TheGeoponica orGeoponika (Greek:Γεωπονικά) is a twenty-book collection of agricultural lore, compiled during the 10th century inConstantinople for theByzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogenitus. TheGreek wordGeoponica signifies "agricultural pursuits" in its widest sense. It is the only surviving Byzantine agricultural work.
During theMacedonian Renaissance, the emperorConstantine VII assembled several compendia - compilations and excerpts of ancient writings - of which Geoponika was one. Around 50 manuscripts, dating from between the 10th and 16th centuries, have survived.Geoponika incorporated the work ofCassianus Bassus, which was compiled from an earlier work byVindonius Anatolius.[1]
The 10th century collection is sometimes (wrongly) ascribed to the 7th century authorCassianus Bassus, whose collection, also titledGeoponica, was integrated into the extant work. Bassus drew heavily on the work of another agricultural compiler,Vindonius Anatolius (4th century). The ultimate sources of theGeoponica includePliny, various lost Hellenistic and Roman-period Greek agriculture and veterinary authors, the Carthaginian agronomistMago, and even works passing under the name of the Persian prophetZoroaster. (The names of the principal sources for each section are attached to the text, although the age and correctness of these attributions remains in doubt.) The Greek manuscript tradition is extremely complex and not fully understood.Syriac,Pahlavi,Arabic andArmenian translations attest to its worldwide popularity and complicate the manuscript tradition still further.
TheGeoponica embraces all manner of "agricultural" information, including celestial and terrestrialomina,viticulture,oleoculture,apiculture,veterinary medicine, the construction offish ponds and much more.
Taken from Charles Anthon'sManual of Greek Literature (1853).
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)