Reading Aristotle through Hermogenes: Stephanos Skylitzes and the Byzantine Classroom

This paper examines the engagement with Hermogenes by Stephanos Skylitzes, a 12th-century commentator on Aristotle’s Rhetoric and teacher at the Patriarchal School of Constantinople, whose work appears closely tied to his didactic practice. While Stephanos’ interests are particularly directed towards the logical and argumentative dimension of rhetoric—and he never loses sight of Aristotle’s text—he nonetheless frequently cites, or implicitly draws upon, the Hermogenian corpus. What emerges is a nuanced picture in which Hermogenes is invoked both to illuminate difficult Aristotelian passages and, conversely, as a counterpoint to them. Stephanos’ glosses, far from being a systematic exegesis, reveal a pedagogical strategy: Aristotle is explained through Hermogenes, the latter serving as a conceptual point of reference for Stephanos and his audience. This interplay sheds light on the flexibility of Byzantine rhetorical culture and the ways in which rhetorical and logical traditions were integrated within the advanced curriculum of the Komnenian era.