does not present a Festus who is corrupted later in his career, but rather portrays him as bloodthirsty from the beginning when he took the position of consularis Syriae . Libanius describes him as an idiot and a man who knew no Greek (the two being synonymous for the Latin-loathing Libanius), and accuses him of plotting with Libanius’ enemy Eubulus in return for a luxurious feast ( or . 1.156). Festus managed to disrupt Libanius’ public orations, but he failed in his attempt to destroy the orator by connecting him to the supposed crimes of a certain Martyrius. The prosecution of this otherwise unknown man is reminiscent of the prosecutions that Ammianus described as common during Festus’ administration as proconsul. Martyrius’ weakness for wrestling apparently led him to dabble in magic in an attempt to hinder a competitor, and Libanius claims that Festus, in a private meeting with the emperor Valens, attempted to link both him and the historian Eutropius to this sorcery.
Festus is attacked even more harshly by Eunapius, who portrays him as madman with the soul of a butcher, and a persecutor of pagans ( Lives 480–1). Eunapius blames Festus for many beheadings, including that of the philosopher Maximus of Ephesus, the friend of Julian. Eunapius also relates the story of the death of Festus, which he claims to have witnessed himself. After leaving office, he married a wealthy woman of Asia, and decided to try to pacify the enemies he had made through his conduct by holding a lavish banquet for nobles and office-holders. After many had agreed to attend his party, Festus made the error of entering the temple of the goddess Nemesis, although he was not a pagan and had punished pagans with death. He described to those in the temple an ominous dream he had had in which his victim Maximus had dragged him by the neck to be judged by Pluto. Although Festus followed the advice of those in the temple and offered prayers to Nemesis, on his way out of the sanctuary he slipped on the pavement and fell on his back,expiring soon after. Eunapius found this end to be a particularly satisfying example of the justice of the gods.
Text and translation
Latin text edited by J.W. Eadie (1967). There is no English translation, but there is the French translation of M.-P. Arnaud-Lindet (1994), Budé.
5
EUNAPIUS
Life
Eunapius was the author of two works which have come down to us in part or entire. The Nea Ekdosis (New Edition) of the History after Dexippus of Eunapius of Sardis is fragmentary, but his other work, the Lives of Philosophers and Sophists , is extant. It is from this second work that we can retrieve some information about the historian’s life.
Eunapius was a native of Sardis, a city in Asia Minor, and spent most of his life there. The sophist Chrysanthius, a relative by marriage ( Lives 477), was one of his early teachers. At age 15 he sailed to the “university town” of Athens ( Lives 485), suffering greatly from illness along the way, and he studied there for several years with the Christian sophist Prohaeresius. At Athens he was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries ( Lives 475). He considered a trip to Egypt after his stay in Athens, but his parents compelled him to return home ( Lives 493). Returning at age 19 to Sardis ( Lives 461), he taught rhetoric in the morning and studied philosophy with Chrysanthius in the afternoon. He witnessed the death of Festus in Smyrna in 380 ( Lives 481) but there is otherwise no evidence of his leaving Sardis as an adult. He published part of his history before turning to the Lives , a collection of anecdotal biographies about sophists who were active primarily in the fourth century. After the publication of this biographical work in 399 (Banchich 1984), Eunapius returned to his historical work and published a second edition, with changes and additions.
Robert J. Penella (1990: 2–4) and Thomas Banchich (1987) have provided a reliable chronology of the major events of
Festus is attacked even more harshly by Eunapius, who portrays him as madman with the soul of a butcher, and a persecutor of pagans ( Lives 480–1). Eunapius blames Festus for many beheadings, including that of the philosopher Maximus of Ephesus, the friend of Julian. Eunapius also relates the story of the death of Festus, which he claims to have witnessed himself. After leaving office, he married a wealthy woman of Asia, and decided to try to pacify the enemies he had made through his conduct by holding a lavish banquet for nobles and office-holders. After many had agreed to attend his party, Festus made the error of entering the temple of the goddess Nemesis, although he was not a pagan and had punished pagans with death. He described to those in the temple an ominous dream he had had in which his victim Maximus had dragged him by the neck to be judged by Pluto. Although Festus followed the advice of those in the temple and offered prayers to Nemesis, on his way out of the sanctuary he slipped on the pavement and fell on his back,expiring soon after. Eunapius found this end to be a particularly satisfying example of the justice of the gods.
Text and translation
Latin text edited by J.W. Eadie (1967). There is no English translation, but there is the French translation of M.-P. Arnaud-Lindet (1994), Budé.
5
EUNAPIUS
Life
Eunapius was the author of two works which have come down to us in part or entire. The Nea Ekdosis (New Edition) of the History after Dexippus of Eunapius of Sardis is fragmentary, but his other work, the Lives of Philosophers and Sophists , is extant. It is from this second work that we can retrieve some information about the historian’s life.
Eunapius was a native of Sardis, a city in Asia Minor, and spent most of his life there. The sophist Chrysanthius, a relative by marriage ( Lives 477), was one of his early teachers. At age 15 he sailed to the “university town” of Athens ( Lives 485), suffering greatly from illness along the way, and he studied there for several years with the Christian sophist Prohaeresius. At Athens he was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries ( Lives 475). He considered a trip to Egypt after his stay in Athens, but his parents compelled him to return home ( Lives 493). Returning at age 19 to Sardis ( Lives 461), he taught rhetoric in the morning and studied philosophy with Chrysanthius in the afternoon. He witnessed the death of Festus in Smyrna in 380 ( Lives 481) but there is otherwise no evidence of his leaving Sardis as an adult. He published part of his history before turning to the Lives , a collection of anecdotal biographies about sophists who were active primarily in the fourth century. After the publication of this biographical work in 399 (Banchich 1984), Eunapius returned to his historical work and published a second edition, with changes and additions.
Robert J. Penella (1990: 2–4) and Thomas Banchich (1987) have provided a reliable chronology of the major events of
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