THE EMERGENCE, GENESIS, AND THEMATIC SCOPE OF ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN ENCYCLOPAEDIC LEXICOGRAPHIC TRADITION

The paper examines the processes of formation and evolution of the ancient Greek and Roman encyclopaedic lexicographic tradition, identifying its origins, cultural and historical background and thematic diversity. An attempt is made to identify the prerequisites that led to the emergence of the encyclopaedic genre, focusing on the specifics of the ancient epistemological paradigm, which was based on the desire to universalise and systematise knowledge. The key stages of the development of lexicographic culture are analysed, starting from the first attempts to record and classify knowledge and ending with the complex encyclopaedic collections of the late Roman Empire. The author reveals the compositional strategies of Greco-Roman encyclopaedias at the level of mega-, macro-, and microstructure, the principles of information selection and its thematic distribution. The contribution of significant authors such as Aristotle, Varro and Pliny the Elder to the development and systematisation of the encyclopaedic approach is considered, as well as their influence on the further development of this tradition. In addition, the paper outlines the main thematic dominants of ancient encyclopaedias. The role of cultural continuity between the Greek and Roman traditions is clarified, as well as their influence on the formation of the intellectual heritage of the Middle Ages. The author notes the fundamental importance of ancient encyclopaedic lexicography as a phenomenon that contributed not only to the preservation but also to the transformation of knowledge, which determined the further vectors of Western civilisation.