Eunapius ( el, Εὐνάπιος; fl. 4th–5th 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 ...

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 ' ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

of the 4th century AD. His principal surviving work is the ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' ( grc-gre, Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σοφιστῶν; la, Vitae sophistarum), a collection of the biographies of 23 philosophers and sophists.

Life

He was born at

Sardis Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

, AD 347. In his native city he studied under his relative, the

Chrysanthius, and while still a youth went to

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 ...

, where he became a favourite pupil of Prohaeresius the rhetorician. He possessed considerable knowledge of medicine. In his later years he seems to have lived at

, teaching rhetoric. He was initiated into the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...

by the last

Hierophant A hierophant ( grc, ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed ''holy''. As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles. The word comes from a ...

Nestorius Nestorius (; in grc, Νεστόριος; 386 – 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to August 431. A Christian theologian, several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as contr ...

.Eunapius, ''Vit. Soph.'' 7.3.1; K. Clinton, ''Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries'' (1974) p. 42ff. There is evidence that he was still living in the reign of the younger Theodosius.

Writing

Eunapius was the author of two works, one entitled ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'', and ''Universal History'' consisting of a continuation of the history of

Dexippus Publius Herennius Dexippus ( el, Δέξιππος; c. 210–273 AD), Greeks, Greek historian, statesman and general, was an hereditary priest of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Eleusinian family of the Kerykes, and held the offices of ''archon basileus ...

. The former work is still extant; of the latter only the

Constantinian excerpts The ''Constantinian Excerpts'' was a 53-volume Greek anthology of excerpts from at least 25 historians. It was commissioned by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII (945–959), but probably not completed until after his death. Today only two volu ...

remain, but the facts are largely incorporated in the work of Zosimus. It embraced the history of events from AD 270–404. The ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'', a collection of the

biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

of 23 older and contemporary philosophers and sophists, is valuable as the only source for the history of the

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some i ...

of that period. The style of both works is marked by a spirit of bitter hostility to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Photius had before him a "new edition" of the history in which the passages most offensive to Christians were omitted. The ''Lives of Philosophers and Sophists'' consists of the biographies of the following philosophers and sophists:

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher wa ...

, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Alypius, Sosipatra, Aedesius the Cappadocian, Sopater, Ablabius, Eustathius,

Maximus Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to: * Circus Maximus (disambiguation) * Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome People Roman h ...

Priscus Priscus of Panium (; el, Πρίσκος; 410s AD/420s AD-after 472 AD) was a 5th-century Eastern Roman diplomat and Greek historian and rhetorician (or sophist)...: "For information about Attila, his court and the organization of life general ...

, Julian of Cappadocia, Prohaeresius, Epiphanius,

Diophantus the Arab Diophantus the Arab ( grc, ∆ιόφαντος ὁ Ἀράβιος) was an Arab teacher and sophist at Athens during the 4th century AD. His most famous student was Libanius (336–340). He was active during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361– ...

, Sopolis, Himerius, Parnacius,

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 ...

, Acacius, Nymphidianus, Zeno of Cyprus, Magnus,

Oribasius Oribasius or Oreibasius ( el, Ὀρειβάσιος; c. 320 – 403) was a Greek medical writer and the personal physician of the Roman emperor Julian. He studied at Alexandria under physician Zeno of Cyprus before joining Julian's retinue. He ...

, Ionicus and Chrysanthius.

Editions and translations

*Edition of the ''Lives'' by JF Boissonade (1822), with notes by D Wyttenbach *History fragments in Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller, ''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum'', iv. * V. Cousin, ''Fragments philosophiques'' (1865), translation: W. C. Wright in the Loeb Classical Library edition 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 ...

's ''Lives of the Sophists'' (1921).
Philostratus, ''Lives of the Sophists''. Eunapius, ''Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists''
Translated by Wilmer C. Wright. 1921. Loeb Classical Library.

References

Bibliography

External links

(Greek text with preceding Latin translation)

and ttp://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eunapius_01_intro.htm Introduction by Wilmer Cave Wright (translator)from th
Tertullian Project

* ttp://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Eunapius%20Sardianus_PG%20113/Vitae%20sophistarum.pdf Βίοι Φιλοσόφων καὶ Σοφιστῶν(original text in Greek) * ''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. 453-505
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