[1] Chapters xi. and xii., which Lightfoot suggested might be the work
of Pantaenus.
DIOMEDES, in Greek legend, son of Tydeus, one of the bravest of the
heroes of the Trojan War. In the _Iliad_ he is the favourite of Athena,
by whose aid he not only overcomes all mortals who venture to oppose
him, but is even enabled to attack the gods. In the post-Homeric story,
he made his way with Odysseus by an underground passage into the citadel
of Troy and carried off the Palladium, the presence of which within the
walls secured Troy against capture (Virgil, _Aeneid_, ii. 164). On his
return to Argos, finding that his wife had been unfaithful, he removed
to Aetolia, and thence to Daunia (Apulia), where he married the daughter
of King Daunus. He was buried or mysteriously disappeared on one of the
islands in the Adriatic called after him Diomedeae, his sorrowing
companions being changed into birds by the gods out of compassion (Ovid,
_Metam._ xiv. 457 ff.). He was the reputed founder of Argyrippa (Arpi)
and other Italian cities (_Aeneid_, xi. 243 ff.). He was worshipped as a
hero not only in Greece, but on the coast of the Adriatic, as at Thurii
and Metapontum. At Argos, his native place, during the festival of
Athena, his shield was carried through the streets as a relic, together
with the Palladium, and his statue was washed in the river Inachus.
DIOMEDES, Latin grammarian, flourished at the end of the 4th century
A.D. He was the author of an extant _Ars grammatica_ in three books,
dedicated to a certain Athanasius. The third book is the most important,
as containing extracts from Suetonius's _De poetis_. Diomedes wrote
about the same time as Charisius (q.v.) and used the same sources
independently. The works of both grammarians are valuable, but whereas
much of Charisius has been lost, the Ars of Diomedes has come down to us
complete. In book i. he treats of the eight parts of speech; in ii. of
the elementary ideas of grammar and of style; in iii. of quantity and
metres.
The best edition is in H. Keil's _Grammatici Latini_, i.; see also C.
von Paucker, _Kleinere Studien_, i. (1883), on the Latinity of
Diomedes.
DION, tyrant of Syracuse (408-353 B.C.), the son of Hipparinus, and
brother-in-law of Dionysius the Elder. In his youth he was an admirer
and pupil of Plato, whom Dionysius had invited to Syracuse; and he used
every effort to inculcate the maxims of his master in the mind of the
tyrant. The stern morality of Dion was distasteful to the younger
Dionysius, and the historian Philistus, a faithful supporter of despotic
power, succeeded in procuring his banishment on account of alleged
intrigues with the Carthaginians. The exiled philosopher retired to
Athens, where he was at first permitted to enjoy his revenues in peace;
but the intercession of Plato (who had again visited Syracuse to procure
Dion's recall) only served to exasperate the tyrant, and at length
provoked him to confiscate the property of Dion, and give his wife to
another. This last outrage roused Dion. Assembling a small force at
Zacynthus, he sailed to Sicily (357) and was received with
demonstrations of joy. Dionysius, who was in Italy, returned to Sicily,
but was defeated and obliged to flee. Dion himself was soon after
supplanted by the intrigues of Heracleides, and again banished. The
incompetency of the new leader and the cruelties of Apollocrates, the
son of Dionysius, soon led to his recall. He had, however, scarcely made
himself master of Sicily when the people began to express their
discontent with his tyrannical conduct, and he was assassinated by
Callippus, an Athenian who had accompanied him in his expedition.
See _Lives_ by Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos (cf. Diod. Sic. xvi. 6-20)
and in modern times by T. Lau (1860); see also SYRACUSE and SICILY:
_History_.
DIONE, in the earliest Greek mythology, the wife of Zeus. As such she is
associated with Zeus Naius (the god of fertilizing moisture) at Dodona
(Strabo vii. p. 329), by whose side she sits, adorned with a bridal veil
and garland and holding a sceptre. As the oracle declined in importance,
her place as the wife of Zeus was taken by Hera. It is probable that in
very early times the cult of Dione existed in Athens, where she had an
altar before the Erechtheum. After her admission to the general
religious system of the Greeks, Dione was variously described. In the
_Iliad_ (v. 370) she is the mother by Zeus of Aphrodite, who is herself
in later times called Dione (the epithet Dionaeus was given to Julius
Caesar as claiming descent from Venus). In Hesiod (_Theog._ 353) she is
one of the daughters of Oceanus; in Pherecydes (ap. schol. _Iliad_,
xviii. 486), one of the nymphs of Dodona, the nurses of Dionysus; in
Euripides (frag. 177), the mother of Dionysus; in Hyginus (fab. 9. 82),
the daughter of Atlas, wife of Tantalus and mother of Pelops and Niobe.
Others make her a Titanid, the daughter of Uranus and Gaea (Apollodorus
i. 1). Speaking generally, Dione may be regarded as the female
embodiment of the attributes of Zeus, to whose name her own is related
as Juno (= Jovino) to Jupiter.
DIONYSIA, festivals in honour of the god Dionysus generally, but in
particular the festivals celebrated in Attica and by the branches of the
Attic-Ionic race in the islands and in Asia Minor. In Attica there were
two festivals annually. (1) The lesser Dionysia, or [Greek: ta kat
agrous], was held in the country places for four days (about the 19th to
the 22nd of December) at the first tasting of the new wine. It was
accompanied by songs, dance, phallic processions and the impromptu
performances of itinerant players, who with others from the city
thronged to take part in the excitement of the rustic sports. A
favourite amusement was the Ascoliasmus, or dancing on one leg upon a
leathern bag ([Greek: askos]), which had been smeared with oil. (2) The
_greater_ Dionysia, or [Greek: ta en astei], was held in the city of
Athens for six days (about the 28th of March to the 2nd of April). This
was a festival of joy at the departure of winter and the promise of
summer, Dionysus being regarded as having delivered the people from the
wants and troubles of winter. The religious act of the festival was the
conveying of the ancient image of the god, which had been brought from
Eleutherae to Athens, from the ancient sanctuary of the Lenaeum to a
small temple near the Acropolis and back again, with a chorus of boys
and a procession carrying masks and singing the dithyrambus. The
festival culminated in the production of tragedies, comedies and satyric
dramas in the great theatre of Dionysus. Other festivals in honour of
Dionysus were the Anthesteria (q.v.); the Lenaea (about the 28th to the
31st of January), or festival of vats, at which, after a great public
banquet, the citizens went through the city in procession to attend the
dramatic representations; the Oschophoria (October-November), a vintage
festival, so called from the branches of vine with grapes carried by
twenty youths from the ephebi, two from each tribe, in a race from the
temple of Dionysus in Athens to the temple of Athena Sciras in Phalerum.
See A. Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen_ (1898); L. Preller,
_Griechische Mythologie_; L. C. Purser in Smith's _Dictionary of
Antiquities_ (3rd ed., 1890); article DIONYSOS in W. H. Roscher's
_Lexikon der Mythologie_; and the exhaustive account with bibliography
by J. Girard in Daremberg and Saglio's _Dictionnaire des antiquites_.
DIONYSIUS, pope from 259 to 268. To Dionysius, who was elected pope in
259 after the persecution of Valerian, fell the task of reorganizing the
Roman church, which had fallen into great disorder. At the protest of
some of the faithful at Alexandria, he demanded from the bishop of
Alexandria, also called Dionysius, explanations touching his doctrine.
He died on the 26th of December 268.
DIONYSIUS (c. 432-367 B.C.), tyrant of Syracuse, began life as a clerk
in a public office, but by courage and diplomacy succeeded in making
himself supreme (see SYRACUSE). He carried on war with Carthage with
varying success; his attempts to drive the Carthaginians entirely out of
the island failed, and at his death they were masters of at least a
third of it. He also carried on an expedition against Rhegium and its
allied cities in Magna Graecia. In one campaign, in which he was joined
by the Lucanians, he devastated the territories of Thurii, Croton and
Locri. After a protracted siege he took Rhegium (386), and sold the
inhabitants as slaves. He joined the Illyrians in an attempt to plunder
the temple of Delphi, pillaged the temple of Caere on the Etruscan
coast, and founded several military colonies on the Adriatic. In the
Peloponnesian War he espoused the side of the Spartans, and assisted
them with mercenaries. He also posed as an author and patron of
literature; his poems, severely criticized by Philoxenus, were hissed at
the Olympic games; but having gained a prize for a tragedy on the
_Ransom of Hector_ at the Lenaea at Athens, he was so elated that he
engaged in a debauch which proved fatal. According to others, he was
poisoned by his physicians at the instigation of his son. His life was
written by Philistus, but the work is not extant. Dionysius was regarded
by the ancients as a type of the worst kind of despot--cruel, suspicious
and vindictive. Like Peisistratus, he was fond of having distinguished
literary men about him, such as the historian Philistus, the poet
Philoxenus, and the philosopher Plato, but treated them in a most
arbitrary manner.
