The Ancient Progymnasmata in the Classroom of Sophronios Leichoudes

Abstract

At the core of this paper is a discussion of unpublished progymnasmata (in Greek & Latin) elaborated by a number of Sophronius Leichoudes’ first students. These texts are preserved in three codices from the National Library of Russia. They were dedicated to elaboration of the whole range of the late antique rhetorical exercises such as ethopoeia, encomium, psogos (invective), chreia, commonplace, refutation and confirmation. No manuscripts have revealed examples of the exercises in fable, comparison, ecphrasis, thesis, introduction of a law. However, these progymnasmata, except the latter, were studied in abbreviated form within the preserved exercises. The topics of the pieces proposed by Sophronios are mostly of Christian character, such as a lament of Joseph, Judas’ betrayal, praises of Christmas, saints and martyrs, theological debates and many more. The information preserved on their scholia makes us possible to identify the authors’ names (Nikolay Semeonov Golovin, Aleksey Kirillov, Feodor Polikarpov and Feodor Gerasimov, Fedot Ageev, Iosif Afanas’ev, Peotr Postnikov, Paladiy Rogov, Greeks Anastasios and hierodeacon Dionysios) as well as to specify the essential elements of each exercise to be performed. Based on these materials, we can conclude that Sophronios conveyed to his students the best elements of both Byzantine and Jesuit rhetorical training, in this way the Leichoudian method of instruction corresponds in general to that of contemporary Greek schools.