Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek
sophist
A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
of the
Roman imperial period
The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period begins with the reign of Augustus (), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginning ...
. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probably around 170, and is said by the ''
Suda
The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...
'' to have been living in the reign of emperor
Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab ( la, Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabs"; 204 – September 249) was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip ...
(244–249). His death possibly occurred in
Tyre c. 250 AD.
Name and identity
Some ambiguity surrounds his name. The name ''Flavius'' is given in ''The Lives of the Sophists'' and
Tzetzes
John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century.
He was able to p ...
.
Eunapius
Eunapius ( el, Εὐνάπιος; fl. 4th–5th century AD) was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century AD. His principal surviving work is the ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' ( grc-gre, Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σο ...
and
Synesius
Synesius (; el, Συνέσιος; c. 373 – c. 414), was a Greek bishop of Ptolemais in ancient Libya, a part of the Western Pentapolis of Cyrenaica after 410. He was born of wealthy parents at Balagrae (now Bayda, Libya) near Cyrene between ...
call him a Lemnian;
Photius
Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...
a
Tyrian Tyrian may refer to the following:
* Tyrian, an adjective for Tyre, a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon
* ''Tyrian'' (video game), an arcade-style shooter video game by Epic MegaGames
* Tyrian purple, a colour
* Tyrian, a person who worsh ...
; his letters refer to him as an Athenian.
It is probable that he was born in
Lemnos
Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The p ...
, studied 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 ...
, and then settled in Rome (where he would naturally be called ''Atheniensis'') as a member of the learned circle with which empress
Julia Domna
Julia Domna (; – 217 AD) was Roman empress from 193 to 211 as the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus. She was the first empress of the Severan dynasty. Domna was born in Emesa (present-day Homs) in Roman Syria to an Arab family of priests of ...
surrounded herself.
Works attributed to Philostratus
Historians agree that Philostratus authored at least five works: ''
Life of Apollonius of Tyana
''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' ( grc-gre, Τὰ ἐς τὸν Τυανέα Ἀπολλώνιον), also known by its Latin title , is a text in eight books written in Ancient Greece by Philostratus (c. 170 – c. 245 AD). It tells the story of A ...
'' (Τὰ ἐς τὸν Τυανέα Ἀπολλώνιον; la, Vita Apollonii), ''Lives of the Sophists'' (Βίοι Σοφιστῶν), ''
Gymnasticus'' (Γυμναστικός), ''
Heroicus'' (Ἡρωικός) and ''
Epistolae'' (Ἐπιστολαί). Another work, ''
Imagines'' (Εἰκόνες), is usually assigned to his son-in-law
Philostratus of Lemnos
Philostratus of Lemnos ( grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ὁ Λήμνιος; c. 190 – c. 230 AD), also known as Philostratus the Elder to distinguish him from Philostratus the Younger who was also from Lemnos, was a Greek sophist of the Roman imp ...
.
''Heroicus'' (''On Heroes'', 213–214 AD) is in the form of a dialogue between a Phoenician traveler and a vine-tender or groundskeeper (ἀμπελουργός ''ampelourgos''), regarding
Protesilaus
In Greek mythology, Protesilaus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεσίλᾱος ''Prōtesilāos'') was a hero in the ''Iliad'' who was venerated at cult sites in Thessaly and Thrace. Protesilaus was the son of Iphiclus, a "lord of many sheep"; as gran ...
(or "Protosilaos"), the first
Achaean warrior to be killed at the siege of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
, as described in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
.'' The dialogue extends into a discussion and critique of
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's presentation of heroes and gods, based on the greater authority of the dead Protosileus, who lives after death and communicates with the ''ampelourgos''. Heroicus includes Achilles' "Ode to Echo".
[Sophia Papaioannou, ''Redesigning Achilles: 'Recycling' the Epic Cycle in the 'Little Iliad' (]Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
12.1-13.622).'' Berlin/New York. Paul, George M. (1982)'' - 2007 Page 153 "Nagy's article comments on an interesting but little known literary reception of Achilles, namely his representation as a lyric poet and lyre-player, singing a song to Echo (a code name for the Muse) in the company of Helen of Troy. ... and the two heroes, now souls distanced from their epic lives/roles, have become bards who sing of their own deeds. Cf. Maclean and Aitken above for a translation of the ''Heroicus'', including Achilles' 'Ode to Echo'."
''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'', written between 217 and 238 AD, tells the story of
Apollonius of Tyana
Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of ''L ...
(c. 40 – c. 120 AD), a
Pythagorean
Pythagorean, meaning of or pertaining to the ancient Ionian mathematician, philosopher, and music theorist Pythagoras, may refer to:
Philosophy
* Pythagoreanism, the esoteric and metaphysical beliefs purported to have been held by Pythagoras
* Ne ...
philosopher and teacher. Philostratus wrote the book for
Julia Domna
Julia Domna (; – 217 AD) was Roman empress from 193 to 211 as the wife of Emperor Septimius Severus. She was the first empress of the Severan dynasty. Domna was born in Emesa (present-day Homs) in Roman Syria to an Arab family of priests of ...
, wife of
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
and mother of
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
. The book was completed after her death.
''Lives of the Sophists'', written between 231 and 237 AD, is a semi-biographical history of the Greek sophists. The book is dedicated to a consul Antonius Gordianus, perhaps one of the two
Gordians who were killed in 238. The work is divided into two parts: the first dealing with the ancient Sophists, e.g.
Gorgias
Gorgias (; grc-gre, Γοργίας; 483–375 BC) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Along with Protagoras, he forms the first generation of Sophists. Several doxogr ...
, the second with the later school, e.g.
Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned ...
