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Who/what was/is Apellicon?
Apellicon was a book collector who died in the early part of the last century B.C. He was a wealthy native of Teos and later a citizen of Athens who spent a a great deal to build his library. He was once accused of stealing original documents from the archives of Athens and other Greek cities, and reportedly fled to escape prosecution (some sources say he was convicted). Perhaps Apellicon did have a mischievous side; after all, he was from Teos, and their main deity was Dionysus (the Roman Bacchus), so they had a habit of revelry and partying. At any rate, Apellicon returned to Athens when the anti-Roman Aristion made himself tyrant of the city.
Despite Apellicon's motives, we know he was certainly interested in collecting rare and important books and was quite well-known for his bibliophilia. Most importantly, in 88 B.C., he purchased the works and libraries of Aristotle and Theophrastus. These works and libraries had been given by Theophrastus to his pupil, Neleus. Neleus had wisely hidden the manuscripts in a cellar or in a cave in an attempt to prevent them from being acquired by the princes of Pergamum, known also to be voracious book collectors. Given that Theophrastus died in 287 B.C., the manuscripts must have been stored in the cellar or the cave for 200 years!
By the time Apellicon obtained the manuscripts, however, they were in poor condition, having been subjected to the wet conditions of the cellar or cave where they had been concealed. This meant that Aristotle's works were mostly lost not long after his death. Apellicon's recovery of these texts proved to be of great importance!
However, as a result of the water damage, there were many gaps and missing parts in the manuscripts. Presumably, Apellicon's attempt to fill in the missing segments was an honorable one, but his attempts have generally been considered faulty. He was, after all, was a lover of books but not a philosopher! In many cases, it was said that a single incorrect word changed the entire meaning of a passage. His versions were published in 86 B.C.
In 84 B.C., Sulla transferred Apellicon's library to Rome where the grammarian Tyrannion took copies of them to prepare an edition of Aristotle's works.
Besides rescuing the works of Aristotle (despite his mis-repairing of the manuscripts), Apellicon's library also contained an old copy of the Iliad that was in remarkable condition. Perhaps in a testament to his desire for accuracy, Apellicon also reportedly published a biography of Aristotle in which the negative commentaries by other biographers were refuted.
Depending on whose opinion to whom you listen, Apellicon was either a righteous and just book collector or he was a money-hungry bookworm. Of course, Apellicon isn't here to defend himself or tell his side of the story! Regardless of whether he was a sly book stealer or book collecting philanthropist, or whether his translations of Aristotle's work was perfect or flawed, a few things are certain:
- Apellicon may have meant well or not
- Apellicon is largely responsible for the survival and perpetuation of much of the great works of Aristotle and Theophrastus.
- Most of all, Apellicon loved books. So do we!
By the way, Pearson is the maiden family name of Dr. Dahl's wife, Elaine.
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