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[German version] [1] Commander of the infantry of Herod the Gr. Pro-Roman commander of the infantry of Herod the Great (Jos. BI 2,3,4; 4,2,3; 5,2; Ant. Iud. 17,10,3; 17,10,6f.; 17,10,9). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) [German version] [2] Valerius G. Procurator of Judaea In AD 15-26 procurator of Judaea as successor of Annius Rufus (Jos. Ant. Iud. 18,2,2; 18,6,5) under emperor Tiberius. He was in turn succeeded by Pontius Pilate. Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography PIR2, 123, no. 146 (G. 1); 3, 357, no. 58.

[German version] Important bishop of  Caesarea in Cappadocia (died in AD 268). Shortly after 230 he became bishop and around 250 he instigated the deposition of bishop Fabius of  Antioch [1] who was inclined towards Novatianus. In the dispute on the baptism of heretics, the close friend of  Origenes sided with  Cyprianus [2] of Carthage and opposed the Roman bishop Stephanus I. Informed by Cyprianus, he replied in autumn 256 [1. 248] with a letter originally written in Greek (Cypr. epist. 75 [CCL …

[German version] Dogmatic florilegium, dating from the end of the 7th into the 8th cent. AD, that was put together from already existing but now partially lost Christological collections (i.a. ch. 24 and 33) and wrongly ascribed to the apocrisiary  Anastasius [3] († 666) or the abbot  Anastasius Sinaites [5] (died shortly after 700). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography Edition: F. Diekamp, D., 1907. Bibliography: A. Grillmeier, Jesus der Christus im Glauben der Kirche 2/1, 21991, 94-100.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pompeius (Hebrew Mārēšā, Mārešā, ‘settlement on the heights’; Gr. Μάρισ(σ)α; Máris(s)a). City in the south-west of Judea ( Palaestina ). M. became Edomite (Edom) after the Exile and was probably an important administrative centre. It is known to us from frequent OT references (Jos 15:44; 2 Chr 14:8f.; 20:37 inter al.), non-biblical sources (e.g. Flavius Josephus) and numerous archaeological finds from Tell Sandaḫanna (‘Hill of St. Anna’; also known as Tell Mārēšā) located c. 2 km south of the modern Bet-Guvrin. Tra…

[German version] (Ἑνωτικόν; Henōtikón). Aimed at the churches of Egypt, Libya and the Pentapolis, on the occasion of patriarch Petrus Mongus' assumption of office, the H., promulgated in AD 482 by the East Roman emperor  Zeno, with the influential collaboration of patriarch Acacius of Constantinople (CPG III, 5999; originally Ἤδικτον Ζήνωνος, ‘edict of Zeno’, named H. since Zacharias Rhetor, Historia ecclesiastica 5,8; cf. Evagrius, Hist. eccl. 3,13f.), sought to restore the unity of belief and emp…

[German version] A special form of Christian asceticism common esp. in Syria, characterised by the ascetic's permanent abode on the top of a column (στυλίτης/ stylítēs, 'column-stander' of ὁ στῦλος/ ho stŷlos, 'column'). A connection to non-Christian forms (cf. the φαλλοβάται/ phallobátai in Lucian Syr. D. 28 f.) seems unlikely (differently [1]). The initiator and most important representative is Simeon the Elder (d. in AD 459) whose column became a destination for pilgrims. Other stylites of renown were the Simeon the Younger, Daniel, Alypius of Adrianopolis, Lazarus and Lucas. Ri…

[German version] (Εὐνόμιος; Eunómios). Bishop of Cyzicus († about AD 394). Of lowly origins, E., who was connected with the bishops Aetius of Alexandria and Eudoxius of Antioch, became Bishop of Cyzicus about AD 360. Following opposition he gave up his office. With the death of Aetius (367), E. became the sole leader of the church community of the Anhomoiousians ( Arianism) which had broken away from the imperial church. He was exiled repeatedly. Only a few of his writings are extant, among these being the Ἀπολογητικός ( Apologētikós) that was written about 360 and the work that w…

