Cometas Explained

Cometas Scholasticus (Greek: Κομητᾶς Σχολαστικός; fl.), also known by the epithet Chartularius (Χαρτουλάριος, "record-keeper"), was a Byzantine grammarian (γραμματικός) and epigrammatist.^[1]

In AD 857, during the reign of Michael III, Cometas was made Professor of Grammar by Bardas at the new school in the Magnaura founded by Leo the Mathematician.^{[2] [3]} His literary output included epigrams, of which six are extant in the Greek Anthology,^[4] and a revised text or recension of the Homeric epics, now lost, but proudly referenced in three of the epigrams.^[5] Cometas speaks of having "punctuated and polished" the corrupt texts and removed the "filth" (σαπρίαν) which had accrued to them over time.^{[6] [7]}

Bibliography

• The Greek Anthology I, III, V (Loeb Classical Library) translated by W. R. Paton (London: Heinemann, 1916)
• Baldwin, Barry. "The Homeric Scholarship of Cometas." Hermes, vol. 113, no. 1, 1985, pp. 127–128. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4476422. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
• "Cometas", William Smith (ed.) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. I (London, 1870)

Notes and References

1. Smith, p. 815.
2. Baldwin, p. 127.
3. Smith, p. 815
4. Anth. Pal. v. 265; ix. 586, 597; xv. 36-38.
5. Anth. Pal. xv. 36-38.
6. Baldwin, p. 128.
7. Anth. Pal. xv. 38.