See Diod. Sic. xiii., xiv., xv.; J. Bass, _Dionysius I. von Syrakus_
(Vienna, 1881), with full references to authorities in footnotes;
articles SICILY and SYRACUSE.
His son DIONYSIUS, known as "the Younger," succeeded in 367 B.C. He was
driven from the kingdom by Dion (356) and fled to Locri; but during the
commotions which followed Dion's assassination, he managed to make
himself master of Syracuse. On the arrival of Timoleon he was compelled
to surrender and retire to Corinth (343), where he spent the rest of his
days in poverty (Diodorus Siculus xvi.; Plutarch, _Timoleon_).
See SYRACUSE and TIMOLEON; and, on both the Dionysii, articles by B.
Niese in Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencyclopadie_, v. pt. 1 (1905).
DIONYSIUS AREOPAGITICUS (or "the Areopagite"), named in Acts xvii. 34 as
one of those Athenians who believed when they had heard Paul preach on
Mars Hill. Beyond this mention our only knowledge of him is the
statement of Dionysius, bishop of Corinth (fl. A.D. 171), recorded by
Eusebius (_Church Hist._ iii. 4; iv. 23), that this same Dionysius the
Areopagite was the first "bishop" of Athens. Some hundreds of years
after the Areopagite's death, his name was attached by the
Pseudo-Areopagite to certain theological writings composed by the
latter. These were destined to exert enormous influence upon medieval
thought, and their fame led to the extension of the personal legend of
the real Dionysius. Hilduin, abbot of St Denys (814-840), identified him
with St Denys, martyr and patron-saint of France. In Hilduin's
_Areopagitica_, the Life and Passion of the most holy Dionysius (Migne,
_ Patrol. Lat._ tome 106), the Areopagite is sent to France by Clement
of Rome, and suffers martyrdom upon the hill where the monastery called
St Denys was to rise in his honour. There is no earlier trace of this
identification, and Gregory of Tours (d. 594) says (_Hist. Francorum_,
i. 18) that St Denys came to France in the reign of Decius (A.D. 250),
which falls about midway between the presumptive death of the real
Areopagite and the probable date of the writings to which he owed his
adventitious fame.
Traces of the influence of these writings appear in the works of Eastern
theologians in the early part of the 6th century. They also were cited
at the council held in Constantinople in 533, which is the first certain
dated reference to them. In the West, Gregory the Great (d. 604) refers
to them in his thirty-fourth sermon on the gospels (Migne, _Pat. Lat._
tome 76, col. 1254). They did not, however, become generally known in
the Western church till after the year 827, when the Byzantine emperor
Michael the Stammerer sent a copy to Louis the Pious. It was given over
to the care of the above-mentioned abbot Hilduin. In the next generation
the scholar and philosopher Joannes Scotus Erigena (q.v.) translated the
Dionysian writings into Latin. This appears to have been the only Latin
translation until the 12th century when another was made, followed by
several others.
Thus, the author, date and place of composition of these writings are
unknown. External evidence precludes a date later than the year 500, and
the internal evidence from the writings themselves precludes any date
prior to 4th-century phases of Neo-platonism. The extant writings of the
Pseudo-Areopagite are: (a) [Greek: Peri tes ouranias hierarchias],
_Concerning the Celestial Hierarchy_, in fifteen chapters. (b) [Greek:
Peri tes ekklesiastikes hierarchias], _Concerning the Ecclesiastical
Hierarchy_, in seven chapters. (c) [Greek: Peri theion onomaton],
_Concerning Divine Names_, in thirteen chapters. (d) [Greek: Peri
mystikes theologias], _Concerning Mystic Theology_, in five chapters.
