- Eunapius
Eunapius was a Greek
sophist andhistorian of the4th century .Life
He was born at
Sardis , AD347 . In his native city he studied under his relative, the sophistChrysanthius , and while still a youth went toAthens , where he became a favourite pupil ofProhaeresius therhetoric ian. He possessed considerable knowledge of medicine. In his later years he seems to have lived atAthens , teaching rhetoric. Initiated into theEleusinian Mysteries , he was admitted into the college of theEumolpidae and becamehierophant . There is evidence that he was still living in the reign of the younger Theodosius.Writing
Eunapius was the author of two works, one written in AD
405 entitled "Lives of the Sophists ", and the other consisting of a continuation of the history ofDexippus . The former work is still extant; of the latter only excerpts remain, but the facts are largely incorporated in the work ofZosimus . It embraced the history of events from AD270 -404 .The "Lives of the Sophists", a collection of the biographies of twenty-three older and contemporary
philosopher s and sophists of the author, is valuable as the only source for the history of theneoplatonism of that period. The style of both works is marked by a spirit of bitter hostility toChristianity . Photius had before him a "new edition" of the history in which the passages most offensive to Christians were omitted.References
*Edition of the "Lives" by JF Boissonade (1822), with notes by D Wyttenbach
*history fragments inCW Müller , "Fragmenta Hist. Graecorum", iv.
*V Cousin, "Fragments philosophiques" (1865), translation: W. C. Wright in theLoeb Classical Library edition ofPhilostratus "Lives of the Sophists" (1921).External links
* [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eunapius_02_text.htm English translation of the "Lives of the Sophists"] from the [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers Tertullian Project] .
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_20_0300-0400-_Eunapius_Sardianus.html Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with Analytical Indexes]ee also
*
Plethon
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