Syntipas

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The Book of Sindbad the Philosopher, rendered Syntipas in Greek, was translated into learned Byzantine Greek in the late 11th century by Michael Andreopoulos in eastern Asia Minor. Andreopoulos translated the text from the Syriac version, which in its turn was a translation of the 9th-century Arabic translation of a Persian original. In the 13th century, Andreopoulos’ text was rewritten in a slightly less ‘elevated’ linguistic register, termed 'Metaphrasis' in scholarship. From the 16th century onwards translations into lower linguistic registers begin to appear; these are known as the Post-Byzantine versions of the text. The Greek Syntipas has come down to us in 25 manuscripts, as well as in numerous chapbooks printed in Venice and Athens (for which see Kechayoglou 2024).

The metaphrasis is a rather faithful ‘rewording’ of Andreopoulos’ translation. The two versions offer largely the same text, though the metaphrasis has one extra story that seems to be unique to it, as it does not appear in Andreopoulos or any of the eastern text traditions of Sindbad. The metaphrasis also changes the storyline of one of the stories to an ostensibly more plausible one. These and other minor differences can help to determine which unseen or understudied manuscripts belong to which tradition.

While several studies and editions of the Syntipas narrative exist, many of the editions need updating. For example, an examination of the manuscripts of the Andreopoulos version to which Jernstedt did not have access at the time is necessary: at least one of them often offers better readings (Vind. phil. gr. 173; see Hinterberger 2023) than the three manuscripts used by Jernstedt. The same holds true for the manuscripts of the Metaphrasis, for which no fewer than seven have not yet been properly collated and studied. Moreover, there are other manuscripts containing the text, especially in the Greek Library of Parliament and the Athos monasteries, for which the catalogues are often inadequate. Occasionally, there is confusion between the Book of Syntipas and the collection of fables attributed to Syntipas (e.g. in Dresd. gr. Da. 33), as well as between Syntipas and Stephanites and Ichnelates. For instance, in the manuscript Hieros. Patr. 208, Syntipas appears after the text of Stephanites and Ichnelates but is not mentioned in the library catalogue. The same holds true for a large excerpt of Syntipas in another known manuscript, Monac. gr. 525. It is therefore likely that there are more such cases, and it would be worth examining manuscripts that contain the texts frequently found alongside Syntipas, such as Stephanites and Ichnelates, the collection of fables attributed to Syntipas, and the Life of Aesop.

[By Marjolijne Janssen, edited by Jane Bonsall]

Identification and general Information
Reference Number
Siglum of the version of the Seven Sages
Title
Author

Tradition and Lineage
Branch of the tradition	Book of Sindbad
Adapted from (version)
Adapted into (version)
Source for composition and adaptation information

Recorded secondary versions
Syntipas Bulgarian Syntipas Greek Version Andreopoulos Syntipas Metaphrasis Post-Byzantine Version

Connected manuscripts

Manuscript Language Location Date of Production Athos, Μονή Διονυσίου 352 Vernacular Greek Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Διονυσίου 23/10/1624 Athos, Μονή Ιβήρων 205 Byzantine Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Ιβήρων 01/10/1621 Athos, Μονή Ιβήρων 502 Vernacular Greek Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Ιβήρων 1660's Athos, Μονή Κουτλουμουσίου 220 Byzantine Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Κουτλουμουσίου 1601 - 1700 Athos, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας I 107 Byzantine Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας 1601 - 1700 Athos, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας Κ 8 Vernacular Greek Άγιον Όρος, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας 1560's Città del Vaticano Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. gr. 1759 Vernacular Greek Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana late 16th c. Città del Vaticano Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. gr. 335 Byzantine Città del Vaticano, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana 1301 - 1400 Dresden Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek gr. Da 33 Vernacular Greek Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek 1626 Jerusalem, Πατριαρχική Βιβλιοθήκη Παναγίου Τάφου 208 Byzantine Jerusalem, Πατριαρχική Βιβλιοθήκη Παναγίου Τάφου 1599 London British Library Harley 5560 Vernacular Greek London, British Library 15/03/1667 Moskva, Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Muzej, Sinod. gr. 298 Byzantine Moskva, Gosudarstvennyj Istoričeskij Muzej 1251 - 1300 Mount Sinai St Catherine's Monastery gr. 1208 Byzantine Sinai St Catherine's Monastery 1424 Mount Sinai St Catherine's Monastery gr. 2122 Vernacular Greek Sinai St Catherine's Monastery 1634 or before München Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cod. gr. 525 Byzantine München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek mid 14th c. Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, gr. 2912 Byzantine Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France 1561 - 1570 Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, suppl. gr. 105 Byzantine Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France 1501 - 1600 Paris Bibliothèque nationale de France, suppl. gr. 141 Byzantine Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France Sofia Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library of Bulgaria NBKM 1093 Bulgarian Sofia, Sts Cyril and Methodius National Library of Bulgaria 1802 Thessaloniki Μονή Βλατάδων 65 Vernacular Greek Thessaloniki, Μονή Βλατάδων 15/03/1659 Urbana University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library gr. 3 Byzantine Urbana, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library 17th/18th c. Venezia, Bibliotheca Nazionale Marciana gr. Z 605 Byzantine Venezia, Bibliotheca Nazionale Marciana late 16th c. Wellesley College Library gr. 1 Vernacular Greek Wellesley (MA), Wellesley College Library 17th c. (after 1620) Wien Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Hist. gr. 120 Byzantine Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek mid/16th c. Wien Österreichische Nationalbibliothek Phil. gr. 166 Byzantine Wien, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek before 1562

Language and Composition
Language of version
Language of text
Regional or specific language of version
Translated into (languages)
Place of composition
Date of composition
Islamic date of composition
Hebrew date of composition
Source for date of composition

Modern Scholarship and Editions
Modern research literature	Kechayoglou (2004), Hinterberger (2023)
Modern Editions

Notes and Commentary
Note

Pattern of embedded stories in this version
Has Short Title Has Sequence Number Has Narrator Has Name Variation Copy Embedded Stories Copy Embedded Stories × Select Target Page: Close Process

Connected prints
Print Language Location Date of Print Christaki Pavlovič, Basnoslovie Sintipy filosofa [...]. Ofen: University Printer, 1844 Bulgarian 1844