[German version] Bishop of Lycopolis in Middle Egypt. († c. AD 327), originator of a schism in the Egyptian church at the time of the Diocletian persecution ( Tolerance). Because of the frequent vacancies of episcopal sees, M. consecrated bishops in vacant bishoprics about 305/6 on his own initiative. Additional conflicts with bishop Petrus of Alexandria over the treatment of lapsi and the latent conflict between Alexandria and the rest of Egypt [2. 297] eventually resulted in his deposition. The numerically significant church of the M…

[German version] (Πνευματομάχοι/ Pneumatomáchoi, 'those who contend against the [Holy] Spirit'). Designation of a group of Christian theologians, active in Asia Minor primarily in the 2nd half of the 4th cent. AD, who denied the divinity ( homoousía) of the Holy Spirit. The first use of the expression pneumatomáchoi, in the form πνευματομαχοῦντες/ pneumatomachoûntes, is encountered in AD 358 in the letters of Athanasius of Alexandria to Bishop Serapion of Thmuis (Athan. Epist. ad Serapionem 1,32; 4,1). The local Egyptian group whom he calls 'tropi…

[German version] Theological controversy of the 7th cent. AD, closely linked to the politics of the Byzantine Empire. Monotheletism, as well as its predecessor, monenergism, is the doctrine of a single will (μόνος/ mónos, ‘single’; θέλημα/ thélēma, θέλησις/ thélēsis, ‘will’) or a single action or power of action (ἐνέργεια/ enérgeia) in Christ. Following military victories (Persian Wars), the East Roman Emperor Heraclius [7] (610-641) tried to reestablish ecclesiastical unity with the monophysites (Monophysitism). This was the starting point in…

[German version] Abbot general of the coenobitic association of monasteries founded by  Pachomius in Upper Egypt († after AD 386). Initially superior of the monastery in Šenesēt (Chenoboscium), H. was appointed by Abbot Petronius as his successor. After conflicts in the so-called poverty dispute, Theodorus took over the ‘deputy leadership’ [3. 527] for H. Later the latter again was head of the koinōnía (‘community’), initially jointly with Theodorus, and on his own after Theodorus' death. As a spiritual testament he wrote the Liber Orsiesii (Latin translation by  Hieronymus, …

[German version] (Coptic 'child of god'; Greek Σινούθιος/ Sinoúthios); abbot and important author of Coptic literature, died between AD 436 and 466 (466 is most often given as the year of his death). The stages in his life can be deduced from his writings and from a panegyric vita [6] written by his successor Besa. At an early stage, S., the son of a peasant family, entered the White Monastery at Sauhāǧ in Upper Egypt, which had been founded by a maternal uncle. He took over its leadership in about 385.…

[German version] (Greek Ἐβιωναῖοι; Ebiōnaîoi, from Hebr. םיִנֹויְבֶא < æbyōnı̄m, ‘[the] Poor’). Since  Irenaeus (Haer. 1,26,2); the usual collective term for selected, heterodox Jewish-Christian groups in antiquity. The name was wrongly interpreted as pejorative by Patristic authors (Euseb. Hist. eccl. 3,27; Orig. contra Celsum 2,1: ‘poor of mind’) or, since Tertullianus (De praescriptione haereticorum 10,8; also Hippolytus, refutatio omnium haeresium 7,35,1), ascribed to a homonymous namegiver Ebion, su…

[German version] (διδαχή; didachḗ, ‘teaching’ sc. ‘of the Twelve Apostles’). The earliest Church regulations, usually attributed to the  Apostolic Fathers. Highly prized in antiquity, frequently used in other works, the Didache has been known since 1873. The most important textual witness to this influential document of early Christian communality is the 11th-cent. Codex Hierosolymitanus 54. Greek and Coptic fragments, Ethiopic and Georgian translations, as well as considerable indirect transmission, including the Apostolic …

