Malamih Yunaniyya fi al-Adab al-Arabi
- Author died
- 1424 AH
- Editions
- Arab Institute for Research and Publishing
Malamih Yunaniyya fi al-Adab al-Arabi (Greek Features in Arabic Literature) is a comparative literary study by Ihsan Abbas (1920–2003 CE / d. 1424 AH) exploring the presence, reception, and transformation of ancient Greek literature, philosophy, and mythology within classical Arabic prose and poetry .
Background and Composition
The nucleus of the work originated as an English lecture delivered by Ihsan Abbas at Harvard University on 25 March 1976 . The research was expanded while Abbas was on research leave from the American University of Beirut (1975–1976) and during his stay at Princeton University (1976–1977), where he made extensive use of Princeton's library and completed the manuscript on 20 January 1977 . In the acknowledgments, Abbas credited scholar Rudolf Mach for facilitating access to manuscripts and Dr. Wadad al-Qadi for checking the draft and assisting with German source materials . He also dedicated the volume to Rudolf Mach .
Scope and Core Themes
The study sets out to answer two primary questions: what Greek literature the Arabs translated, and how classical Arabic writers adapted Hellenic culture, philosophy, and science into Arabic literary forms without compromising the authenticity of Arabic literature .
Abbas establishes that Arabic translation of Greek writings did not begin with the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun, but rather during the late Umayyad period (between 105 and 132 AH), as reflected in the epistolary prose of Abd al-Hamid al-Katib . He traces a continuous intellectual rivalry between the partisans of Persian culture—who dominated administrative and political literature through figures like Ibn al-Muqaffa'—and proponents of Greek culture such as Salim al-Katib and later Ibn al-Daya, who sought to translate Greek political treatises and moral maxims to counterbalance Persian influence .
The book investigates four parallel tracks across Arabic literature:
- Translated Greek Poetry: It examines both incidental translations—such as citations found in translations of Aristotle's Poetics and Rhetoric, or in al-Biruni's Tahqiq ma li-l-Hind and al-Athar al-Baqiya—and deliberate translations of Greek verse . These include the iambic "Menandrian" verses translated by Istifan ibn Basil (found in Muntakhab Siwan al-Hikma), as well as Greek bacchic verse excerpts recorded in al-Raqiq al-Qayrawani's Qutb al-Surur .
- Conversion of Prose Wisdom into Verse: It surveys how Greek moral aphorisms, maxims, and florilegia (gnomologia)—initially collected in works like Hunayn ibn Ishaq's Nawadir al-Falasifa and cited by literary authors such as al-Jahiz, Ibn Qutayba, Ibn Durayd, and Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi—were versified and integrated into Arabic poetic imagery .
- Literary Adaptation of Political Thought: It traces the casting of Greek administrative and political treatises, including pseudepigraphal epistles attributed to Aristotle, into Arabic literary modes .
- Proverbs, Fables, and Mythology: It explores thematic convergences between Arabic prose genres—such as epistles (rasa'il) and maqamat—and Greek myths, proverbs, and legendary lore .
Publication
The first edition of the book was published in Beirut in 1977 by al-Mu'assasa al-Arabiyya li-l-Dirasat wa-l-Nashr .
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