Favorinus

Favorinus

Favorinus of Arelata (ca. 80–160) was a Hellenistic sophist and philosopher who flourished during the reign of Hadrian.

He was of Gaulish ancestry, born in Arelate (Arles). He is described as a hermaphrodite (ανδροθηλυς) by birth. He received an exquisite education, first in Gallia Narbonensis and then in Rome, and at an early age began his lifelong travels through Greece, Italy and the East. His extensive knowledge, combined with great oratorical powers, raised him to eminence both in Athens and in Rome. With Plutarch, with Herodes Atticus, to whom he bequeathed his library at Rome, with Demetrius the Cynic, Cornelius Fronto, Aulus Gellius, and with Hadrian himself, he lived on intimate terms; his great rival, whom he violently attacked in his later years, was Polemon of Smyrna.

It was Favorinus who, on being silenced by Hadrian in an argument in which the sophist might easily have refuted his adversary, subsequently explained that it was foolish to criticize the logic of the master of thirty legions. When the servile Athenians, feigning to share the emperor's displeasure with the sophist, pulled down a statue which they had erected to him, Favorinus remarked that if only Socrates also had had a statue at Athens, he might have been spared the hemlock.

Hadrian banished Favorinus at some point in the 130s, to the island of Chios. Rehabilitated with the ascension of Antoninus Pius in 138, Favorinus returned to Rome, where he resumed his activities as an author and teacher of upper class pupils. His year of death is unknown, but it appears that he reached a remarkable age for his time, dying around 160 in his eighties.

Of the very numerous works of Favorinus, we possess only a few fragments, preserved by Aulus Gellius, Diogenes Laertius, Philostratus, and in the "Suda", "Laropia" (miscellaneous history) and his memoirs. As a philosopher, Favorinus belonged to the sceptical school; his most important work in this connection appears to have been the "Pyrrhonean Tropes" in ten books, in which he endeavours to show that the methods of Pyrrho were useful to those who intended to practise in the law courts.

Hofeneder (2006) suggests that Favorinus is identical with the "Celtic philosopher" explaining the image of Ogmios in Lucianus.

References

*1911
*E. Amato (ed.) and Y. Julien (trans.), "Favorine d'Arles, Oevres I. Introduction général - Témoignages - Discours aux Corinthiens - Sur la Fortune", Paris: Les Belles Lettres (2005).
*Andreas Hofeneder, "Favorinus von Arleate und die keltische Religion", Keltische Forschungen 1 (2006), 29-58.


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  • Favorinus — (Favō rīnus) war ein Philosoph und Sophist des 1./2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. aus Arelate (Arles), seiner Richtung nach ein Skeptiker, Schüler und Hörer des Dion Chrysostomos. Er hatte Auftritte in Rom, Athen, Ionien sowie Korinth und war ein Freund… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Favorīnus — Favorīnus, 1) F., geb. zu Arelate im letzten Viertel des 1. Jahrh. v. Chr., studirte in Rom, Griechenland u. Kleinasien u. lebte dann in Rom, wo er die Gunst des Kaisers Hadrian genoß u. eine Rhetorische u. Philosophische Schule eröffnete; er… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Favorīnus — Favorīnus, Rhetor, aus Arelate (Arles), Schüler des Dion Chrysostomos, Freund des Plut arch und Fronto, erwarb sich um 150 n. Chr. zu Rom als Redner und Philosoph bedeutendes Ansehen. Von seinen zahlreichen, griechisch geschriebenen Schriften… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • FAVORINUS — Philosophus, et orator, Arelate oriundus, Dionis auditor, praeterea Eunuchus, et Adriano Principi infensus. Ideo tria de se mira narrare solebat, se Gallum Graecissare, Eunuchum moechum prtari, et inimicum Imperatori vivere. Obquam causam statua… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Favorinus — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Favorinus d Arles ou Fanus (80/90 150), un philosophe sceptique appartenant à la Nouvelle Académie. Le genre de nudibranche Favorinus Catégorie  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Favorinus — ▪ Roman philosopher and orator flourished 2nd century       Skeptical philosopher and rhetorician of the Roman Empire who was highly esteemed for his learning and eloquence.       He was a congenital eunuch and is known to have lived in Rome,… …   Universalium

  • Favorinus (genre) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Favorinus. Favorinus …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Favorinus d'Arles — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Favorinus. Favorinus ou Fanus, (né v. 80 90 à Arelate (Arles) – mort v. 150) était un philosophe sceptique ou appartenant à la Nouvelle Académie. Sommaire 1 Biographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ФАВОРИН —    • Favorīnus,          Φαβωρι̃νος, ритор при императоре Адриане, родом из Арелата в Галлии, ученик Диона Хризостома, находился в дружественных отношениях с Плутархом и Фронтоном, писал на греческом языке энциклопедические сочинения, напр.… …   Реальный словарь классических древностей

  • Фаворин —         (Favorinus), нач. 2 в. н. э., греч. ритор и историк из Арелаты (Юж. Франция), ученик Диона Хризостома, некоторое время жил в ссылке на Хиосе. Его произведения, составл. и написанные на греч. яз., в занимательной и популярной форме… …   Словарь античности

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