Chrysanthios of Sardis

Chrysanthios of Sardis ( Greek  Χρυσάνθιος ὁ ἐκ Σάρδεων Chrysánthios ho ek Sárdeōn ; * around 310; † around 390 in Sardis ) was a late antique philosopher. He belonged to the Neoplatonic direction and was one of the teachers of the emperor Julian .

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The main source is the biography of Chrysanthios, which his disciple Eunapios of Sardis wrote. It forms the conclusion of Eunapios' work Life Descriptions of the Philosophers and the Sophists . In this work Eunapios paints a vivid, detailed picture of the personality and way of thinking of his teacher. The Suda contains pieces of text about Chrysanthios, which come from the lost chronicle of Eunapios. Of the numerous works that Chrysanthios is said to have written (some of them still in old age), nothing has been preserved.

Life

Chrysanthios came from a very distinguished family in his hometown of Sardis in Asia Minor . His grandfather Innocentius had emerged as an influential legal writer. Chrysanthios lost his father at an early age. He went to Pergamon , where he became a student of the respected Neoplatonic philosopher Aidesios . Aidesios was a student of the famous Neo-Platonist Iamblichus and had opened his own school after his death. Chrysanthios' classmates in Pergamon included the philosophers Maximos of Ephesus , Eusebios of Myndos and Priskos . In addition to the teachings of Plato and Aristotle , which were interpreted in the neo-Platonic sense, religious practices ( theurgy ) were also taught. Chrysanthios also studied rhetoric .

In 351, the future emperor Julian visited Aidesios after hearing his fame. At first Julian took part in the lessons of the elderly Aidesios and was enthusiastic about it, but later, because of his advanced age, Aidesios assigned the task of teaching Julian to his students Chrysanthios and Eusebios; Maximos was then in Ephesus, Priscos in Greece. So Chrysanthios became the teacher of this prominent philosophy student. After a while Julian went to Ephesus to continue his training there with Maximos. At Maximos' request, Chrysanthios moved to Ephesus in order to continue to be available as a teacher for Julian. The study of Neoplatonic religious philosophy created the ideological basis for Julian's turning away from Christianity, which took place in these years; nominally he was still a Christian.

After he came to power, Julian, who was now striving to renew the old religion on a Neoplatonic basis, wanted his former teachers to be around him. He brought Maximos to his court; Chrysanthios, however, declined the emperor's invitation. He could not be changed, but stayed in his hometown of Sardis, where he gave lessons. Julian appointed him high priest ( archiereús ) of the province of Lydia , whose capital was Sardis, and empowered him to appoint the priests there. Chrysantios only used the powers associated with this office cautiously and discreetly, since he did not want to provoke the Christians, because he assessed the power relations realistically and expected that the Christians would ultimately prevail again.

Chrysanthios had a son with his wife Melite, whom he gave the name of his teacher Aidesios. His disciple and biographer Eunapios, who was a cousin of Melite, praises Chrysanthios' and Melite's philosophical attitudes towards the untimely death of their gifted son, who died at the age of about twenty. Eunapios, who had been trained by Chrysanthios since childhood, stayed in his environment until the death of his teacher and friend. The most famous students of Chrysanthios were Beronikianos of Sardis and Epigonos of Sparta, who continued teaching in Sardis after his death.

Eunapios praised Chrysanthios' abilities and virtues, which corresponded to the traditional ideal of a philosopher. This included a simple lifestyle, modest demeanor, sociability, circumspection and serenity, a frank, straightforward demeanor, skill in philosophical discussion and an excellent education. In addition, it can be inferred from the words of Eunapios that Chrysanthios shared the aversion of the Priscus to philosophical controversy.

Source edition

• Giuseppe Giangrande (ed.): Eunapii vitae sophistarum . Istituto poligrafico dello stato, Rome 1956

literature

• Richard Goulet: Chrysanthios de Sardes . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 2, CNRS, Paris 1994, ISBN 2-271-05195-9 , pp. 320–323
• Robert J. Penella: Greek Philosophers and Sophists in the Fourth Century AD Studies in Eunapius of Sardis . Francis Cairns, Leeds 1990, ISBN 0-905205-79-0

Web links

• Eunapios on Chrysanthios (English translation)

Remarks

1. ↑ For the chronology see Adolf Lippold : Iulianus (Kaiser) . In: Reallexikon für Antike und Christianentum , Vol. 19, Stuttgart 2001, Sp. 442–483, here: 446–448.
2. ↑ See Garth Fowden: The Platonist philosopher and his circle in late antiquity , in: ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑ 7, 1977, pp. 359–383, here: 378f.
3. ^ Richard Goulet: Chrysanthios de Sardes . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 2, Paris 1994, pp. 320–323, here: 321; Garth Fowden: The pagan holy man in late antique society . In: Journal of Hellenic Studies 102, 1982, pp. 33–59, here: 53.
4. ↑ Richard Goulet: Béronicianus de Sardis . In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Vol. 2, Paris 1994, pp. 94f.
5. ^ Robert J. Penella: Greek Philosophers and Sophists in the Fourth Century AD Studies in Eunapius of Sardis , Leeds 1990, pp. 71, 77.