On the Months

...nevertheless, the category of Greek literature in which new monuments The author uses "monuments" (monumenta) in the sense of written records or literary works., still lying hidden sporadically in libraries, can be uncovered and brought to light with profit, is that to which the works of the compilers are referred. For these authors either drew from sources that we have lost through the ravages of time, or they transcribed from manuscripts that were more accurate and complete than those preserved in libraries today. Among these compilers, John Laurence the Philadelphian, known as Lydus John Lydus (c. 490–560 AD) was a Byzantine civil servant and scholar whose works are vital for understanding the administration and customs of ancient Rome., deserves no small place; for he seems to have investigated the ancient sources of Greek and Roman religion quite diligently. I willingly subscribe to the opinion of Photius Photius (c. 810–893 AD) was the Patriarch of Constantinople and a prolific scholar who reviewed hundreds of books in his "Bibliotheca" (or "Myriobiblion"). in Codex 180, page 407, who judges this work of Lydus with these words: original Greek: "ἡ περὶ μηνῶν πραγματεία, εἰ καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἄχρηστον ἔχει, ἀλλ' οὖν πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀρχαιότητος μάθησιν ἐπίχαρί τε καὶ λίαν χρειῶδες" "The treatise On the Months, even if it contains much that is useless, is nonetheless charming and extremely useful for the study of antiquity." For it must be admitted that by Lydus, no less than by other compilers of a later age, many things are presented that are trite, frivolous, and less than useful. Lydus’s era is known from that same passage of Photius; namely, he lived in the 6th century under the emperors Anastasius, Justin, and Justinian (see Fabricius, Greek Library, Vol. III, p. 512 Johann Albert Fabricius (1668–1736) was a German scholar whose "Bibliotheca Graeca" remains a foundational bibliography of Greek literature.). Codinus and Suidas The "Suidas" (now known as the Suda) is a massive 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia; George Codinus was a later Byzantine writer who wrote about the antiquities of Constantinople. had his excerpts On the Months original: "περὶ μηνῶν" (peri mēnōn) before their eyes; for this reason, these two also bring light to Lydus’s work and borrow from it. Now, since I have decided to bring to light the complete excerpts of Lydus’s On the Months, I wanted a certain sample to precede the edition so that learned men might better recognize the utility of this undertaking; although...