Alexandra ( el, Άλεξάνδρα, flourished 4th century) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

noblewoman. Little is known on the origins and life of Alexandra. Alexandra was from the city of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and her brother was a certain Calliopius a

rhetor Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...

who served as a ''

grammaticus Grammaticus is the Latin word for grammarian; see Grammarian (Greco-Roman world). It is also used to refer to a Roman patrician school. As an agnomen, it may refer to: * Ammonius Grammaticus (4th century), Greek grammarian * Diomedes Grammaticus ( ...

'' and assistant-teacher under

Libanius Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...

, and later, ca. 388, served as a ''magister epistolarum'' in the imperial court. Alexandra married a wealthy rhetor called Seleucus. Alexandra bore Seleucus two known children: * Daughter

Olympias Olympias ( grc-gre, Ὀλυμπιάς; c. 375–316 BC) was a Greek princess of the Molossians, and the eldest daughter of king Neoptolemus I of Epirus, the sister of Alexander I of Epirus, the fourth wife of Philip II, the king of Macedonia a ...

, born in 361, who later became a great Christian saint. It is possible, however, that Olympias was the daughter of an otherwise unknown man named Seleucus. * Either a son or daughter, who was a parent of

and Seleucus Alexandra is known as one of the correspondents from the surviving letters of

as her husband was an intimate friend of Libanius, Julian and Calliopius. She was a cultivated woman, in which Libanius highly praised and admired her. In 361 Alexandra remained in Antioch, while her husband was in

Euphratensis Euphratensis (Latin for " Euphratean"; grc-gre, Εὑφρατησία, ''Euphratēsía''), fully Augusta Euphratensis, was a late Roman and then Byzantine province in Syrian region, part of the Byzantine Diocese of the East. History Sometime be ...

, on imperial business on behalf of

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...

and later

Julian the Apostate Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...

. In 362, Alexandra accompanied Seleucus to

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

where Julian sent Seleucus there, as the emperor made him either high-priest or perhaps Roman governor in that province. Libanius thanked Alexandra for slaves she sent to him as a gift, but bemoans the fact that they arrived without an accompanying letter.''Selected Letter of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian'', p.194 After this moment, no more is known of her.

References

{{reflist

Sources

* A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale & J. Morris, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume 1, AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press, 1971 * E.A. Wallis Budge, Paradise of the Holy Fathers Part 1, Kessinger Publishing, 2003 * P. Moret & B. Cabouret, Sertorius, Libanios, iconographie: a propos de Sertorius, journée d'étude, Toulouse, 7 avril 2000 uivi deautour de Libanios, culture et société dans l'antiquité tardive : actes de la table ronde, Avignon, 27 avril 2000, Presses Univ. du Mirail, 2003 * Selected Letters of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, Liverpool University Press, 2004 4th-century Roman women 4th-century Greek women Anatolian Greeks Antiochian Greeks Correspondents of Libanius