. The ''Lives'' are not in the true sense biographical, but rather picturesque impressions of leading representatives of an attitude of mind full of curiosity, alert and versatile, but lacking scientific method, preferring the external excellence of style and manner to the solid achievements of serious writing. The
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, as he says, investigates truth; the sophist embellishes it, and takes it for granted.
''Gymnasticus'', written after 220 AD, contains accounts concerning the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and athletic contests in general.
''Epistolae'', or ''Love Letters'', breathe the spirit of the New Comedy and the Alexandrine
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
s; portions of Letter 33 are almost literally translated in
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's ''Song to Celia'', "
Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes
"Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes" is a popular old song, the lyrics of which are the poem "To Celia" by the English playwright Ben Jonson, first published in 1616.
Lyrics
After this song had been popular for almost two centuries, scholars bega ...
." The letters are mainly of an erotic character. Their publication date is unknown.
Internal evidence confirms that the authors of ''Life of Apollonius'' and ''Lives of the Sophists'' are one and the same. The ''Lives of the Sophists'' was to have an enormous impact upon later writers, particularly Neoplatonists.
Translations
*Alciphron, Aelian, and Philostratus, ''The Letters''. Translated by A. R. Benner, F. H. Fobes. 1949. Loeb Classical Library.
*Philostratus, ''Lives of the Sophists''. Eunapius, ''Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists''. Translated by Wilmer C. Wright. 1921. Loeb Classical Library.
*Philostratus, ''Apollonius of Tyana''. 3 volumes. Translated by Christopher P. Jones. 2005–6. Loeb Classical Library. , , and
*Philostratus, ''Heroicus; Gymnasticus; Discourses 1 and 2''. Edited and translated by Jeffrey Rusten and Jason König. Loeb Classical Library. (Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 2014).
*Philostratos, ''Leben der Sophisten''. Greek and German by
Kai Brodersen
Kai Brodersen (born 6 June 1958) is a contemporary ancient historian and classicist on the faculty of the University of Erfurt. He has edited, and translated, both ancient works and modern classical studies. His research focuses on "Applied Scie ...
. Wiesbaden: Marix 2014,
*Philostratos, ''Sport in der Antike (Peri Gymnastikes)''. Greek and German by
Kai Brodersen
Kai Brodersen (born 6 June 1958) is a contemporary ancient historian and classicist on the faculty of the University of Erfurt. He has edited, and translated, both ancient works and modern classical studies. His research focuses on "Applied Scie ...
. Wiesbaden: Marix, 2015, .
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* Aitken, Ellen Bradshaw, and Jennifer Kay Berenson MacLean, eds. 2004. ''Philostratus’s “Heroikos”: Religion and Cultural Identity in the Third Century C.E.'' Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.
* Bowie, Ewen L., and Jaś Elsner, eds. 2009. ''Philostratus.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* Bryson, Norman. 1994. "Philostratus and the Imaginary Museum." In ''Art and Text in Ancient Greek Culture.'' Edited by Simon Goldhill and Robin Osborne, 255–283. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* Elsner, Jaś. 2009. "Beyond Compare: Pagan Saint and Christian God in Late Antiquity." ''Critical Inquiry'' 35:655–683.
* Eshleman, Kendra Joy. 2008. "Defining the Circle of Sophists: Philostratus and the Construction of the Second Sophistic." ''Classical Philology'' 103:395–413.
* Demoen, K., and Danny Praet, eds. 2009. ''Theios Sophistes: Essays on Flavius Philostratus’ “Vita Apollonii.”'' Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
* Kemezis, Adam M. 2014. ''Greek Narratives of the Roman Empire under the Severans: Cassius Dio, Philostratus and Herodian.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
* König, Jason. 2014. "Images of Elite Communities in Philostratus: Re-Reading the Preface to the “Lives of the Sophists.”" In ''Roman Rule in Greek and Latin Writing: Double Vision.'' Edited by Jesper Majbom Madsen and Roger Rees, 246–270. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
* Potter, David. 2011. ''The Victor’s Crown: A History of Ancient Sport from Homer to Byzantium.'' Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
* Walker, Andrew. 1992. "Eros and the Eye in the Love-Letters of Philostratus." ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society'' 38:132–148.
External links
LiviusUpdates the subsequent article with some ninety years of more recent research.
Online Text: Philostratus, ''On Heroes''(''Heroicus'') translated by Ellen Bradshaw Aitken and Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean.
Online Text: Philostratus, ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana''translated by
F. C. Conybeare
Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, (14 September 1856 – 9 January 1924) was a British Oriental studies, orientalist, Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford.
Biography
Conybeare was born in Co ...
Flavius Philostratusentry in historical sourcebook wit
of excerpts from the ''Life of Apollonius'' by Mahlon H. Smith
*
*
*''Flavii Philostrati opera'', C. L. Kayser (edit.), 2 voll., Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1870-71:
** Life of Apollonius
vol. 1 pp. 1-344
**Lives of the sophists
vol. 2 pp. 1-127
**Heroicus
vol. 2 pp. 128-219
**Epistolae
vol. 2 pp. 225-260
**Gymnasticus
vol. 2 pp. 261-293
*''Philostratorum et Callistrati opera, Eunapii vitae sophistarum, Himerii sophistae declamationes'', A. Westermann, Jo. Fr. Boissoade, Fr. Dübner (ed.), Parisiis, editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot, 1849
pp. 1-194(Life of Apollonius)
pp. 195-265(Lives of the Sophists)
pp. 267-319(Heroicus)
pp. 320-338(Epistolae).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philostratus
Roman-era Sophists
Roman-era philosophers in Athens
Roman-era Athenian rhetoricians
Flavii
2nd-century Romans
3rd-century Romans
2nd-century Athenians
3rd-century Greek people
People from Lemnos
170s births
250s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain