Georgian

Abstract

The chapter explores the origin and history of Georgian translations from Greek since the beginnings of Georgian literacy in the fifth century to the period of the Mongol invasion and the general decline of literary production in Georgian. In the chapter, the history of the Georgian translations is conventionally divided into three chronological and stylistic periods: pre-Athonite, i.e., the period from the fifth to the tenth centuries, when Georgian monastic communities flourished in Palestine, on Sinai, and in Georgia proper, particularly in the T‘ao, K‘larǯeti and the Šavšeti regions; the Athonite period in the tenth and eleventh centuries, which refers mostly to the translations done by Euthymios and Georgios Hagiorites in the Iveron Monastery; and the Hellenophile period from the eleventh through the thirteenth century, represented by Ephrem Mcire and Arseni of Iqalt‘o. The chapter provides an overview of the literary production translated or re-translated from the Greek in these periods, together with a brief analysis of genres, styles, and the philosophy behind some of the most important works.