Who was Callistratus the sophist?
Callistratus was a Greek sophist and rhetorician who probably lived in the 3rd or 4th century CE. He is known entirely through his one surviving work, the Ekphraseis.
Questions about Callistratus (sophist)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the Ekphraseis by Callistratus?
The Ekphraseis, also known in Latin as the Statuarum descriptiones, is a collection of fourteen written descriptions of sculptures in stone and brass. Callistratus calls the artists behind these works distinguished.
When did Callistratus write the Ekphraseis?
Callistratus probably flourished in the 3rd century CE, though the exact date is uncertain and some scholars place him in the 4th century. No biographical dates from his life are known.
How does Callistratus relate to Philostratus and the Eikones?
Callistratus built his Ekphraseis by imitating the formal method of Philostratus's Eikones. Editors have consistently published the two collections together in standard critical editions.
What are the major scholarly editions of the Ekphraseis by Callistratus?
Major editions include C. Schenkl and E. Reisch's 1902 Teubner edition and Arthur Fairbanks's 1931 Loeb Classical Library translation with English text. Balbina Bäbler and Heinz-Günther Nesselrath published Ars et verba in 2006 with K. G. Saur in Munich and Leipzig. That volume includes a German introduction and an archaeological commentary on the text.
What does the 2006 volume Le défi de l'art say about Callistratus?
Le défi de l'art was published by Michel Costantini, Françoise Graziani, and Stéphane Rolet at the Presses Universitaires de Rennes in 2006. Its subtitle, Philostrate, Callistrate et l'image sophistique, groups Callistratus with Philostratus in the sophistic image tradition.