Michael of Ephesus or Michael Ephesius ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ Ἐφέσιος; fl. early or mid-12th century AD) wrote important

commentaries on Aristotle Commentaries on Aristotle refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Aristotle. The pupils of Aristotle were the first to comment on his writings, a tradition ...

, including the first full commentary on the ''

Sophistical Refutations ''Sophistical Refutations'' ( el, Σοφιστικοὶ Ἔλεγχοι, Sophistikoi Elenchoi; la, De Sophisticis Elenchis) is a text in Aristotle's ''Organon'' in which he identified thirteen fallacies.Sometimes listed as twelve. According to A ...

'', which established the regular study of that text.

Life

Little is known about Michael's life. He worked in the philosophy college, of the University of Constantinople. Together with Eustratius of Nicaea, he was part of a circle organized by

Anna Comnena Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

Richard Sorabji Sir Richard Rustom Kharsedji Sorabji, (born 8 November 1934) is a British historian of ancient Western philosophy, and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at King's College London. He has written his 'Intellectual Autobiography' in his ''Festschrift' ...

"Aristotle Commentators,"
''

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' is an encyclopedia of philosophy edited by Edward Craig that was first published by Routledge in 1998 (). Originally published in both 10 volumes of print and as a CD-ROM, in 2002 it was made availabl ...

'', 1998, 2002 As Michael suggests at the end of his '' Parva Naturalia'' commentary, his goal was to provide coverage of texts in the

Corpus Aristotelicum The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle's works that have survived from antiquity through medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's works that were lost or intentionally destroyed, are technical ph ...

that had been neglected by earlier commentators; this was "part of a cooperative scholarly undertaking conceived and guided by Anna Comnena." The fanciful suggestion that the Aristotelian commentator was none other than

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

, making good on his tuition under

Michael Psellos Michael Psellos or Psellus ( grc-gre, Μιχαὴλ Ψελλός, Michaḗl Psellós, ) was a Byzantine Greek monk, savant, writer, philosopher, imperial courtier, historian and music theorist. He was born in 1017 or 1018, and is believed to hav ...

(who was apparently not Michael of Ephesus' teacher) and turning after his abdication to scholarship as the archbishop of Ephesus, is no longer taken seriously.

Work

Michael's breadth is remarkable, and his interpretive method has been compared to that of

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Ἀφροδισιεύς, translit=Alexandros ho Aphrodisieus; AD) was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotl ...

; the commentary on ''Metaphysics'' Books 7-14 attributed to Alexander is considered to be his work.Katerina Ierodiakonou and Börje Bydén
"Byzantine Philosophy,"
''

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') combines an online encyclopedia of philosophy with peer-reviewed publication of original papers in philosophy, freely accessible to Internet users. It is maintained by Stanford University. E ...

'', 2008 Michael's commentaries draw on

Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand 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 chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...

ideas and on the exegetical tradition of Stephen of Alexandria. At times they allude to contemporary Byzantine matters and include criticism of the emperor and of the current state of education.

The commentaries: Greek texts

* On ''Sophistical Refutations'': ''

Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca ''Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca'' 'edita consilio et auctoritate academiae litterarum Regiae Borussicae''(''CAG'') (Greek Commentaries on Aristotle dited by order and auctority of the Prussian Royal Academy of literary studies is the standa ...

'
II.3
* On ''

Generation of Animals The ''Generation of Animals'' (or ''On the Generation of Animals''; Greek: ''Περὶ ζῴων γενέσεως'' (''Peri Zoion Geneseos''); Latin: ''De Generatione Animalium'') is one of the biological works of the Corpus Aristotelicum, the col ...

''
''CAG'' XIV.3
* On ''

Nicomachean Ethics The ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (; ; grc, Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, ) is Aristotle's best-known work on ethics, the science of the good for human life, which is the goal or end at which all our actions aim. (I§2) The aim of the inquiry is ...

'', books 9-10
''CAG'' XX
* On ''Parva Naturalia'':
''CAG'' XXII.1
* On '' Parts of Animals'', '' Movement of Animals'', ''

Progression of Animals ''Progression of Animals'' (or ''On the Gait of Animals''; el, Περὶ πορείας ζῴων; la, De incessu animalium) is one of Aristotle's major texts on biology. It gives details of gait and movement in various kinds of animals, as wel ...

''
''CAG'' XXII.2
* On ''Nicomachean Ethics'', book 5
''CAG'' XXII.3
* Michael's commentary on the pseudo-Aristotelian ''

On Colors ''On Colors'' (Greek Περὶ χρωμάτων; Latin ''De Coloribus'') is a treatise attributed to AristotleBarnes, Jonathan (1984). ''The Complete Works of Aristotle'' (2 Vols.), Princeton University Press, pp. 1219-1228 (V 1). . but sometimes ...

'' remains unedited, and his commentary on ''

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

'' survives only in part.

Latin translations

James of Venice James of Venice was a Catholic cleric and significant translator of Aristotle of the twelfth century. He has been called "the first systematic translator of Aristotle since Boethius." Not much is otherwise known about him. He was active in particu ...

may have collected texts from Michael's workshop for translation into Latin. The composite collection of commentaries including Michael's commentaries on the ''Nicomachean Ethics'' was translated into Latin by

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...

, and again by Giovanni Bernardo Feliciano (Venice 1541).H.P.F. Mercken, "The Greek Commentators on Aristotle's ''Ethics''," in Sorabji (ed.), ''Aristotle Transformed'', pp. 407-410

English translations

* ''Aristotle and Michael of Ephesus on the Movement and Progression of Animals'', trans. Anthony Preus, Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1981 * Aspasius, Anonymous, Michael of Ephesus, ''On Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics 8 and 9'', trans. David Konstan, Duckworth, 2001 * Michael of Ephesus, ''On Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics 10'', trans. James Wilberding and Julia Trompeter, Bloomsbury Academic, 2019

Notes

{{Authority control 12th-century philosophers Byzantine philosophers Commentators on Aristotle 12th-century Byzantine writers