There are several late-Roman figures named Olympiodorus:* Olympiodorus the Seleucid, , 2nd-century BCE high-priest in Koile-Syria and Phoinike, commissioned by Seleucus IV Philopator...
. He translated several works of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
— The Laws, the Eulogy of Socrates, Euthyphro
Euthyphro
Euthyphro is one of Plato's early dialogues, dated to after 399 BC. Taking place during the weeks leading up to Socrates' trial, the dialogue features Socrates and Euthyphro, a man known for claiming to be a religious expert. They attempt to pinpoint a definition for piety.-Background:The dialogue...
, Timaeus
Timaeus (dialogue)
Timaeus is one of Plato's dialogues, mostly in the form of a long monologue given by the title character, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world and human beings. It is followed by the dialogue Critias.Speakers of the dialogue are Socrates,...
and Phaedo
Phaedo
Plato's Phaedo is one of the great dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's seventh and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days .In the dialogue, Socrates...
. Many ecclesiastics of the period were his pupils.
Foremost among his writings, are the "Letters" numbering eighty which shed light upon the political and religious problems of the time. His poetry bears the impress of both Homeric Greek and the Arabic of his own century. His chief poetical work is a long metrical narrative of the principal events recorded in the Bible. This work, we are told, was written in three days at the request of a Mohammedan noble, who, after reading it, became converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Grigor was almost the first poet to adopt the use of rhyme introduced to Armenia by the Arabs.