Philostratus

Philostratus was a writer, sophist, orator and philosopher (170–250). He was born at Lemnos and died at Athens.

Also recorded as Philostratus Atheniensis; Philostratus the Athenian; Lucius Flavius Philostratus.

Philostratus in brief

Born
170
Died
250
Known for
writer, sophist, orator and philosopher
Place of birth
Lemnos
Contents

Identity and origins

The authorities additionally record the headings Philostratus Atheniensis, Philostratus the Athenian and Lucius Flavius Philostratus. His recorded language was Ancient Greek.

He was the child of Philostratus.

Catalogued works

24 works under this name are catalogued by Wikidata Query Service, Open Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Wellcome Collection. Their recorded dates run from 1637 to 2014.

Life of Apollonius of Tyana. Gymnasticus. Lives of the Sophists. Heroicus. Dialexeis. Correspondence. Epistulae et dialexeis. Apollonius Von Tyana. Philostratus and Eunapius. The Gospel of Apollonius of Tyana. Lives of the Sophists. Lives of Philosophers and Sophists. Apollonius Von Tyana. Aus Dem Griechischen des Philostratus übersetzt und Erläutert. Apollonius de Tyane. Philostratus, des älteren und des Jüngeren, Gemälde. Philostrate. Les Images ou Tableaux de Platte Peinture des Deux..., dated 1637, engraving, held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inventory 1970.565.30. Philostratus's Heroikos : religion and cultural identity in the third century C.E. / edited by Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean and Ellen Bradshaw Aitken., dated 2004, held by Wellcome Collection. Flavius Philostratus: Heroikos, dated [2001], held by Wellcome Collection. Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes, dated [2002], held by Wellcome Collection. Supplement to the Somatopsychonoologia or body life and mind of Philostratus., dated 1823, held by Wellcome Collection. The lives of the sophists / Philostratus and Eurapius ; with an English translation by Wilmer Cave Wright., dated 1968, held by Wellcome Collection. Heroicus ; Gymnasticus ; Discourses 1 and 2 / Philostratus ; edited and translated by Jeffrey Rusten, Jason König., dated 2014, held by Wellcome Collection. Somatopsychonoologia: showing that the proofs of body, life and mind ... cannot be deduced from physiology ... being an examination of the controversy concerning life carried on by Laurence [sic], Abernethy, Rennell, and others / By Philostratus [i.e. T.I.M. Forster]., dated [1824], held by Wellcome Collection. Somatopsychonoologia : showing that the proofs of body life and mind considered as distinct essences cannot be deduced from physiology but depend on a distinct sort of evidence : being an examination of the controversy concerning life carried on by MM. Laurence, Abernethy, Rennell, & others / by Philostratus., dated 1823, held by Wellcome Collection.

In public collections

Work associated with this heading is recorded in 2 named public collections.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 2 recorded objects, read from the institution's own published catalogue. Wellcome Collection: 25 recorded objects, read from the institution's own published catalogue.

Literature

13 scholarly publications naming this subject were located in the registry of record.

Philostratus Heroikos, Flavius Philostratus: Heroikos, 2010. Philostratus, Brill’s New Pauly. Philostratus, Oxford Handbooks Online, 2017. Philostratus On Heroes, Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes, 2010. Chapter 11: Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius of Tyana, Noscendi Nilum Cupido, 2012. The right of the stronger: The play Sisyphus and critias, Balcanica, 2004. OLYMPIC GAMES IN THE «PICTURES» OF FILOSTRATOS, RUDN Journal of World History, 2017. Philostratus amithe Canaries, Gerión, 1990. Tra scienza e mito. Le isole di Filostrato Maior (Im. II 17), Peloro, 2017. Un Agamennone isocrateo nell’Heroikos di Filostrato. Per una proposta interpretativa dei capitoli 29-31, Erga-Logoi, 2020. Objets et monuments (réels et fictifs) dans la relecture du passé opérée par la Seconde sophistique : l’exemple de la Vie d’Apollonios de Tyane de Philostrate, Pallas, 2021. Intorno alla circolazione del mito su Eracle in età imperiale, Lexis, 2023. Frammenti di declamazioni perdute, Lexis, 2025.

Naming and authority record

This heading is established in Gemeinsame Normdatei (GND) (119422719) and Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) (500237375). Those registers additionally record the forms Philostratus, Sophista, Philostratos, der Ältere, Philostratos, Sohn des Nervianus, Philostratus III., Philostratus, von Lemnos, Philostratus, Maior, Philostratus, Atheniensis junior and Philostratos, Lemnius.

Digitised editions and texts

12 digitised items associated with this heading are catalogued by Internet Archive.

Vol 2 The Treatise of Eusebius, Ch 1-10 — Internet Archive. Vol 2 Bk 6 Ch 21-30 — Internet Archive. Vol 2 Bk 8 Ch 1-6 — Internet Archive. Philostratus and Eunapius: the lives of the sophists (1922) — Internet Archive. Vol 1 Bk 3 Ch 40-58 — Internet Archive. Flavii Philostrati Opera auctiora edidit C. L. Kayser (1870) — Internet Archive. Le opere dei due Filostrati volgarizzate da V. Lancetti Le vite dei Sofisti (1831) — Internet Archive. Le opere dei due Filostrati volgarizzate da V. Lancetti. Volume 1 2 1 (1828) — Internet Archive. Vol 1 Bk 4 Ch 01-15 — Internet Archive. Vol 2 Bk 7 Ch 39-42 — Internet Archive. Vol 1 Bk 2 Ch 01-11 — Internet Archive. Vol 2 Bk 8 Ch 7 pt 1 — Internet Archive.

Scholarly footprint

Bibliographic registers publish measured figures for this heading: 32 language editions of the general reference literature carrying an article (Wikimedia (language editions)). A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.

Evidence base

This article draws on 8 independent source lineages. Copies and mirrors of the same underlying record were collapsed into a single witness, so 8 means 8 genuinely separate publishers of record. 10 further registers were consulted and returned nothing for this heading.

Chronology

  1. 170Philostratus born at Lemnos.
  2. 250Philostratus died at Athens.
  3. 1870Flavii Philostrati Opera auctiora edidit C. L. Kayser digitised by Internet Archive.
  4. 1922Philostratus and Eunapius: the lives of the sophists digitised by Internet Archive.

Sources

Each source is named with the standing the house places on it, so the evidence can be weighed rather than taken on trust.

  1. 1.

    “Philostratus”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading

    reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikipedia

    Consult the source
  2. 2.

    Wikidata, structured authority record Q2274948: Philostratus

    reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikidata

    Consult the source

Elsewhere in Books

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