(e) Ten letters addressed to various worthies of the apostolic period.
Although these writings seem complete, they contain references to others
of the same author. But of the latter nothing is known, and they may
never have existed.
The writings of the Pseudo-Areopagite are of great interest, first as a
striking presentation of the heterogeneous elements that might unite in
the mind of a gifted man in the 5th century, and secondly, because of
their enormous influence upon subsequent Christian theology and art.
Their ingredients--Christian, Greek, Oriental and Jewish--are not
crudely mingled, but are united into an organic system. Perhaps
theological philosophic fantasy has never constructed anything more
remarkable. The system of Dionysius was a proper product of its
time,--lofty, apparently complete, comparable to the _Enneads_ of
Plotinus which formed part of its materials. But its materials abounded
everywhere, and offered themselves temptingly to the hand strong enough
to build with them. There was what had entered into Neo-platonism, both
in its dialectic form as established by Plotinus, and in its
magic-mystic modes devised by Iamblichus (d. c. 333). There was Jewish
angel lore and Eastern mood and fancy; and there was Christianity so
variously understood and heterogeneously constituted among Syro-Judaic
Hellenic communities. Such Christianity held materials for formula and
creed; also principles of liturgic and sacramental doctrine and priestly
function; also a mass of popular beliefs as to intermediate superhuman
beings who seemed nearer to men than any member of the Trinity.
Out of this vast spiritual conglomerate, Pseudo-Dionysius formed his
system. It was not juristic,--not Roman, Pauline or Augustinian. Rather
he borrowed his constructive principles from Hellenism in its last great
creation, Neo-platonism. That had been able to gather and arrange within
itself the various elements of latter-day paganism. The Neo-platonic
categories might be altered in name and import, and yet the scheme
remain a scheme; since the general principle of the transmission of life
from the ultimate Source downward through orders of mediating beings
unto men, might readily be adapted to the Christian God and his
ministering angels. Pseudo-Dionysius had lofty thoughts of the sublime
transcendence of the ultimate divine Source. That source was not remote
or inert; but a veritable Source from which life streamed to all lower
orders of existence,--in part directly, and in part indirectly as power
and guidance through the higher orders to the lower. Life, creation,
every good gift, is from God directly; but his flaming ministers also
intervene to guide and aid the life of man; and the life which through
love floods forth from God has its counterflow whereby it draws its own
creations to itself. God is at once absolutely transcendent and
universally immanent. To live is to be united with God; evil is the
nonexistent, that is, severance from God. Whatever is, is part of the
forth-flowing divine life which ever purifies, enlightens and perfects,
and so draws all back to the Source.
The transcendent Source, as well as the universal immanence, is the
Triune God. Between that and men are ranged the three triads of the
Celestial Hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones; Dominations,
Virtues, Powers; Principalities, Archangels, Angels. Collectively their
general office is to raise mankind to God through purification,
illumination and perfection; and to all may be applied the term angel.
The highest triad, which is nearest God, contemplates the divine
effulgence, and reflects it onward to the second; the third, and more
specifically angelic triad, immediately ministers to men. The sources of
these names are evident: seraphim and cherubim are from the Old
Testament; later Jewish writings gave names to archangels and angels,
who also fill important functions in the New Testament. The other names
are from Paul (Eph. i. 21; Col. i. 16).
Such is the system of Pseudo-Dionysius, as presented mainly in _The
Celestial Hierarchy_. That work is followed by _The Ecclesiastical
Hierarchy_, its counterpart on earth. What the primal triune Godhead is
to the former, Jesus is to the latter. The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy
likewise is composed of Triads. The first includes the symbolic
sacraments: Baptism, Communion, Consecration of the Holy Chrism. Baptism
signifies purification; Communion signifies enlightening; the Holy
Chrism signifies perfecting. The second triad is made up of the three
orders of Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons, or rather, as the Areopagite
names them: Hierarchs, Light-bearers, Servitors. The third triad
consists of monks, who are in a state of perfection, the initiated
laity, who are in a state of illumination, and the catechumens, in a
state of purification. All worship, in this treatise, is a celebration
of mysteries, and the pagan mysteries are continually suggested by the
terms employed.
