BMCR 2004.10.27, Adler/Tuffin, George Synkellos

William Adler, Paul Tuffin, The Chronography of George Synkellos: A
Byzantine Chronicle of Universal History from the Creation.  Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2002.  Pp. lxxxviii, 638.  ISBN 0-19-924190-2.
$135.00.

Reviewed by Daniel James Thornton, University of Toronto
(danieljames.thornton@xxxxxxxxxxx)
Word count:  1322 words
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George Syncellus (or "Synkellos," as our authors style him) is probably
not a name familiar to most Classicists. 'Syncellus' was a title which
in the early Church was given to those monks or clerics who shared
quarters with their bishops, and who served primarily as deacons in the
offices of the mass and were often presumed to succeed the bishop at
his death. In the Byzantine Church they soon became the most trusted
advisors and assistants of the Patriarch of Constantinople and acquired
great prominence. George the Syncellus served under the Patriarch
Tarasius (784 to 806 CE), but he did not follow the usual path and
succeed Tarasius upon the Patriarch's death. Instead he retired to a
monastery, whereupon he composed the work which was to be his claim to
fame, the <greek>*)Eklogh\ *Xronografi/as</greek>, or the Selection of
Chronography. An introduction to this magnum opus et arduum is in
order.

This massive book aims to present an account of the history of the
world from the biblical creation account in Genesis to the accession of
the Roman emperor Diocletian (284). Syncellus had apparently intended
to bring the work down to his own day but was prevented by his death in
810, and his labours were later completed by his associate Theophanes
Confessor. The effort was undertaken to provide a concise and correct
vision of history which would culminate in the Christian empire of
Byzantium, and, taken together, both of these works represent one of
the most important works of Byzantine scholarship. In its professed
scope, the Selection of Chronography was no different from any of the
typical Byzantine universal chronicles which had become commonplace and
often trite productions throughout the history of the empire; but
Syncellus is to be set apart for a number of important qualities.
First, his assiduous attention to detail and an obsessive concern with
a reconciliation of biblical and secular dates. With the Chronicle
(also known as the Chronici Canones) of Eusebius as his chief model,
Syncellus provides endless (to the casual reader, at least) tables of
monarchs, emperors, and bishops and the years of their reign. Secondly,
Syncellus cites numerous narrative historical works and chronicles
(both Christian and secular) from Egypt and the ancient Near East, many
of which are unattested elsewhere, and, when they are, they often
appear in fragmentary form. Besides Eusebius (whose original text of
the Chronicle has been restored often by the aid of Syncellus),[[1]]
his chief predecessors in the chronographic tradition were the
Alexandrines Annianus and Panodorus (c. 400 CE), Dexippus (c. 275 CE)
and Julius Africanus (c. 222 CE). Since the author often cites these
sources and predecessors in the Greek and Roman narrative historical
traditions, his work is also a rich repository of information about the
origins and critical development of Christian chronography in Byzantium
as well. Admittedly, less has been said about the use made of Syncellus
by later Byzantine chroniclers like Zonaras and Cedrenus, but that is
changing.[[2]] Classicists who consult the work for a new perspective
on Greek and Roman history may be disappointed since Syncellus allows
for comparatively less attention to strictly classical historiography.
As a man of the Church, the author betrays his interests and
obsessions; Syncellus was mainly concerned with biblical history, the
life of Christ, and the success of Catholic orthodoxy, and his work
reflects these pursuits. Additionally, Syncellus is valuable for the
allusions he presents for his own travels in and around contemporary
Palestine, and there is even a possibility that the author may have
access to a number of sources (now lost) in the original Syriac as
well. For some, the connection between Theophanes and Syncellus is
enough to warrant the consideration that the Syriac chronographic
tradition was the basis of the authors' knowledge of Eusebius.[[3]] For
these reasons and more, taken as a whole, the Selection of Chronography
is the achievement of a lifetime devoted to scholarship and erudition.

The present edition, by William Adler and Paul Tuffin, is likewise a
monumental academic achievement. Although an excellent text had been
produced by 1984,[[4]] and despite its obvious importance to the study
of the Byzantine historiographic tradition, the Selection of
Chronography had never been translated into any modern language. The
preface informs the reader that the current work came about by way of
an interesting coincidence between two geographically detached
scholars: both Professor Adler of North Carolina State University (who
had already made a contribution to Syncellus studies with his work on
the chronographic tradition),[[5]] and Mr. Tuffin (currently a Visiting
Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer at Adelaide University), had an
interest in producing a translation of Syncellus. Professor Adler had
already completed a draft translation by 1994 and the two decided that
together they would bring to fruition the present edition. This obvious
labour of love for both men had become an international effort which
would take them eight years to complete.

