David (; fl. 6th century) was a Greek scholar and a commentator on

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and Porphyry. He may have come from

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

, but in later times he was confused with an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n of the same name ( David Anhaght).Pamela M. Huby, R. W. Sharples, Dimitri Gutas, 1995, ''Theophrastus of Eresus, Sources for His Life, Writings, Thought and Influence'', page 16. Brill. He was a pupil of Olympiodorus in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in the late 6th century. His name suggests that he was a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

or a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Three commentaries to Aristotle's works attributed to him have survived:D. N. Sedley, 2003, ''The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Philosophy'', page 249. as well as an introduction (''prolegomena'') to philosophy: * ''Definitions and Divisions of Philosophy'' * Commentary on Porphyry's '' Isagoge'' * Commentary on

's '' Categories'' * Commentary on Aristotle's '' Prior Analytics'' (in Armenian) All these works will be published, with an English translation, in the series ''Commentaria in Aristotelem Armeniaca - Davidis Opera'' (five volumes), edited by Jonathan Barnes and Valentina Calzolari. Another anonymous commentary on Porphyry's ''Isagoge'' which was falsely ascribed to Elias, was also falsely ascribed to David. Its author is known today as

Pseudo-Elias Pseudo-Elias (?), also called Pseudo-David, was the author of a set of lectures on logic written in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek that form a Commentary of a philosophical text, commentary on Porphyry (philosopher), Porphyry's ''Isagoge''. ...

.Pamela M. Huby, R. W. Sharples, Dimitri Gutas, 1995, ''Theophrastus of Eresus, Sources for His Life, Writings, Thought and Influence'', page 17. Brill.

Notes

Bibliography

* A. Busse (ed.), ''Eliae in Porphyrii Isagogen et Aristotelis Categorias commentaria'', Berlin, 1900 (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, XVIII-1). * A. Busse (ed.), ''Davidis Prolegomena et in Porphyrii Isagogen commentarium'', Berlin, 1904 (Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, XVIII-2). * B. Kendall, R. W. Thomson (eds.), ''Definitions and Divisions of Philosophy by David the Invincible Philosopher'', English Translation of the Old Armenian Version with Introduction and Notes, Chico, CA, 1983. * V. Calzolari, J. Barnes (eds.), ''L'œuvre de David l'Invincible et la transmission de la pensée grecque dans la tradition arménienne et syriaque'' (CAA. Davidis Opera 1), Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2009 (Philosophia Antiqua 116). * A. Topchyan (ed.), ''David the Invincible, Commentary on Aristotle's Prior Analytics''. Old Armenian Text with an English Translation, Introduction and Notes (CAA. Davidis Opera 2), Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2010 (Philosophia Antiqua 122). * G. Muradyan (ed.), ''David the Invincible Commentary on Porphyry’s Isagoge''. Old Armenian Text with an English Translation, Introduction and Notes (CAA. Davidis Opera 3), Leiden - Boston: Brill, 2014 (Philosophia Antiqua 137).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:David 6th-century Greek philosophers Greek-language commentators on Aristotle 6th-century Byzantine writers