Prohaeresius (, ''Prohairesios''; c. 276 – c. 368) was a fourth-century

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Christian teacher and

rhetorician Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse (trivium) along with grammar and logic/dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or write ...

originally from

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

who taught in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He was one of the leading

sophists A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...

of the era along with

Diophantus the Arab Diophantus the Arab () 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 (361–363).John R. Martindale, A. H. M. Jones and ...

and

Epiphanius of Syria Epiphanius of Petra (), also called Epiphanius of Syria, was an Arab sophist and rhetorician at Athens in the first half of the fourth century AD. He is described as coming from Petra in Arabia Petraea, Arabia by the ''Suda'', a ninth-century Byzan ...

Early life

Prior to moving to Athens, Prohaeresius studied under the rhetor Ulpianus of Ascalon in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

. In Prohaeresius' student days, he was so poor that he and his friend Hephaestion, having only one decent garment between them, wore it on alternate days. He also studied under Julianus of Cappadocia, who taught a large number of students. Among Prohaeresius' disciples was also Eunapius. One time the students of Prohaeresius got into a fight with the students of the Spartan Apsines. The matter was taken to Julianus, then an old man who pleaded to Prohaeresius to settle the matter peacefully. No

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

s written by Prohaeresius survive today, but his influence as a teacher is described by famous

sophist A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...

s and rhetoricians of the second half of the fourth century such as

Himerius Himerius (; c. 315 – c. 386) was a Greek sophist and rhetorician. 24 of his orations have reached us complete, and fragments of 12 others survive. Life and works Himerius was born at Prusias ad Hypium in Bithynia. He completed his e ...

and

Libanius Libanius (; ) 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 critical source of history of the Greek ...

. Many Armenians had travelled to Athens to study under Prohaeresius whom Sozomenos called the most celebrated sophist of his age.

Rome

Attracted by the fame of this genius of erudition, the emperor

Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), also called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was made ''a ...

invited him to his palace in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

and entertained him magnificently, though the guest was very simple and ascetic in habits. He was then sent by the emperor to Rome, where he became an object of popular veneration, culminating in the erection of his statue, which bore the inscription , i.e., "(from) Rome, the queen of cities, to the king of eloquence". Prohaeresius also received an honorary

praetorian prefecture The praetorian prefecture (; in Ancient Greek, Greek variously named ) was the largest administrative division of the Late Antiquity, late Roman Empire, above the mid-level Roman diocese, dioceses and the low-level Roman province, provinces. Praeto ...

from the emperor. Some of his other notable students were

Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus (; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was an early Roman Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbi ...

and

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

. The historian Eunapius was Prohaeresius' favorite student and biographer. Eunapius reported that when the emperor

Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...

banned Christians from holding chairs of education in 362, Prohaeresius was among them. Prohaeresius was given a special dispensation. Julian the Apostate, a scholarly man who was made emperor against his desire in 361, greatly admired Prohaeresius, and in a letter spoke of his "exuberant and overflowing stream of speech...mighty in discourse, just like

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

". In the hope of winning Prohaeresius to

Theurgy Theurgy (; from the Greek θεουργία ), also known as divine magic, is one of two major branches of the magical arts, Pierre A. Riffard, ''Dictionnaire de l'ésotérisme'', Paris: Payot, 1983, 340. the other being practical magic or thau ...

, Julian maintained him in a professorial chair, dismissing all others; but Prohaeresius remained loyal to his faith, and voluntarily resigned his lucrative post. Otherwise, Eunapius described Prohaeresius in pagan terms by comparing him to famous

Greek myth Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancien ...

ological figures (

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( ; , genitive ), also Geryone (, or ), son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, the grandson of Medusa and the nephew of Pegasus, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far ...

and

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

) and Athenian ruler

Peisistratus Pisistratus (also spelled Peisistratus or Peisistratos; ; – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

. Overall Eunapius presented his teacher Prohaeresius as an icon of Hellenic holiness.

Cultural depictions

Prohaeresius is depicted in a novella by the 19th-century Armenian author

Raffi Raffi Cavoukian (, born July 8, 1948), known professionally by the mononym Raffi, is an Armenian-Canadian singer-lyricist and author born in Egypt best known for his children's music. In 1992, ''The Washington Post'' called him "the most p ...

titled (1884; published in English translation as ''Prohaeresius''). In the work, Raffi imagines a meeting between Prohaeresius and the Armenian historian

Movses Khorenatsi Movses Khorenatsi ( 410–490s AD; , ) was a prominent Armenians, Armenian historian from late antiquity and the author of the ''History of Armenia (book), History of the Armenians''. Movses's ''History of the Armenians'' was the first attempt at ...

, contrasting Khorenatsi's contributions to his own nation with Prohaeresius's contributions to a foreign one. The 20th-century Armenian writer

Moushegh Ishkhan Moushegh Ishkhan (; born as ''Jenderejian'', 1913 Sivrihisar - 12 June 1990 Beirut) was an Armenian Diasporan poet, writer and educator. Life and work Moushegh Ishkhan was born in 1913 in Sivrihisar, a village near Ankara. Orphaned during the Arm ...

wrote a play with the same premise titled .

References

External links

Eunapius: The Life of Prohaeresius

{{Authority control Ancient Greek rhetoricians Greek educators 272 births 367 deaths 4th-century Christians Roman-era Athenian rhetoricians Armenian Christians Armenian educators People from Kayseri