PISIDES, George (Γεώργιος ὁ Πισίδης). - A native of Pisidia, deacon and skeuophylax of Hagia Sophia, he lived under the emperor Heraclius (610-41) and the patriarch Sergius, with whom he was in close relations. He accompanied the Emperor on his expeditions against the Persians and celebrated his deeds in his verses.
His works include: 1) The expedition of Heraclius against the Persians, a poem in which the author narrates the events of the campaign of 622; 2) The siege of Constantinople by the Avars and their defeat; 3) The Heracliad, or the definitive victory of Heraclius over Chosroes; 4) Hexaemeron, or the creation of the world, which is the most extensive work of P. An Armenian translation of it exists, as well as a Slavonic-Russian one of the 14th century; 5) Epigrams and minor poems, of various character, among which the following stand out: Against the impious Severus, a theological writing against the Monophysite doctor; On the Resurrection of Christ, On the vanity of life.
Opinions on P.'s work have varied. Compared to Euripides by the Byzantines (Psellos), he is considered by others a poetaster for his lack of originality. In reality, for the correctness of his form and the clarity and fluency of his language he is the best among the secular poets of the Byzantine era; nevertheless, despite some genuinely personal touches, his work is much marked by the bombastic rhetoric of a period of decadence.
For the Akathist hymn, falsely attributed to him, v. ACATISTO. The other works are in PG 92, 1160-1756, which reproduces the ed. of J. M. Querci (Rome 1777); a series of short poems, overlooked by Querci, were published by L. Sternbach, Georgii Pisidae carmina inedita, in Wiener Studien, 13 (1891), pp. 1-62; 14 (1892), pp. 51-68; other fragments in L. Sternbach, De Georgii Pisidae apud Theophanem aliosque historicos reliquis, in Dissert. philolog. Acad. litter. Cracoviensis, 2nd series, 15 (1910), pp. 1-108.
Bibliography2 works
Pelopidas Stephanou