Gregory Magistros

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Gregory Magistros (990-1058) was an Armenian linguist, scholar and public functionary. A layman of the princely Pahlavuni family, he was the son of Vassak Pahlavuni. After Byzantium annexed the Kingdom of Ani, Gregory went on to serve as the Governor-general of the province of Edessa. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus bestowed upon him the title of Duke. He studied both sacred and secular literature, Syriac as well as Greek. He collected all Armenian manuscripts of scientific or philosophical value that were to be found, including the works of Anania Shirakatsi, and translations from Callimachus, Andronicus and Olympiodorus. He translated several works of Plato — The Laws, the Eulogy of Socrates, Euthyphro, Timaeus and Phaedo. Many ecclesiastics of the period were his pupils.

Foremost among his writings, are the "Letters" numbering eighty which shed light upon the political and religious problems of the time. His poetry bears the impress of both Homeric Greek and the Arabic of his own century. His chief poetical work is a long metrical narrative of the principal events recorded in the Bible. This work, we are told, was written in three days at the request of a Mohammedan noble, who, after reading it, became converted to Christianity. Grigor was almost the first poet to adopt the use of rhyme introduced into Armenia by the Arabians. Unfortunately, his language is often almost unintelligible, because of artificiality and unusual words, especially when he deals with philosophical, scientific or mythological subjects.