The Life of Libanius, the Sophist

The Life of Libanius, the Sophist
Author: Johann Albert Fabricius
Publisher: Hardpress Publishing
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2019-07-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781318646265

This is a reproduction of the original artefact. Generally these books are created from careful scans of the original. This allows us to preserve the book accurately and present it in the way the author intended. Since the original versions are generally quite old, there may occasionally be certain imperfections within these reproductions. We're happy to make these classics available again for future generations to enjoy!

The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch

The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch
Author: Raffaella Cribiore
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2009-01-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1400827671

This book is a study of the fourth-century sophist Libanius, a major intellectual figure who ran one of the most prestigious schools of rhetoric in the later Roman Empire. He was a tenacious adherent of pagan religion and a friend of the emperor Julian, but also taught leaders of the early Christian church like St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great. Raffaella Cribiore examines Libanius's training and personality, showing him to be a vibrant educator, though somewhat gloomy and anxious by nature. She traces how he cultivated a wide network of friends and former pupils and courted powerful officials to recruit top students. Cribiore describes his school in Antioch--how students applied, how they were evaluated and trained, and how Libanius reported progress to their families. She details the professional opportunities that a thorough training in rhetoric opened up for young men of the day. Also included here are translations of 200 of Libanius's most important letters on education, almost none of which have appeared in English before. Cribiore casts into striking relief the importance of rhetoric in late antiquity and its influence not only on pagan intellectuals but also on prominent Christian figures. She gives a balanced view of Libanius and his circle against the far-flung panorama of the Greek East.

Libanius the Sophist

Libanius the Sophist
Author: Raffaella Cribiore
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2013-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0801469074

Libanius of Antioch was a rhetorician of rare skill and eloquence. So renowned was he in the fourth century that his school of rhetoric in Roman Syria became among the most prestigious in the Eastern Empire. In this book Raffaella Cribiore draws on her unique knowledge of the entire body of Libanius’s vast literary output—including 64 orations, 1,544 letters, and exercises for his students—to offer the fullest intellectual portrait yet of this remarkable figure whom John Chrystostom called "the sophist of the city." Libanius (314–ca. 393) lived at a time when Christianity was celebrating its triumph but paganism tried to resist. Although himself a pagan, Libanius cultivated friendships within Antioch’s Christian community and taught leaders of the Church including Chrysostom and Basil of Caesarea. Cribiore calls him a "gray pagan" who did not share the fanaticism of the Emperor Julian. Cribiore considers the role that a major intellectual of Libanius’s caliber played in this religiously diverse society and culture. When he wrote a letter or delivered an oration, who was he addressing and what did he hope to accomplish? One thing that stands out in Libanius’s speeches is the startling amount of invective against his enemies. How common was character assassination of this sort? What was the subtext to these speeches and how would they have been received? Adapted from the Townsend Lectures that Cribiore delivered at Cornell University in 2010, this book brilliantly restores Libanius to his rightful place in the rich and culturally complex world of Late Antiquity.

The Second Sophistic

The Second Sophistic
Author: Graham Anderson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2005-07-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134856830

Sophism was the single most important movement in second century literature: prose of that period came to be written as entertainment rather than confined to historical subjects. Graham Anderson shows how the Greek sophists' skills in public speaking enabled them to perform effectively across a variety of activities. As he presents the sophists' roles as civic celebrities side-by-side with their roles as transmitters of Hellenic culture and literary artists, a co-ordinated view of the Second Sophistic as a complex phenomenon emerges.

The Lives of the Sophists

The Lives of the Sophists
Author: Philostratus (the Athenian)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 656
Release: 1921
Genre: Classical literature
ISBN:

PHILOSTRATUS AND EUNAPIUS. (a) Of the distinguished Lemnian family of Philostrati, Flavius Philostratus, 'the Athenian', was a Greek sophist (professor), c. A.D. 170-205, who studied at Athens and later lived in Rome. He was author of the admirable Life of Apollonius of Tyana (Loeb Nos. 16 and 17) and Lives of the Sophists (which are really impressions of investigators alert but less fond of scientific method and discovery than of stylish presentation or things known), one part concerning some older, the other some later 'provessors'. Other extant works of this Philostratus are Letters and Gymnasticus, but the Heroicus or Heroica is apparently by another Philostratus, and the Eikones (Imagines, skilful descriptions of pictures, Loeb No. 256) were probably by two Philostrati, on being the son of Nervianus and born c. A.D. 190, the other his grandson who wrote c. AD. 300. (b) The Greek Sophist and historian Eunapius was born at Sardis in A.D. 347, but went to Athens to study and lived much of his life there teaching rhetoric and possibly medicine. He was initiated into the 'mysteries' and was hostile to Christians. Lost is his historical work (covering the years A.D. 270-404) but for excerpts and the use of it made by Zosimmus, but we have his Lives of Philosophers and Sophists mainly contemporary whth himself. Eunapius is our only source of our knowledge of Neo-Platonism in the latter part of the fourth century A.D.

