Damianus (sophist)

Damianus (Ancient Greek: Δαμιανός, fl. 2nd century AD) was a member of the Second Sophistic who lived in Ephesus. He is best known as a source for Philostratus, the author of Lives of the Sophists, for his biographies of Aelius Aristides and Adrianus,[1] as well as being a philanthropolist in his home town.

He was born to a wealthy and distinguished family, and was a student of Aristides and Adrianus. As a sophist, Damianus not only taught in Ephesus, but he provided funds to support the city's poor and contributed funds to restore public buildings.[2] Notable buildings include an elaborate marble portico to connect the city to the Temple of Artemis, and a large dining hall in the sanctuary of the Temple.[3]

Damianus married the daughter of Publius Vedius Antoninus, a leading decurion of Ephesus; their descendants became members of the Roman Senate, including three consuls and two wives of consuls.[4]

References
  1. Lives of the Sophists, II.23.4
  2. G.W. Bowersock, Greek Sophists in the Roman Empire (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), p. 27
  3. Bowersock, Greek Sophists, p. 28
  4. Bowersock, Greek Sophists,p. 47
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