Gazes (or Gaza), Theodore (c. 1400–1475)

Greek scholar and teacher. A leading figure in the development of Renaissance Greek studies, he wrote a Greek grammar, printed in Venice in 1495, that long remained a standard textbook. He also translated many Greek authors into Latin, including Aristotle, Theophrastus, and John Chrysostom.

Born at Thessalonica, he came to Italy in 1430 and lived at Mantua, supporting himself by giving Greek lessons and copying manuscripts while learning Latin from Vittorino da Feltre. He was made professor of Greek at Ferrara in 1447 but in 1450 went to Rome at the invitation of Pope Nicholas V. In 1456 he moved to Naples and in 1459 to Calabria, where he died.