John Stobaeus’ work from the fifth century AD covers more than two and a half thousand pages. The author recalls and quotes about half a thousand ancient authors and their works, composing the excerpts in a way that builds a coherent picture of ancient literature, customs and philosophical views. The excerpts cover all areas of ancient literature: from epic, lyrical and tragic poets, known and unknown, orators, historians and philosophers, and physicians. Stobaeus’ anthology is an priceless source of knowledge about ancient literature, with many authors and many quotations preserved only due to this work. It also serves as the original author’s textbook on ancient philosophy and literature, constructed on the basis of excerpts from literature. The work is also didactic in nature and belongs to the history of Greek paideia. 

Despite its fundamental importance, the work of John Stobaeus has so far been translated in its entirety only into New Greek and does not exist in either the collective imagination or scholarship as a unified work - it is still only a source of important excerpts. 

The present commented translation is a pilot edition and the first outcome of the team leading the translation of the entire work. The selection of chapters is random and subjective, but allows for a thematically closed reading of the entire chapters.