The work _Concerning the Divine Names_ is a noble discussion of the
qualities which may be predicated of God, according to the warrant of
the terms applied to him in Scripture. The work _Concerning Mystic
Theology_ explains the function of symbols, and shows that he who would
know God truly must rise above them and above the conceptions of God
drawn from sensible things.
The works of Pseudo-Dionysius began to influence theological thought in
the West from the time of their translation into Latin by Erigena. Their
use may be followed through the writings of scholastic philosophers,
e.g. Peter Lombard, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and many others. In
poetry we find their influence in Dante, Spenser, Milton. The fifteenth
chapter of _The Celestial Hierarchy_ constituted the canon of symbolical
angelic lore for the literature and art of the middle ages. Therein the
author explains in what respect theology ascribes to angels the
qualities of fire, why the thrones are said to be _fiery_ ([Greek:
pyrinous]); why the seraphim are _burning_ ([Greek: emprestas]) as their
name indicates. The fiery form signifies, with Celestial Intelligences,
likeness to God. Dionysius explains the significance of the parts of the
human body when given to celestial beings: feet are ascribed to angels
to denote their unceasing movement on the divine business, and their
feet are winged to denote their celerity. He likewise explains the
symbolism of wands and axes, of brass and precious stones, when joined
to celestial beings; and what wheels and a chariot denote when furnished
to them,--and much more besides.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--There is an enormous literature on Pseudo-Dionysius.
The reader may be first referred to the articles in Smith's
_Dictionary of Christian Biography_ and Hauck's _Realencyklopadie fur
protestantische Theologie_ (Leipzig, 1898). The bibliography in the
latter is very full. Some other references, especially upon the later
influence of these works, are given in H. O. Taylor's _Classical
Heritage of the Middle Ages_ (Macmillan, 1903). The works themselves
are in Migne's _Patrologia Graeca_, tomes 3 and 4, with a Latin
version. Erigena's version is in Migne, _Patrol. Lat._ t. 122. _Vita
Dionysii_ by Hilduin is in Migne, _Pat. Lat._ 106. There is an English
version by Parker (London, 1894 and 1897). (H. O. T.)
DIONYSIUS EXIGUUS, one of the most learned men of the 6th century, and
especially distinguished as a chronologist, was, according to the
statement of his friend Cassiodorus, a Scythian by birth, "_Scytha
natione_." This may mean only that he was a native of the region
bordering on the Black Sea, and does not necessarily imply that he was
not of Greek origin. Such origin is indicated by his name and by his
thorough familiarity with the Greek language. His surname "Exiguus" is
usually translated "the Little," but he probably assumed it out of
humility. He was living at Rome in the first half of the 6th century,
and is usually spoken of as abbot of a Roman monastery. Cassiodorus,
however, calls him simply "monk," while Bede calls him "abbot." But as
it was not unusual to apply the latter term to distinguished monks who
were not heads of their houses, it is uncertain whether Dionysius was
abbot in fact or only by courtesy. He was in high repute as a learned
theologian, was profoundly versed in the Holy Scriptures and in canon
law, and was also an accomplished mathematician and astronomer. We owe
to him a collection of 401 ecclesiastical canons, including the
apostolical canons and the decrees of the councils of Nicaea,
Constantinople, Chalcedon and Sardis, and also a collection of the
decretals of the popes from Siricius (385) to Anastasius II. (498).
These collections, which had great authority in the West (see CANON
LAW), were published by Justel in 1628. Dionysius did good service to
his contemporaries by his translations of many Greek works into Latin;
and by these translations some works, the originals of which have
perished, have been handed down to us. His name, however, is now perhaps
chiefly remembered for his chronological labours. It was Dionysius who
introduced the method of reckoning the Christian era which we now use
(see CHRONOLOGY). His friend Cassiodorus depicts in glowing terms the
character of Dionysius as a saintly ascetic, and praises his wisdom and
simplicity, his accomplishments and his lowly-mindedness, his power of
eloquent speech and his capacity of silence. He died at Rome, some time
before A.D. 550.
