Introduction (with an Appendix on Photius’ Bibliotheca cod. 158)

Phrynichus’ Praeparatio sophistica (henceforth PS) is one of those works of ancient scholarly literature that we wish we could read in its original, complete form. It was Phrynichus’ magnum opus, and the high status of this work was still acknowledged in Byzantine intellectual circles. This volume aims to shed new light on the PS and its history, focusing on three areas of interest: firstly, the context of its production; secondly, its transmission from antiquity, through Late Antiquity, to the Byzantine era; and finally, its stylistic and linguistic theorisation and the interpretative framework behind its compilation.