Andronicus of Rhodes

Andronicus of Rhodes (Greek: Ἀνδρόνικος ο Ρόδιος, Andrónikos o Rhódios; Latin: Andronicus Rhodius; fl. c. 60 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Rhodes who was also the head (scholarch) of the Peripatetic school. He is most famous for publishing a new edition of the works of Aristotle that forms the basis of the texts that survive today.

Life

Little is known about his life. He is reported to have been the eleventh scholarch of the Peripatetic school. He taught in Rome, about 58 BC, and was the teacher of Boethus of Sidon, with whom Strabo studied.

Works of Aristotle

Andronicus is of special interest in the history of philosophy, from the statement of Plutarch, that he published a new edition of the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus, which formerly belonged to the library of Apellicon, and were brought to Rome by Sulla with the rest of Apellicon's library in 84 BC. Tyrannion commenced this task, but apparently did not do much towards it. The arrangement which Andronicus made of Aristotle's writings seems to be the one which forms the basis of our present editions and we are probably indebted to him for the preservation of a large number of Aristotle's works.

Writings

Andronicus wrote a work upon Aristotle, the fifth book of which contained a complete list of the philosopher's writings, and he also wrote commentaries upon the Physics, Ethics, and Categories. None of these works is extant. Two treatises are sometimes erroneously attributed to him, one On Emotions, the other a commentary on Aristotle's Ethics (really by Constantine Palaeocapa in the 16th century, or by John Callistus of Thessalonica).

References

Bibliography

• Jonathan Barnes, Roman Aristotle, in: Jonathan Barnes & Miriam Griffin: Philosophia Togata II. Plato and Aristotle at Rome, New York: Oxford University Press, 1997, pp. 1-69 (on Andronicus, 24–44).
• Ingemarg Düring, Aristotle in the Ancient Biographical Tradition Göteborg, 1957 (reprint Garland 1987).
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• Friedrich von Littig, Andronikos von Rhodos, t. I München,1890, t. II Erlangen, 1894, t. III Erlangen, 1895.
• Paul Moraux, Les listes anciennes des ouvrages d'Aristote, Louvain, 1951.
• Paul Moraux, Der Aristotelismus bei den Griechen von Andronikos bis Alexander von Aphrodisias. Bd. 1: Die Renaissance des Aristotelismus im 1. Jahrhundert vor Christus. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter, 1973, pp. 45-141.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• The Rediscovery of the Corpus Aristotelicum with an annotated bibliography