His works have been published in Migne, _Patrologia Latina_, tome 67;
see especially A. Tardif, _Histoire des sources du droit canonique_
(Paris, 1887), and D. Pitra, _Analecta novissima, Spicilegii
Solesmensis continuatio_, vol. i. p. 36 (Paris, 1885).
DIONYSIUS HALICARNASSENSIS ("of Halicarnassus"), Greek historian and
teacher of rhetoric, flourished during the reign of Augustus. He went to
Rome after the termination of the civil wars, and spent twenty-two years
in studying the Latin language and literature and preparing materials
for his history. During this period he gave lessons in rhetoric, and
enjoyed the society of many distinguished men. The date of his death is
unknown. His great work, entitled [Greek: Romaike archaiologia] (Roman
Antiquities), embraced the history of Rome from the mythical period to
the beginning of the first Punic War. It was divided into twenty
books,--of which the first nine remain entire, the tenth and eleventh
are nearly complete, and the remaining books exist in fragments in the
excerpts of Constantine Porphyrogenitus and an epitome discovered by
Angelo Mai in a Milan MS. The first three books of Appian, and
Plutarch's _Life of Camillus_ also embody much of Dionysius. His chief
object was to reconcile the Greeks to the rule of Rome, by dilating upon
the good qualities of their conquerors. According to him, history is
philosophy teaching by examples, and this idea he has carried out from
the point of view of the Greek rhetorician. But he has carefully
consulted the best authorities, and his work and that of Livy are the
only connected and detailed extant accounts of early Roman history.
Dionysius was also the author of several rhetorical treatises, in which
he shows that he has thoroughly studied the best Attic models:--_The Art
of Rhetoric_ (which is rather a collection of essays on the theory of
rhetoric), incomplete, and certainly not all his work; _The Arrangement
of Words_ ([Greek: Peri syntheseos onomaton]), treating of the
combination of words according to the different styles of oratory; _On
Imitation_ ([Greek: Peri mimeseos]), on the best models in the different
kinds of literature and the way in which they are to be imitated--a
fragmentary work; _Commentaries on the Attic Orators_ ([Greek: Peri ton
archaion rhetoron hypomnematismoi]), which, however, only deal with
Lysias, Isaeus, Isocrates and (by way of supplement) Dinarchus; _On the
admirable Style of Demosthenes_ ([Greek: Peri tes lektikes Demosthenous
deinotetos]); and _On the Character of Thucydides_ ([Greek: Peri tou
Thoukydidou charakteros]), a detailed but on the whole an unfair
estimate. These two treatises are supplemented by letters to Cn.
Pompeius and Ammaeus (two).
Complete edition by J. J. Reiske (1774-1777); of the _Archaeologia_ by
A. Kiessling and V. Prou (1886) and C. Jacoby (1885-1891); Opuscula by
Usener and Radermacher (1899); Eng. translation by E. Spelman (1758).
A full bibliography of the rhetorical works is given in W. Rhys
Roberts's edition of the Three Literary Letters (1901); the same
author published an edition of the _De compositione verborum_ (1910,
with trans.); see also M. Egger, _Denys d'Halicarnasse_ (1902), a very
useful treatise. On the sources of Dionysius see O. Bocksch, "De
fontibus Dion. Halicarnassensis" in _Leipziger Studien_, xvii. (1895).
Cf. also J. E. Sandys, _Hist. of Class. Schol._ i. (1906).
DIONYSIUS PERIEGETES, author of a [Greek: Periegesis tes oikoumenes], a
description of the habitable world in Greek hexameter verse, written in
a terse and elegant style. Nothing certain is known of the date or
nationality of the writer, but there is some reason for believing that
he was an Alexandrian, who wrote in the time of Hadrian (some put him as
late as the end of the 3rd century). The work enjoyed a high degree of
popularity in ancient times as a school-book; it was translated into
Latin by Rufus Festus Avienus, and by the grammarian Priscian. The
commentary of Eustathius is valuable.
