Apsines of Gadara ( grc-gre, Ἀψίνης ὁ Γαδαρεύς; fl. 3rd century AD) 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 ...

rhetorician. He was a native of the

Hellenised Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in the H ...

city of

Gadara Gadara ( el, Γάδαρα ''Gádara''), in some texts Gedaris, was an ancient Hellenistic city, for a long time member of the Decapolis city league, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. Its ruins are today located at Umm ...

,Blank, David
"Philodemus"
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), accessed 3 June 2020. whose ruins stand today at the border of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

with Syria and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Apsines went on to study at

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

and taught at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, gaining such a reputation that he was raised to the

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

ship by the emperor Maximinus. He was a rival of

Fronto of Emesa Fronto of Emesa was a famous Greek rhetorician and uncle of Cassius Longinus. Fronto taught rhetoric in Athens. He was born in Emesa ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , populatio ...

, and a friend of

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probab ...

, the author of the ''Lives of the Sophists'', who praises his wonderful memory and accuracy. Two rhetorical treatises by him are extant: # His Τέχνη ῥητορική ("Art of Rhetoric") is a greatly interpolated handbook of rhetoric, a considerable portion being taken from the ''Rhetoric'' of

Longinus Longinus () is the name given to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance and who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apocryphal G ...

and other material from

Hermogenes Hermogenes is a Greek name (), meaning "born of Hermes". It may refer to: * Hermogenes (potter) (fl. c. 550 BC), Attic Greek potter * Hermogenes (philosopher) (fl. c. 400 BC), Greek * Hermogenes of Priene (fl. c. 200 BC), Greek architect * Hermog ...

; an English translation was first published in 1997. Malcolm Heath has argued (''APJ'' 1998) that the work's attribution to Apsines is incorrect. # A smaller work, Περὶ ἐσχηματισμένων προβλημάτων ("on Propositions maintained figuratively").

Editions

Jan Bake Jan Bake (1 September 1787 – 26 March 1864) was a Dutch philologist and critic. He was born in Leiden, and from 1817 to 1854 he was professor of Greek and Roman literature at the university. His principal works are:- *''Posidonii Rhodii Re ...

(1849) * Spengel-Hammer, ''Rhetores Graeci'' (1894) * Mervin R. Dilts and George A. Kennedy, eds., ''Two Greek Rhetorical Treatises from the Roman Empire'' (Brill, 1997)

References

* Hammer, ''De Apsine Rhetore'' (1876) * Volkmann, ''Letorile der Griechen und Romer'' (1885)

External links

Bryn Mawr Classical Review page on Dilts/Kennedy
3rd-century Greek people 3rd-century Romans Ancient Greek rhetoricians Ancient Greek educators 3rd-century writers Roman-era Athenian rhetoricians Ancient Smyrna Imperial Roman consuls Ancient Greeks in Rome Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{MEast-writer-stub