[German version] (Νοητός/ Noētós). Early Christian theologian (end of the 2nd cent. AD). According to the biased report of his adversary Hippolytus [2] (Refutatio omnium haeresium 9,7-10; 10,26f.) N. came from Smyrna. His heterodox teachings, which according to Hippolytus could be traced back to Heraclitus, were brought to Rome by Epigonus and further disseminated among the Roman bishops Zephyrinus ( c. 198-217) and Callistus (217-222) by Epigonus's pupil Cleomenes. N. is regarded as the founder of modalistic monarchianism. This school saw in the Father …

[German version] Monophysitism, a term known since the 7th cent. AD, refers to the doctrine that Christ, after the union of the divine and human, has a single nature (μόνος/ mónos, single; φύσις/ phýsis, nature). In a narrower sense, monophysites are opponents (who may be of a variety of theological and organisational backgrounds) of the doctrine of the two natures of Christ as stated by the Council of Calchedon (AD 451). Contrary to the definition of the Council (one person or hypostasis in two natures), they upheld the formul…

(named after N., bishop of Constantinople, AD 428-431; d. in c. 451). [German version] A. Life According to Socr. 7,29,2, N. was probably born after AD 381 in East Syrian Germanicea. The centre of his early work was Antiochia [1], where N. joined the monastery of Euprepius located outside of the city. Formative for his thinking was the so-called Antiochene theology represented by Diodorus [20] of Tarsus and Theodorus of Mopsu(h)estia (whose student he may have been). At Emperor Theodosius II's instigation, N., …

[German version] The term heresiologists refers to several early Christian authors, who enumerate past as well as contemporary  heresies in one or more of their works in an effort to describe and repudiate them. In the first three cents., this so-called antiheretical corpus (on the problems inherent in the concept of heresy cf. [1. 290-295]) focused on the disputes with  Gnosticism,  Montanism, and Jewish-Christian groups.  Iustinus provided a first collection of various heresies, tracing them back successively to their origin in Simon Magus ( Sýntagma; lost, content reconstru…

[German version] Initially the term for the Arian factions ( Arianism) gathered in the mid 4th cent. around bishop Macedonius of Constantinople († before AD 364). Later the name is applied to the pneumatomáchoi , i.e. all those, also non-Arians, who deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The eponymous Macedonius - initially in constant competition with the Nicene bishop Paulus who had been exiled on several occasions - became bishop of Constantinople in 342. After Paulus' final expulsion (in 351), sole bishop; …

[German version] ( Ibâs) Bishop of  Edessa [2] († AD 28 October 457), where he, as teacher at the ‘Persian School’ and follower of Antiochene theology, translated the works of  Theodorus of Mopsuestia,  Diodorus [14] of Tarsus, and Aristotle into Syrian. He was repeatedly attacked (i.e. accused of heresy and simony) and, as successor of the city bishop  Rabulas (Rabbula) in 436, was removed from office and exiled by the ‘Robber Synod’ of Ephesus (449) as a follower of  Nestorius, only to be reinstat…

[German version] Alleged author, otherwise unknown, of a powerfully effective anti-Manichaean ( Mani, Manichaeism) polemical treatise, recorded in its entirety only in Latin translation and known as the Acta Archelai (CPG 3570). Despite an indication of a Syrian source (Jer. Vir. ill. 72), the basis of the Latin translation from the 1st half of the 5th cent. could well have been a Greek original created between 330 and 348 [1. 136-140]. Information beyond any doubt regarding the author - H. names himself as author (Acta 68: ego scripsi; in the sense of ‘scribe’, ‘editor’?) - and…

[German version] ('saints' lives'), an important genre of hagiographic literature. The VS enjoy a special position among the documents concerning early Christian saints (B.) and their veneration. From the point of view of the literary genre, they belong to the biography ('spiritual biography': [5.8]), but they can also assume features of other Greek and Roman literary genres (such as the novel), as well as of biblical stories. Modern scholars favour the term 'hagiographic discourse', which includes numerou…

