Ariston of

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

(; ; c. 100 – c. 160), was an apologist and chronicler, who is known only from a mention by Eusebius that "as Aristo relates" in connection with accounts of

emperor Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

and Simon bar Kokhba. Aristo is Eusebius's source for Hadrian's permanent banishment of Jews from Jerusalem (4.6.3), renamed to Aelia Capitolina. Eusebius supplies no biographical data, although some later readers have assumed that like many of Eusebius' sources he was possibly a Greek-speaking Christian. A secondary mention by the Armenian chronicler Moses of Chorene is probably based on Eusebius, but expanded with the comments that he was secretary of "Ardasches", which were read, or misread, to suggest that Aristo was secretary of Mark, first Gentile bishop of Jerusalem. A mention in the Chronicon Paschale reproduces Eusebius. His name was later connected by Maximus the Confessor (7th century) to the Dialogue of Jason and Papiscus (c.140), although earlier generations evidently did not know the author of that text. This text was also cited by

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

, leading to confusion in older sources that Jerome mentioned Aristo by name - which he did not. Since the Dialogue was known to

Celsus Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

and a later Latin translator, while none of them names the author, the testimony of Maximus - who also mentioned that it was attributed by others to Luke the Evangelist, is not considered reliable. Fergus Millar, Emil Schürer, Geza Vermes, ''The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ'' 1973 p38 "Since the Dialogue was known to Celsus, Origen, Jerome and the Latin translator as being anonymous (for none of them names the author), it is very questionable whether the testimony of Maximus Confessor describing Ariston as the author deserves any credit"

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aristo of Pella 2nd-century writers Christian writers Christian apologists 2nd-century Christians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Year of birth uncertain