Selected Works [of] Libanius

Selected Works [of] Libanius
Author: Libanius
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1987
Genre: Sophists (Greek philosophy)
ISBN: 9780674994973

As sophist of Antioch and a devoted exponent of the traditional Hellenic system of education, Libanius remained deliberately and contemptuously unacquainted with Latin, and deplored its growing influence. Naturally humane in outlook and sympathizing with the local bourgeoisie, he criticized bitterly the encroachments and oppressions of the central administration, and the general cruelty of his day. Sincerely pagan in an increasingly aggressive Christian society, he became an influential voice against religious persecution, official or unofficial. The orations on Julian, to whose memory he remained devoted all his life, were composed betweenm 362 and 365, and present Libanius with a congenial subject, revealing him at the height of his powers and influence. -- jacket.

Selected works

Selected works
Author: Libanius
Publisher:
Total Pages: 541
Release: 1987
Genre: Sophists (Greek philosophy)
ISBN: 9780674994966

As sophist of Antioch and a devoted exponent of the traditional Hellenic system of education, Libanius remained deliberately and contemptuously unacquainted with Latin, and deplored its growing influence. Naturally humane in outlook and sympathizing with the local bourgeoisie, he criticized bitterly the encroachments and oppressions of the central administration, and the general cruelty of his day. Sincerely pagan in an increasingly aggressive Christian society, he became an influential voice against religious persecution, official or unofficial. The orations on Julian, to whose memory he remained devoted all his life, were composed betweenm 362 and 365, and present Libanius with a congenial subject, revealing him at the height of his powers and influence. -- jacket

Selected Works

Selected Works
Author: Libanius
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1969
Genre: Speeches, addresses, etc., Greek
ISBN: 9780674994966

LIBANIUS (A.D. 314-393) was one of the last great publicists and educators of Greek paganism. His story, as presented in his 'Autobiography' (Oration I) and the 'Life' by Eunapius, is supplemented by information from a correspondence of over 1500 items (dated A.D. 355-365 and A.D. 388-393) and 64 extant orations. Sophistic works of various types, including the 'Hypotheses of Demosthenes' Orations', complete the corpus of his works. He was born in Antioch of respectable municipal family and, after study at Athens, began his teaching career in Constantinople in 340, but soon had to retire to Nicomedeia, where he became acquainted with St. Basil and influential in the development of Julian's paganism. After a second tenure at Constantinople he returned home to become professor in Antioch in 354, a position which he held through many vicissitudes, for the rest of his life. His views and prejudices caused him to react sharply against many contemporary trends. As sophist of Antioch and a devoted exponent of the traditional Hellenic system of education, he remained deliberately and contemptuously unacquainted with Latin, and deplored its increasing influence. Naturally humane in outlook and sympathizing with the local bouregoisie, he criticized bitterly the encroachments and oppressions of the central administration, and the general cruelty of his day. Sincerely pagan in an increasingly aggressive Christian society, he became an influential mouthpiece of protest against religious persecution, official or unofficial. Illness and professional and family disappointments sharpen these criticisms in his later years. The orations upon Julian, to whose memory he remained devoted all his life, were composed between 362 and 365, and present Libanius with a positive role and a congenial subject, revealing him at the height of his powers and influence. They were used by the Church historians, and this, coupled with his relations with Basil and with Chrysostom, his pupil in Antioch, lent them respectability enough to make his works, despite their consistent criticisms of the Christian religion, acceptable to Byzantine piety.

Between City and School

Between City and School
Author: Libanius
Publisher: Translated Texts for Historian
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781781382530

This book is a collection of twelve important but little-read orations of the fourth-century sophist Libanius, providing an English translation for each with a thorough introduction and copious notes. In spite of Libanius' influence during his lifetime, he has until recently been neglected by scholars since his Greek is often intricate and difficult to approach. Libanius lived in Antioch (Syria) where he was a teacher of rhetoric: His school was the most important in the East and students flocked there from many countries. Some of the orations in this collection, like his correspondence, illuminate his relations with his students as well as his methods of teaching rhetoric, a discipline for which he had the highest regard. These orations also show that Libanius was a major figure in his city, in frequent contact with influential officials and governors, and that he even had a close relationship with the Emperor Julian. Oration 37 reveals that there were rumours that Julian had contributed to the death of his wife by asking a court doctor to poison her, while Oration 63 indicates that Libanius, usually considered to be a thorough-going pagan, was bequeathed the patrimony of a Christian friend, even though the latter's brother was bishop of Antioch. Fascinating and thought-provoking, this essential collection of translations of Libanius' orations will be invaluable to scholars of the fourth century.