(Θεοδώρητος; Theodṓrētos). [German version] [1] Bishop of Cyrrhus, 1st half of the 5th cent. Bishop of Cyrrhus (born in c. 393, bishop in 423, died in c. 466). T. received a solid classical education in the monastic milieu of Antioch [1]. A devoted pastor in his diocese, he fought against heretics (Heresy) and worked towards improving living conditions. In the Christological conflict between Cyrillus [2] of Alexandria and Nestorius he joined the latter without reservations. He was dismissed by the Synod of Ephesus in 449…

(Συνέσιος; Synésios) [German version] [1] S. of Cyrene Neoplatonist philosopher and bishop, c. AD 400 Neoplatonist philosopher and bishop ( c. AD 370 - c. 413). S., of a leading family at Cyrene (Libya superior), first studied at Alexandria [1] with the Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia. From 399 to 402 (or 397-400; S.' chronology is disputed) he went to the court at Constantinople at the bidding of his home city to obtain tax relief. He then travelled to Alexandria (where he married a Christian) and subsequently retire…

(Πρόκλος/ Próklos). [German version] [1] Bishop of Constantinople 434-446 Bishop of Constantinople (434-446). Probably born before 390 in Constantinople, after a thorough schooling, P. occupied a position of trust under bishop Atticus (406-425). In 426, Atticus' successor Sisinnius consecrated him bishop of Cyzicus, but, in face of local opposition, P. was unable to occupy his bishop's chair. Passed over on many occasions, he eventually became bishop of Constantinople in 434. He stood in high esteem as a preacher; besides letters - among them the epistle of 435 Tomus ad Armenios (CP…

(Ζαχαρίας/ Zacharías, Graecised form of the Hebrew Zacharyah, 'Yahweh remembers'). [German version] [1] Stoned to death at the command of the king Joash, 9th cent. BC According to 2 Chr 24:17-22, Zechariah bar Jehoiada was stoned to death in the Temple at the command of the king Joash (840-801 BC), for having reproached the people for practicing idolatry and hence abandoning their god. The Jewish Haggada developed this story: the blood of the murdered one boils on the floor of the Temple and does not come to rest (ultima…

[German version] A. Definition Christianity (Χριστιανισμός, Christianismós) was a monotheistic religious system ( Monotheism) which emerged from Judaism in the procuratorial province of Judaea during the 1st cent. AD. At Christianity's centre were the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, whose adherents regarded him as the ‘Messiah’, or God's ‘anointed’ (Χριστός, Christós), and as his son, wholly participating in the nature of God. Trombley, Frank R. (Cardiff) [German version] B.1 Cultural adaptation The word ‘Christian’ (χριστιανός, christianós) arose after c. 36 in An…

(εξήγησις; exḗgēsis) [German version] A. Judaism The Jewish exegesis, which started within the biblical texts themselves in the form of explanatory glossaries and extrapolations in antiquity served to bring up to date the traditions of the sacred scriptures ( Bible). In early Judaism, biblical stories were retold (known as the ‘Rewritten Bible’), e.g. the ‘Book of Jubilees’ ( c. mid 2nd cent. BC) or the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum ( c. end of the 1st cent. AD). These retellings fill in narrative gaps in the biblical text, reconcile contradictions, and also add…

(Ἰγνάτιος; Ignátios). [German version] [1] Bishop of Antioch Bishop of Antioch, martyr, ranks as an Apostolic Father ( Apostolic Fathers). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) [German version] A. Biography The person and work of I. cannot be separated from each other because the only certain biographical information is extant in the corpus of letters ascribed to him. Therefore, the position taken in the ‘Ignatian debate’, i.e. in the discussion over the unity and genuineness of the preserved letters (see [4], with response [5; 6]), al…

(Λεύκιος; Leúkios). [German version] [1] Roman in the Ptolemaic army L. (= Lucius), son of Gaius, Roman, Ptolemaic phroúrarchos on Itanus (between 221-209 BC), thus the first Roman known to have had a higher rank in the Ptolemaic army. PP VI 15117. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] L. Charinus Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. As such L. appears once with a double name in the middle of the 9th cent. in Photius (Bibl. cod. 114), who ascribes to him the authorship of the …