Adler and Tuffin have composed a work which will be appealing at once
to students of biblical history, Byzantine chronography and even late
Roman Quellenforschung. Unlike the only other modern commentator on
Syncellus, Heinrich Gelzer, who regarded George as mostly unoriginal
and derivative,[[6]] Adler and Tuffin have brought to light a Syncellus
who is an active scholar, attentive to the importance of his work. The
Greekless reader need not fear that she will be led astray: although
the tables can wear away one's enthusiasm after awhile, the narrative
translation is lively, clear and accurate, and the influence of
Mosshammer's excellent text is evident throughout. The reader is
treated, moreover, to copious notes encompassing the erudite gamut of
Syncellus' text, in almost every one of which appears a veritable
parade of erudition. All the references that I attempted to verify were
accurate. Lastly, the voluminous and learned introduction provides a
perfect preamble to understanding and reading the document as Syncellus
intended it to be understood and read. Adler and Tuffin situate
Syncellus in his historical and literary milieu and demonstrate how he
went about the creation of this work, employed, corrected and perfected
his models and discuss the influence and place of the author in modern
scholarship.

The only decision that might appear problematic to a more than a few
lay readers is the issue of the transliteration of the Greek. The
translators have chosen to adopt the modern vogue of the last few
decades of re-"Hellenising" Greek text which formerly had been rendered
into Latin form for centuries. This practice is one that still shows no
uniform scholarly consensus, and is often arbitrary at best and chaotic
at worst, and the present text is no exception. For instance, why use
"Eusebios," and not "Eusebius," but use "Ptolemy" and not "Ptolemaios"?
Even younger scholars are reluctant to accept these innovations.
Witness the introductory passage to this review, where whether by
choice or circumstance I find it extremely disquieting to refer to our
author as Synkellos. This is no more evident than in the case of
biblical names, where there are already two layers of transliteration,
from Hebrew to Greek, and then Greek to Latin/English. Perhaps this was
one more layer than the translators could bear. While they do provide a
comprehensive 'Appendix of Biblical Names' at the end of the text
(560-566), it is still an inconvenience to the less informed reader to
have to break from his reading to learn, for example, that "Ambakoum"
is what he understands to be "Habakkuk," or that "Sour" could be a
person "Zur," city "Ur," or desert "Shur." To their credit, however,
the most common names (Jesus, Moses, Jeremiah etc.) have been retained
by the editors, and they do not torture us with the Hellenic
equivalents. This is, however, a small and perhaps some may claim
unfair complaint to what is an outstanding effort on the part of Adler
and Tuffin which should be considered an indispensable resource for a
wide audience, even though the clothbound price may be still
prohibitive to many.

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Notes:


1.   Despite is obvious influence on and importance to later
chronographic tradition, nothing survives of the original text of the
Chronicle. See B. Croke, "The Originality of Eusebius' Chronicle, AJP
103 (1982) 195-200. For Syncellus' contribution to Eusebian textual
reconstruction, see the index heading in Richard Burgess, Studies in
Eusebian and Post-Eusebian Chronography (Stuttgart, 1999) 333.

2.   See the recent work of B. Bleckmann, Die Reichskrise des III.
Jahrhunderts in der spa+tantiken und byzantinischen
Geschichtsschreibung: Untersuchungen zu den nachdionischen Quellen der
Chronik des Johannes Zonaras (Munich 1992), and S. Brecht, Die
ro+mische Reichskrise von ihrem Ausbruch bis zu ihrem Ho+hepunkt in der
Darstellung byzantinischer Autoren (Rahden 1999).

3.   See for example C. Mango, "The Tradition of Byzantine
Historiography," HUS 12/13 (1988/1989) 360-371, and C. Mango and R.
Scott, The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, (Oxford 1997)
lxxxii-lxxxvii; for the opposing view, V. Grecu, "Hat Georg Synkellos
weite Reisen unternommen?" Bulletin de la Section Historique, Academie
Roumaine, 28 (1947) 241-245, believes that Syncellus obtained his
Palestinian knowledge from the narratives of Africanus and Eusebius.

4.   A.A. Mosshammer (ed.), Georgius Syncellus, Ecloga Chronographica
(Leipzig 1984).

5.   William Adler, Time Immemorial: Archaic History and its Sources in
Christian Chronography from Julius Africanus to George Syncellus
(Washington, D. C., 1989).

6.   H. Gelzer, Sextus Julius Africanus und die byzantinische
Chronographie (originally printed from 1880-1898 in two volumes, but
now conveniently collected under one heading in Burt Franklin: Research
and Source Works Series, no. 169; New York, 1964).