David the Invincible explained
David the Invincible (or David the Philosopher) was a neoplatonist philosopher of the 6th century.[1]
David was a pupil of Olympiodorus in Alexandria. His works, originally written in Greek, survive in medieval Armenian translation, and he was given the byname of "invincible" (Classical Armenian: Անյաղթ; reformed: Armenian: Անհաղթ, Armenian: Anhağt) in the Armenian tradition, which considers David himself an Armenian.
Due to confusion with other authors called David and due to an abundant body of medieval legend, almost nothing is known with certainty about the historical David. Armenian tradition makes him a native of Taron,[2] but this is not substantiated in contemporary sources and may be due to conflation with another person.[3] He was active in Alexandria in Byzantine Egypt, known as an expert in Aristotle's Physics.He supposedly received the byname "invincible" for his exceptional oratory and argumentative skills. David is said to have returned to his native Armenia later in life, where he was active as a teacher, but he came into conflict with the Armenian church and ultimately died in exile in Haghbat.
Of the number of works attributed to him, many are pseudepigraphic or doubtful. The works which can be attributed to him with certainty or at least with some plausibility are not scholarly treatises but propedeutic (introductory) handbooks for use in teaching beginners.They were composed in Greek but survive only in Armenian translation.Philologically, these translations are important representatives of the "Hellenizing" tradition in Armenian literature (Yownaban Dproc‘) of the 6th to 8th centuries.[4]
The David Anhaght Medal, the highest-ranking medal granted by the Armenian Academy of Philosophy, is named after him.[5] David the Invincible (Դավիթ Անհաղթ - David Anhaght, Armenfilm) is a 1978 film by Levon Mkrtchyan.
Bibliography
- Book: Calzolari, Valentina . 23 November 2009 . David et la tradition arménienne . https://www.academia.edu/19066149 . 10.1163/ej.9789004160477.i-238.9 . Calzolari . Valentina . Barnes . Jonathan R. . L'œuvre de David l'Invincible et la transmission de la pensée grecque dans la tradition arménienne et syriaque . Commentaria in Aristotelem Armeniaca - Davidis Opera . 1 . Leiden . Brill . 978-90-04-16047-7 . 318867138 . 15–36.
- Book: Gertz
, Sebastian
. Elias and David: Introductions to Philosophy with Olympiodorus: Introduction to Logic. Bloomsbury Academic. 2017. 9781350136441.
- Book: Topchyan
, Aram
. David the Invincible, Commentary on Aristotle's Prior Analytics. Brill. 2010. 9789004187191.
- Book: Muradyan . Gohar . Gohar Muradyan . David the Invincible . 0 . 27 November 2014 . Commentary on Porphyry's Isagoge: Old Armenian text with the Greek original, an English translation, introduction and notes . Brill . Leiden . 978-90-04-28088-5 . 10.1163/9789004280885 . .
- Book: Sanjian
, Avedis K.
. David Anhaght', the 'Invincible' Philosopher. Scholars' Press . Atlanta, Georgia. 1986 . 1555400671.
- Book: Calzolari . Valentina . Barnes . Jonathan R. . 23 November 2009 . L'œuvre de David l'Invincible et la transmission de la pensée grecque dans la tradition arménienne et syriaque . fr,en . Commentaria in Aristotelem Armeniaca - Davidis Opera . 1 . Leiden . Brill . 978-90-04-16047-7 . 318867138 . 10.1163/ej.9789004160477.i-238 .
- Benedetta . Contin . 2011 . La version arménienne des œuvres grecques de David l'Invincible. Recherches sur la formation du vocabulaire épistémologique arménien.. University of Geneva .
Notes and References
- Book: Andrews, Tara Lee . 4 April 2013 . Identity, Philosophy, and the Problem of Armenian History in the Sixth Century . 29–42, at p. 36 . 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199915408.003.0002 . Wood . Philip . History and Identity in the Late Antique Near East . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-991540-8.
- Book: Hacikyan. Agop J.. The heritage of Armenian literature. 2000. Wayne State Univ. Press. Detroit. 0814328156. 288. registration.
- Book: Westerink . Leendert Gerrit . Trouillard . Jean . Segonds . A. Ph . 1990 . Prolégomènes à la philosophie de Platon . fr,el . . Paris . Les Belles Lettres . 978-2-251-00412-9 . 26404365 . XXXVII.
- Valentina Calzolari: Aux origines de la formation du corpus philosophique en Arménie: quelques remarques sur les versions arméniennes des commentaires grecs de David. In: Cristina D’Ancona (ed.): The Libraries of the Neoplatonists, Leiden 2007, 259–278, here: 261–264
- Web site: Grand Medal of David the Invincible. International Progress Organization.