(Βασιλείδης; Basileídēs). [German version] [1] Leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) Epicurean (c . 245-175 BC.), fourth leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) who taught Philonides of Laodicea on the Pontus. He studied mathematics and is known for his discussions in Alexandria with the father of the mathematician Hypsicles about a writing by Apollonius [13] of Perge. He is also known for a debate together with Thespis, another Epicurean, about anger, held against Nicasicrates and Timasagoras. Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bibliography Testimonia: W. Crönert, Kolotes…

(Κήρινθος; Kḗrinthos). [German version] [1] Town on the eastern coast of Euboea Town on the eastern coast of  Euboea (Hom. Il. 2,538; Str. 10,1,3; 5), localized near the modern Mandudion. The origins of C. date back into the Neolithic. In historical times, C. probably belonged to  Histiaea. Inscriptions: IG XII 9, 1184f. Kalcyk, Hansjörg (Petershausen) Bibliography E. Freund, s.v. K., in: Lauffer, Griechenland, 323. [German version] [2] Jewish-Christian Gnostic Jewish-Christian  Gnostic, contemporary with the Apostles (1st/ early 2nd cents. AD). According to the…

(Θέογνις/ Théognis). [German version] [1] Elegiac poet, 6th cent. BC Elegiac poet, 6th cent. BC Bowie, Ewen (Oxford) [German version] I. Life and textual history T. was born in Megara [2] in Greece (Didymus in schol. Plat. leg. 630a), hardly Megara [3] in Sicily (Suda Θ 136 and probably Plat. l.c.,), ca. 544-1 BC (Suda l.c.; acc. to [17] 65-71 ca. 630-600). Plat. l.c. (citing El. 77-8) and Isoc. Or. 3,42-3 first name T. as a good adviser, and according to Stob. 4,29,53 Xen. wrote On Theognis and cited El. 22-3 and 183-190. T.'s poems were probably sung at 5th and 4th cent. B…

(Hebrew Mošæh, Greek Μω(υ)σῆς; Mō(y)sȇs). [1] Israelite religious founder [German version] I. Biblical tradition According to tradition, M. was a Levite who grew up as an Egyptian prince, was forced to flee to Midian, was called there by the god Yahweh to lead the enslaved Hebrew people out of Egypt; Biblical cultic and moral law were revealed to him on Mt. Sinai, and he led the Hebrew people through the desert to the edge of the Promised Land, where he died on Mount Nebo, across from Jericho (Ex 2 - Dt 34). …

(Οὐράνιος/ Ouránios). [German version] [0] Usurper, mid 3rd cent. L. Iulius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus U. Antoninus, usurper, who had coins minted in Emesa in 253/4; very likely identical with the priest of Aphrodite Sampsigeramus (Ioh. Mal. 12 p. 296 f.) who warded off an attack on Emesa by the Persian army in 253, in the course of which their leader (in the text Sapor [1] I himself) was killed. It may be that Or. Sib. 13,158-171 and IGLS 1799-1801 also refer to these events. When with Valerianus' [2] d…

(Εὐάγριος; Euágrios) [German version] [1] Ponticus Christian writer and monastic leader Religious writer and monastic spiritual leader (AD 345-399). Born in the Pontic Ibora, he was a pupil of  Gregorius of Nazianzus; after periods spent in Constantinople (ordination to deacon) and Jerusalem, he stayed in the Egyptian anchorite community of Kellia (Nitrian desert) from 383 as a much sought-after spiritual advisor. Posthumously condemned as an Origenist (553 Council of Constantinople), his few extant works …

[German version] [1] Bishop of Caesarea [2] Maritima/Palaestina Bishop of  Caesarea [2] Maritima/Palaestina (died before AD 400). The nephew of  Cyrillus of Jerusalem, installed as bishop around 365/367, took part in the Council of Constantinople in 381 and in the synod there in 394. At the wish of his uncle, G. wrote a continuation of the Church history by  Eusebius [7] of Caesarea, going as far as 395, which had a long-lasting effect (Gelasius of Cyzicus, hagiographic lives, etc.). Parts of the lost s…

