Ste'phanus4. A native of Athens, and a commentator on Hippocrates and Galen, who is said in the titles
of some MSS. at Vienna to have been a pupil of Theophilus Protospatharius (Lambec. Biblioth. Vindob. vol. vi. p. 198, vol. vii. p. 352). Nothing more is known
of his personal history, and his date is somewhat uncertain. Somepersons confound him with the
chemist of Alexandria, and say that he lived in the seventh century after Christ; but this is
probably an error, as Dietz appears to be correct in stating that some of the Greek words to
be found in his writings ( e. g. Ψυχία ἀφράτα, Comment. in Hippocr. " Prognost." p. 87, τζιμβλοί, ibid. p. 89. λαγωδάτον
κοιμᾶσθαι, p. 94, μάγκυπες, p. 146, ἀκατιδες, p. 154, κλοκιον, p.
159, &c.) indicate a later date. If it is true that Theophilus was his tutor, this does
not help to determine the century in which he lived, as the date of the master is as uncertain
as that of the pupil. If, however, we suppose Theophilus to have lived in the ninth century
[THEOPHILUS
PROTOSPATHARIUS], Stephanus may be safely placed in the same.
However this may be, he is certainly, in the opinion of Dietz (Schol. in
Hippocr. et Gal. vol. i. p. xvi.) and M. Littré (Oeuvres d'
Hippocr. tome i. p. 128), the most important of all the ancient commentators on
Hippocrates after Galen, as his notes form a useful supplement to those of that writer, and
contain quotations and explanations not to be found elsewhere.
Works
His Scholia on the " Prognosticon " of Hippocrates are to be found in the first
volume of Dietz's " Scholia in Hippocratem et Galenum," Regim. Pruss. 8vo. 1834.
There is also a commentary on the " Aphorisms" of Hippocrates, which in some MSS. bears the
name of Stephanus, but in others it is attributed to Meletius or Theophilus; some
extracts are inserted in the second volume of Dietz's collection mentioned above.
His commentary on Galen's Ad Glauconem de Methodo Medendi
is said by Fabricius, and others who have repeated the assertion on his authority, to have
been published in Greek, Venet. ap. Aldum, 1536, 8vo., but this edition is not
mentioned by Renouard (Annales des Aldes), and its existence is very
doubtful. It was first published in a Latin translation by Augustus Gadaldinus, 1554,
8vo. Venet., which was several times reprinted.
The Greek text is inserted in the first volume of Dietz's Schol. in
Hippocr. et Gal. There is a short Greek work in MS., entitled
Βιβλος Διοσκορίδον καὶ Στεφάνου Ἀθηναίου τοῦ φιλοσόφου
περιέχουσα φαρμάκων ἐμπειρίας κατὰ ἀλφαβήτον σαφῶς ἐκτεθεῖσα (Lambec.
Biblioth. Vindob. vol. vi. p. 228), which has been published by
Caspar Wolphius, in a Latin translation, 1581, 8vo. [Tiguri], with the title-- "
Alphabetum Empiricum, sive, Dioscoridis et Stephani Atheniensis Philosophorum et Medicorum,
de Remediis Expertis Liber, juxta Alphabeti Ordinem digestus." The treatise on
Fevers, which is in some MSS. attributed to Stephanus Atheniensis, is in fact by Palladius.
(
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