Simeon Seth

Simeon Seth(i) or Symeon Seth(i) Συμεών Μάγιστρος Αντιοχείας του Σήθι 'ٍSymeōn Magister of Antioch, son of Sēth' (sometimes "Simeo"; sometimes "Sethus") was an 11th-century Jewish Byzantine doctor, scholar, and grand Chamberlain (protovestiarius) under Emperor Michael VII Doukas, originally from Antioch. He was a contemporary of Michael Psellos.

He wrote Syntagma de alimentorum facultatibus or De cibarium facultate, On the Properties of Foods, which criticizes Galen and emphasizes eastern medical traditions: "Simeon Seth was the great Orientalist of Byzantine medicine... [he] selected the best, not only from the Greek materia medica but also from Persian, Arabic, and Indian sources". The Syntagma is an important source for Byzantine cuisine and dietetics.

Simeon's work Conspectus rerum naturalium, "On natural things," is a treatise on the natural sciences. It is divided into five books. The first concerns the earth; the second, the elements; the third, the sky and the stars; the fourth, matter, form, nature, and the soul (sense perception); the fifth, the final cause and divine providence. The work is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Aristotle.

He also learned astronomy from Arabic sources.

He translated the book of fables Kalilag and Damnag from Arabic to Greek in about 1080. The protagonists in the Greek version are named "Stephanites" and "Ichnelates."

Other
"Simeon Seth'Na" is also the name of a certain thoroughbred Arabian horse.