Philostratus the Younger
Philostratus the Younger is one of antiquity's most elusive figures. He flourished somewhere in the third century AD, a sophist operating in the Roman imperial world, and he left behind a single known work: a second series of texts called the Imagines. The questions that linger around him are surprisingly tangled. Was he the same man who served as archon of Athens in 255 AD? Who exactly was his grandfather, and how does that grandfather connect to the most celebrated sophist of the era? And why did he open his own book by praising another man's writing? Those questions lead directly into a family web of rhetoric and literary ambition.
In the preface to his Imagines, Philostratus the Younger singles out his mother's father for praise. That grandfather, who wrote the first series of Imagines, is most commonly identified as Philostratus of Lemnos. Philostratus of Lemnos was himself the son-in-law of Philostratus of Athens, the famous sophist whose reputation dominated the period. Three writers sharing variants of the same name, connected by blood and marriage across two generations, have left scholars sorting out who wrote what for centuries. Philostratus the Younger is also known by the name Philostratus of Lemnos, a label that further blurs the lines between him and his grandfather, since both men apparently carried that geographical designation.
The second series of Imagines, the only work attributed to Philostratus the Younger, has not come down to us complete. Scholars working from the surviving portions, along with editions stretching back to Arthur Fairbanks's translated text and the Latin editions of C. L. Kayser published in 1870-71, have assembled what they can. The Imagines as a form involves descriptions of paintings or artworks, and the grandfather's first series established the template that the younger writer then extended. The preface, where Philostratus the Younger honors his grandfather's version, is one of the clearest pieces of evidence connecting the two works and the two men.
Scholars place the composition of the Imagines somewhere between 250 and 300 AD, a range of half a century that reflects genuine uncertainty about the author's biography. If the earlier end of that range is correct, the writer may be the same Philostratus who held the office of archon of Athens in 255 AD. The archonship was a prestigious civic post in Athens, and the identification would give him a concrete public role beyond the page. Neither the identification nor its rejection is certain; the dating of the work is the only known activity of this author, leaving the archon theory as a plausible but unconfirmed thread.
Common questions
Who was Philostratus the Younger?
Philostratus the Younger was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period who flourished in the third century AD. He is also known as Philostratus of Lemnos and is the author of a second series of texts called the Imagines, which does not survive in complete form.
What did Philostratus the Younger write?
Philostratus the Younger wrote a second series of Imagines, a work involving descriptions of artworks. It is the only known activity of this author, and it does not survive completely.
How is Philostratus the Younger related to Philostratus of Athens?
Philostratus the Younger's mother's father is identified as Philostratus of Lemnos, who was the son-in-law of the famous sophist Philostratus of Athens. This makes Philostratus of Athens the great-grandfather by marriage of Philostratus the Younger.
When did Philostratus the Younger write the Imagines?
The dating of the Imagines varies between 250 and 300 AD. If the earlier date is correct, the author may be the same Philostratus who served as archon of Athens in 255 AD.
Was Philostratus the Younger the archon of Athens?
He may have been. Scholars note that if the Imagines was written closer to 250 AD, the author could be identified with a Philostratus who held the archonship of Athens in 255 AD. The identification remains unconfirmed.
Who translated the Imagines of Philostratus the Younger into English?
Arthur Fairbanks produced an English translation of the Imagines. His edition, published by William Heinemann and G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1931, covers pages 281-368 of the Philostratus volume.