The best editions are by G. Bernhardy (1828) and C. Muller (1861) in
their _Geographici Graeci minores_; see also E. H. Bunbury, _Ancient
Geography_ (ii. p. 480), who regards the author as flourishing from
the reign of Nero to that of Trajan, and U. Bernays, _Studien zu Dion.
Perieg._ (1905). There are two old English translations: T. Twine
(1572, black letter), J. Free (1789, blank verse).
DIONYSIUS TELMAHARENSIS ("of Tell-Ma[h.]r[=e]"), patriarch or supreme
head of the Syrian Jacobite Church during the years 818-848, was born at
Tell-Ma[h.]r[=e] near Ra[k.][k.]a (ar-Ra[k.][k.]ah) on the Bal[=i]kh. He
was the author of an important historical work, which has seemingly
perished except for some passages quoted by Barhebraeus and an extract
found by Assemani in Cod. _Vat._ 144 and published by him in the
_Bibliotheca orientalis_ (ii. 72-77). He spent his earlier years as a
monk at the convent of [K.]en-neshr[=e] on the upper Euphrates; and when
this monastery was destroyed by fire in 815, he migrated northwards to
that of Kais[=u]m in the district of Samos[=a]ta. At the death of the
Jacobite patriarch Cyriacus in 817, the church was agitated by a dispute
about the use of the phrase "heavenly bread" in connexion with the
Eucharist. An anti-patriarch had been appointed in the person of Abraham
of [K.]artam[=i]n, who insisted on the use of the phrase in opposition
to the recognized authorities of the church. The council of bishops who
met at Ra[k.][k.]a in the summer of 818 to choose a successor to
Cyriacus had great difficulty in finding a worthy occupant of the
patriarchal chair, but finally agreed on the election of Dionysius,
hitherto known only as an honest monk who devoted himself to historical
studies. Sorely against his will he was brought to Ra[k.][k.]a, ordained
deacon and priest on two successive days, and raised to the supreme
ecclesiastical dignity on the 1st of August. From this time he showed
the utmost zeal in fulfilling the duties of his office, and undertook
many journeys both within and without his province. The ecclesiastical
schism continued unhealed during the thirty years of his patriarchate.
The details of this contest, of his relations with the caliph Ma'm[=u]n,
and of his many travels--including a journey to Egypt, on which he
viewed with admiration the great Egyptian monuments,--are to be found in
the _Ecclesiastical Chronicle_ of Barhebraeus.[1] He died in 848, his
last days having been especially embittered by Mahommedan oppression.
We learn from Michael the Syrian that his _Annals_ consisted of two
parts each divided into eight chapters, and covered a period of 260
years, viz. from the accession of the emperor Maurice (582-583) to the
death of Theophilus (842-843).
In addition to the lost _Annals_, Dionysius was from the time of
Assemani until 1896 credited with the authorship of another important
historical work--a _Chronicle_, which in four parts narrates the history
of the world from the creation to the year A.D. 774-775 and is preserved
entire in _Cod. Vat._ 162. The first part (edited by Tullberg, Upsala,
1850) reaches to the epoch of Constantine the Great, and is in the main
an epitome of the Eusebian Chronicle.[2] The second part reaches to
Theodosius II. and follows closely the _Ecclesiastical History_ of
Socrates; while the third, extending to Justin II., reproduces the
second part of the _History_ of John of Asia or Ephesus, and also
contains the well-known chronicle attributed to Joshua the Stylite. The
fourth part[3] is not like the others a compilation, but the original
work of the author, and reaches to the year 774-775--apparently the date
when he was writing. On the publication of this fourth part by M.
Chabot, it was discovered and clearly proved by Noldeke (_Vienna
Oriental Journal_, x. 160-170), and Nau (_Bulletin critique_, xvii.
321-327), who independently reached the same conclusion, that Assemani's
opinion was a mistake, and that the chronicle in question was the work
not of Dionysius of Tell-Ma[h.]r[=e] but of an earlier writer, a monk of
the convent of Zu[k.]n[=i]n near [=A]mid (Diarbekr) on the upper Tigris.
Though the author was a man of limited intelligence and destitute of
historical skill, yet the last part of his work at least has
considerable value as a contemporary account of events during the middle
period of the 8th century. (N. M.)