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Little is known of the compilation of this work, except that it must have been before Eustathius ( 12th- 13th century), who frequently quotes it. Under the heading "Adam" the author of the lexicon (which a prefatory note states to be "by Suidas") gives a brief chronology of the world, ending with the death of the emperor John Zimisces ( 975), and under Constantinople his successors Basil II and Constantine VIII are mentioned.

It would thus appear that the Suda was compiled in the latter part of the 10th century. The passages in which Michael Psellus (end of the 11th century) is referred to are considered later interpolations. The lexicon is arranged alphabetically with some slight deviations, letters and combinations of letters having the same sound being placed together. It thus partakes of the nature of both a dictionaryFor other uses of "dictionary", see dictionary (disambiguation). A dictionary is a list of words with their definitions, a list of characters with their glyphs, or a list of words with corresponding words in other languages. Many dictionaries also provide and an encyclopaedia.

It includes numerous quotations from ancient writers; the scholiast s on AristophanesAristophanes (c. 448 BC 380 BC) was a Greek comic poet. The place and even the exact date of his birth are unknown, but he was probably educated in Athens. He is famous for writing comedies such as The Birds for the two Athenian festivals: the Dionysia an, HomerFor other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). Homer ( Greek Ὅμηρος Hómēros was a legendary (or perhaps mythical) early Greek poet traditionally credited with authorship of the major Greek epics Iliad a, SophoclesSophocles ( 4961— 406 BC; Greek: Sigma;οφοκλη&sigmaf was an ancient Greek playwright, dramatist, priest, and politician of Athens. He is known as the second of the three great Greek tragedians; Sophocles was 30 years y and ThucydidesThucydides (between 460 and 455 BC 395 BC) was an ancient Greek historian. Thucydides was a wealthy Athenian noble and the son of Olorus the King of Thrace. His wealth came from his family's goldmines at Scapte Hyle on the Thracian coast. Thucydides was c are also much used. The biographical notices, the author tells us, are condensed from the Onomatologion or Pinax of Hesychius of MiletusHesychius of Miletus Greek chronicler and biographer, surnamed Illustrius son of an advocate, flourished at Constantinople in the 5th century AD during the reign of Justinian. According to Photius (cod. 69) he was the author of three important works: #A C; other sources were the excerpts of Constantine PorphyrogenitusConstantine VII Porphyrogenitos ("the Purple-born") ( 905 November 9, 959) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and nephew of Alexander III. He earned his nickname as the legitimate (or more accurately legitimized) son of Leo, as opposed to the others, the chronicle of Georgius Monachus , the biographies of Diogenes LaërtiusDiogenes Laertius the biographer of the Greek philosophers, is supposed by some to have received his surname from the town of Laerte in Cilicia, and by others from the Roman family of the Laertii. Of the circumstances of his life we know nothing. He must and the works of Athenaeus and Philostratus.

The work deals with biblical as well as pagan subjects, from which it is inferred that the writer was a Christian. A prefatory note gives a list of dictionaries from which the lexical portion was compiled, together with the names of their authors. Although the work is uncritical and probably much interpolated, and the value of the articles is very unequal, it contains much information on ancient history and life.

The Suda was critically edited by the Danish scholar Ada Adler (Leipzig, 1928- 1938). An on-line edition of the Adler edition with translations and commentary is available.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica