By T.E. Page, W.R. Paton
The Greek Anthology ('Gathering of Flowers') is the identify given to a set of approximately 4500 brief Greek poems (called epigrams yet often no longer epigrammatic) by way of approximately three hundred composers. To the gathering (called 'Stephanus', wreath or garland) made and contributed to by means of Meleager of Gadara (1st century BCE) was once extra one other via Philippus of Thessalonica (late 1st century CE), a 3rd via Diogenianus (2nd century), and lots more and plenty later a fourth, known as the 'Circle', by means of Agathias of Myrina. those (lost) and others (also misplaced) have been partially integrated, prepared based on contents, through Constantinus Cephalas (early tenth century?) into fifteen books now preserved in one manuscript of the Palatine Library at Heidelberg. The grand assortment used to be rearranged and revised by way of the monk Maximus Planudes (14th century) who additionally further epigrams misplaced from Cephalas's compilation. The fifteen books of the Palatine Anthology are: I, Christian Epigrams; II, Descriptions of Statues; III, Inscriptions in a temple at Cyzicus; IV, Prefaces of Meleager, Philippus, and Agathias; V, Amatory Epigrams; VI, Dedicatory; VII, Sepulchral; VIII, Epigrams of St. Gregory; IX, Declamatory; X, Hortatory and Admonitory; XI, Convivial and Satirical; XII, Strato's 'Musa Puerilis'; XIII, Metrical curiosities; XIV, difficulties, Riddles, and Oracles; XV, Miscellanies. publication XVI is the Planudean Appendix: Epigrams on artworks. notable one of the poets are Meleager, Antipater of Sidon, Crinagoras, Palladas, Agathias, Paulus Silentiarius. The Loeb Classical Library variation is in 5 volumes. quantity I comprises Books I–VI; quantity II, Books VII–VIII; quantity III, publication IX; quantity IV, Books X–XII; quantity V, Books XIII–XVI.