(Εὐτύχης; Eutýchēs). [German version] [1] Gem-cutter of the 1st cent. AD Gem-cutter of the 1st cent. AD, signed as ‘son of  Dioscorides of Aegeae’ the rock crystal with a bust of Athena (Berlin, SM), in the style of the Athena of Velletri. Athena of  Velitrae;  Intaglio;  Gem and cameo cutters Michel, Simone (Hamburg) Bibliography Zazoff, AG, 31770, 331 pl. 92,3 AGD II, Berlin 169 pl. 80 and 81 no. 456. [German version] [2] Lat. grammarian of the 4th cent. AD (Eutyc(h)ius, MSS), Latin grammarian of the 4th cent. AD, a pupil of  Priscianus and author of an Ars de verbo, probably identical with…

(Ἑρμίας; Hermías). [German version] [1] Around 350 BC tyrant over Atarneus and Assos (or Hermeias) Around 350 BC successor of Eubulus as tyrant over  Atarneus and  Assos (Diog. Laert. 5,3), possibly pupil of Plato (Str. 13,1,57; Theopomp. FGrH 115 F 250; by contrast Pl. Ep. 6,322e). Along with other philosophers he brought Aristotle to the court and married him to his niece  Pythias. After the Persians had reconquered Egypt in 343/342, H. considered his region to be under threat and contacted  Philippus II (…

[German version] A. General Αἱ χρονικαὶ, τὰ χρονικά; Hai chronikaì, tà chroniká, chronicon; Latin according to Isid. Orig. 5,37 series temporum. No antique or medieval description of the genre [1; 2]. Chronicles are written histories structured on a yearly basis. They vary from mere lists of dates to miniature narratives for individual years: it is then, as  annals -- retrospective in the Roman period, ongoing and contemporaneous in the Carolingian -- that they enter the realm of real  historiography. This progres…

I. Greek [German version] [I 1] Christian apologist and theologian, 2nd cent. (Τατιανός; Tatianós). Christian apologist and theologian (born c. AD 120). By his own account, T. was from the East Syrian/North Mesopotamian region (Or. 42). His work betrays a knowledge of classical authors relying upon Hellenistic scholarly tradition. His travels brought T. into contact with a variety of the philosophical and religious systems of his period ( i.a. participation in mystery cults, which he fails to define more precisely). In Rome, study of the Bible finally brought hi…

[German version] I Greek (Τίτος/ Títos). [German version] [I 1] Companion of Paul Important 'assistant' and 'partner' of Paul (Paulus [II 2]; 2 Cor 8,23), of unknown origin. Taken by Paul to the Apostles' Convent in Jerusalem as a 'Gentile Christian', he was not compelled to be circumcised there, in spite of the demands of the Judaists (Gal 2:1-3). Paul sent T. to Corinth on several occasions as his negotiator (2 Cor 7:6 f.; 7:13 f.; he also appeared as an independent co-organizer of the collects: 8:6; 8:16 …

(Δωσίθεος; Dōsítheos). [German version] [1] Jewish apostate Son of Drimylos, Jewish apostate. He is supposed to have saved the life of Ptolemy IV Philopator before the battle at Raphia (217 BC)(3 Macc. 1,3). Around 240 BC he was one of the two leaders of the royal secretariat and accompanied Ptolemy III in 225-24 on a trip in Egypt; he held the highest priestly office in Hellenistic Egypt around 222 as the priest of Alexander [4] the Great and the deified Ptolemies. PP 1/8,8; 3/9,5100. Schwemer, Anna Maria (Tübingen) Bibliography V. Tcherikover, A. Fuks, Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum…

