He was born on the Greek island of
Crete (then a Venetian colony known as the
Kingdom of Candia), and derived his surname
Trapezuntius (Τραπεζούντιος) from the fact that his ancestors were from the
Byzantine Greek
Trapezuntine Empire. When he went to
Italy is not certain; according to some accounts he was summoned to
Venice about 1430 to act as
amanuensis to
Francesco Barbaro, who appears to have already made his acquaintance; according to others he did not visit
Italy until the time of the
Council of Florence (1438–1439). He learned
Latin from
Vittorino da Feltre, and made such rapid progress that in three years he was able to teach
Latin literature and
rhetoric. and the manifestly hurried and inaccurate character of his translations of Plato, Aristotle and other classical authors, combined to ruin his fame as a scholar, and to endanger his position as a teacher of
philosophy. (Pope
Pius II was among the critics of George's translations.) The indignation against George on account of his first-named work was so great that he would probably have been compelled to leave Italy had not
Alfonso V of Aragon given him protection at the court of Naples. ==Works==