Armenian

Abstract

Evidence for the use of Greek by Armenians dates from the Hellenistic period, when Greek and Aramaic were court languages. The first written translations from Greek into Armenian were made much later, from the fifth century ce onward, when an alphabet for the Armenian language was devised (c. 405), following the adoption of Christianity in probably c. 314. The Bible and patristic texts were translated from Syriac and Greek, followed by liturgical and philosophical texts, as well as ecclesiastical documents, such as council canons and correspondence with church dignitaries. Education in the Eastern Mediterranean schools provided a matrix for the inculturation of religious and secular texts written in Greek. Some of the texts preserved in Armenian reflect either a more ancient redaction than the oldest preserved Greek manuscripts, or represent witnesses to texts no longer extant in Greek. Attention is given in this sub-chapter to translation techniques and their potential correlation to Antiochene and Alexandrian exegesis, as well as Christological disputes. In assessing the justification for the often-used term “Hellenizing School”, it is emphasized that the heightened or lesser levels of Grecisms deployed in translations and original works varied over time and location. The sub-chapter discusses further types of texts translated from Greek, such as pseudepigrapha, apocrypha, texts related to the trivium and quadrivium, and legal texts. It pays attention also to translation through intermediary languages such as Syriac and Georgian, and to Armenian texts into Greek. Suggestions for further reading and a bibliography complete the sub-chapter.