Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse (or Dannse) de Villoison (5 March 1750 (or 1753) – 25 April 1805) was a
classical scholar
Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
In 1773, he published the ''Homeric Lexicon'' of Apollonius the Sophist from a manuscript in the abbey of
Longus
Longus, sometimes Longos (), was the author of an ancient Greek novel or romance, '' Daphnis and Chloe''. Nothing is known of his life; it is assumed that he lived on the isle of Lesbos (setting for ''Daphnis and Chloe'') during the 2nd centu ...
's ''Daphnis and Chloë'' was published. He went to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in 1781, and spent three years there examining the library, his expenses being paid by the French government.
His chief discovery was a 10th-century manuscript of the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
''—the famous codex
Venetus A
Venetus A is the more common name for the 10th-century AD manuscript codex catalogued in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice as ''Codex Marcianus Graecus'' 454, now 822. Its name is Latin for "Venetian A."
Venetus A is the most famous manuscript ...
, with ancient ''
scholia
Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...
'' and marginal notes, indicating supposititious, corrupt or transposed verses. After leaving Venice, he accepted an invitation of the duke of
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant branch of the House of W ...
to come to his court. Some of the fruits of his research in the library of the palace were collected into a volume, ''Epistolae Vinarienses'' (1783), dedicated to his royal hosts.
Hoping to find a treasure similar to the Venetian
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, he returned to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to prepare for a journey to the east. He visited
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
,
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...
, the Greek islands, and
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...
, but the results did not meet his expectation. In 1786, de Villoison returned to Paris, and in 1788 brought out the ''
Venetus A
Venetus A is the more common name for the 10th-century AD manuscript codex catalogued in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice as ''Codex Marcianus Graecus'' 454, now 822. Its name is Latin for "Venetian A."
Venetus A is the most famous manuscript ...
'' of Homer, which created a sensation in the learned world. When the French Revolution broke out, being banished from Paris, he lived in retirement in
modern Greek
Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...
established by the government, and held it until it was transferred to the
Greek language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...
s. He died in 1805, soon after his appointment.
Another work of some importance, ''Anecdota Graeca'' (1781), from the Paris and Venice libraries, contains the ''Ionia'' (violet garden) of the empress Eudocia, and several fragments of the
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...
s
Iamblichus
Iamblichus ( ; ; ; ) was a Neoplatonist philosopher who determined a direction later taken by Neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras. In addition to his philosophical co ...
Procopius of Gaza
Procopius of Gaza (; 465 – 528) was a Christian sophist and rhetorician, one of the most important representatives of the famous school of his native place.Vikan, Gary, Alexander Kazhdan, and Zvi 'Uri Ma῾oz. "Gaza." In ''The Oxford Dictiona ...
, Choricius, and the Greek grammarians. Materials for an exhaustive work he was contemplating on ancient and modern Greece are preserved in the royal library of Paris.