Photius
（
Φώτιος). A Greek scholar of the Byzantine Period,
Patriarch of Constantinople A.D. 857-867 and 871-886. He died 891. Besides playing a prominent
part in the ecclesiastical controversies of his time, he was conspicuous for his wide reading
of ancient literature. Apart from theological writings, he left two works which are of great
service to the student of antiquity. The one, the
Bibliotheca (
Μυροβίβλιον or
Βιβλιοθήκη), is an
account of 280 works, some of which are now lost, some only imperfectly preserved, which he
read on his embassy to Assyria, with short notices and criticisms of matter and style, and in
some cases more or less complete abstracts; the other, a
Lexicon (
Λέξεων Συναγωγή), or alphabetical glossary, of special value in
connection with the Greek orators and historians. The
Bibliotheca is edited by
Bekker
(Berlin, 1824-25); and the
Lexicon by Hermann
(Leipzig, 1808); from the papers of Porson
(London, 1822); and by
Naber, 2 vols.
(1866). See also
Hergenröther,
Photios (1869); and the article
Lexicon.
