Scholia-Dionysius of Byzantium's Bosporus Navigation

Σχόλια εἰς Διονύσιον Βυζάντιον περὶ Βοσπόρου

The Scholia on Dionysius of Byzantium's Bosporus is an anonymous collection of seventy-nine annotations on the geographical treatise Anaplous of the Bosporus by the second-century CE author Dionysius of Byzantium. Dionysius's work is a periplus, or coastal sailing guide, describing the landmarks and features of the Thracian Bosporus. The scholia provide explanatory commentary intended for scholarly readers, elucidating the primary text's complex geography, associated mythology, and historical context. Their content systematically addresses the places and phenomena mentioned by Dionysius, offering geographical exegesis by identifying toponyms, landmarks, and distances. They furnish mythological commentary, explaining local legends such as those connected to Io or the Argonauts, and include historical references that note antiquarian details or changes to sites over time. The scholia may also engage in textual criticism, potentially addressing variant readings within the manuscript tradition of Dionysius's work. Both the fragmentary text of the Anaplous and its accompanying scholia survive exclusively in a single manuscript, the Codex Palatinus Graecus 398, making the scholia's preservation entirely dependent on this witness. These annotations are of critical importance for the modern reconstruction and interpretation of Dionysius's otherwise fragmentary treatise. They exemplify ancient scholarly engagement with technical geographical literature and may preserve excerpts or references from lost historical or geographical sources, thereby contributing significantly to the classical understanding of the Bosporus region.