[German version] [1] Bishop of Laodicea Bishop of  Laodicea (died c. AD 360). The Alexandrine presbyter G., dismissed by his local bishop Alexander in c. 320 because of his radical  Arianism, became bishop of Syrian Laodicea c. 330 following his stay in Antioch. In persistent animosity to  Athanasius, he and Basilius of Ancyra gathered the Trinitarian Church Party of the Homoeousians (slogan: ‘The father resembles the son in essence’ ὅμοιος κατ' οὐσίαν) in 358/9. Also, he played a role in drafting the 4th Sirman Creed (22 May 359)…

I Greek [German version] [I 1] Author of a collection of 'gnomes' The name 'Sextus' is associated with a Greek collection of 610 maxims (Gnome) in all, known from two Greek MSS (Patm. 263, Vat. Gr. 742; Pap. Palau Rib. 225v, c. AD 400 offers 21 'gnomes'); they probably originated c. AD 200. Origenes [2] is the first to mention the title Σέξτου γνῶμαι ( Séxtou gnômai), remarking among other things that 'most Christians read them' (Orig. Contra Celsum 8,30). In about 399, Rufinus [II 6] Tyrannius translated a collection of 451 maxims into Latin, naming as author…

(Σεραπίων; Serapíōn). [German version] [1] S. of Antioch Mathematical geographer, 1st cent. BC Mathematical geographer to whom Plin. HN 1,2 referred to as gnomonicus ('measurer of shadows'). In 59 BC, Cicero (who was his contemporary) received S.'s geographical treatise from Atticus as the newest source for his planned Geographica but was hardly able to understand the content (Cic. Att. 2,4,1). In the treatise, Cicero encountered S.'s fierce criticism of Eratosthenes [2] (ibid. 2,6,1). S. estimated the circumference of the sun to be 18 times t…

(Εὐστάθιος; Eustáthios). [German version] [1] from Caria Rhetor of the 4th cent. AD, imperial administrator, consularis Syriae Rhetor of the 4th cent. AD; studied in Athens and later settled in Tyre. He held many offices in the imperial administration, and used them to enrich himself (i.a.: rationalis summarum per orientem), in 388 he was consularis Syriae. He was at first a friend of  Libanius (panegyric: Lib. Or. 44), later his enemy (diatribe: Or. 54, cf. also Or. 1,271-275). There is no other witness apart from Libanius. Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) [German version] [2] Neop…

(Διόγνητος; Diógnētos). [German version] [1] Athenian, victor at the Dionysia in 415 BC Athenian, son of Niceratus, from Cyantidae; brother of Nicias and Eucrates [2], father of Diomnestus. Winner at the Dionysia in 415 BC (Pl. Grg. 472a), afterwards exiled; in Athens in 404-03. Intervened in 403 with Pausanias on behalf of Nicias' sons. Died c. 396 (Lys. 18,4; 9f.; 21; And. 1,47). Perhaps identical with the person named by Traill (PAA 327535, 327540). Traill, PAA 327820; Davies 10808. Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) [German version] [2] Nauarch of Antiochus III c. 220 BC As nauarch of An…

[German version] [1] I. I Eastern Roman general AD 518-527 (AD 518-527), emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, born a farmer's son around 450 in Bederiana (like  Iustinianus [1] I.), he came to Constantinople with  Leo I and was soon a member of the palace guard; under  Anastasius I he was comes rei militaris and from 515 comes excubitorum. In the dispute over the succession to Anastasius, who died without an heir, a majority in the Senate supported his candidacy and eventually he was also acclaimed by the army and the people, and was crowned on 10 Jul…

(Μεθόδιος; Methódios). [German version] [1] Bishop of Olympus, 3rd-4th cent. AD Bishop of Olympus (late 3rd - early 4th cent. BC). Little about his life is known for certain. According to Jer. Vir. ill. 83 he was bishop of Olympus in Lycia, but Tyre, Patara, Myra and Philippi are also mentioned as his see. His martyrdom, also reported by Jerome, is equally disputed. M., who preferred the dialogue form in imitation of Plato, wrote numerous works (CPG 1810-1830) in an elegant style. His main work Sympósion ē Perí hagneías (Συμπόσιον ἢ Περὶ ἁγνείας [2]) celebrates virginity as an anti…