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--- roman:roman-period [2013/10/06 16:19] – [Philo] fredmond
+++ roman:roman-period [2018/08/30 21:28] (current) – [Albinus] 71.239.61.108
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 [[roman:aelian|Aelian Page]]
-===== Albinus =====
+===== Albinus (or Alkinus) =====
 Platonist philosopher, who lived at Smyrna, and was teacher of Galen. A short tract by him, entitled __Introduction to Plato's Dialogues__, has come down to us. From the title of one of the extant manuscripts we learn that Albinus was a pupil of Gaius the Platonist. The original title of his work was probably __Prologos__, and it may have originally formed the initial section of notes taken at the lectures of Gaius. After explaining the nature of the Dialogue, which he compares to a Drama, the writer goes on to divide the __Dialogues__ of Plato into four classes, logical, critical, physical, ethical, and mentions another division of them into Tetralogies, according to their subjects. He advises that the Alcibiades, Phaedo, Republic, and Timaeus, should be read in a series.
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 ===== Philostratus the Elder =====
+Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. He was probably a nephew of the sophist Philostratus of Athens, and is credited with two books formerly attributed to his uncle.
 [[roman:philostratus_elder|Philostratus the Elder Page]]
 ===== Philostratus the Younger =====
+Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. He was author of the second series of __Imagines__, which does not survive completely; in the preface, he praises his mother's father, who wrote the first series of __Imagines__; this is presumably the author more commonly referred to as Philostratus of Lemnos, who himself was the son-in-law of the famous sophist Philostratus of Athens. The dating of this work, the only known activity of its author, varies between 250 and 300 AD; if the earlier date is correct, this Philostratus may well be the same man who was archon of Athens in 255 AD.
 [[roman:philostratus_younger|Philostratus the Younger Page]]
 ===== Plutarch =====
+Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his __Parallel Lives__ and __Moralia__. He is considered today to be a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's best-known work is the __Parallel Lives__, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving Lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek Life and one Roman Life, as well as four unpaired single Lives. The remainder of Plutarch's surviving work is collected under the title of the __Moralia__ (loosely translated as Customs and Mores). It is an eclectic collection of seventy-eight essays and transcribed speeches, which includes __On Fraternal Affection__—a discourse on honour and affection of siblings toward each other, __On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great__—an important adjunct to his Life of the great king, __On the Worship of Isis and Osiris__ (a crucial source of information on Egyptian religious rites), along with more philosophical treatises, such as __On the Decline of the Oracles__, __On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance__, __On Peace of Mind__ and lighter fare, such as __Odysseus and Gryllus__, a humorous dialogue between Homer's Odysseus and one of Circe's enchanted pigs. The __Moralia__ was composed first, while writing the __Lives__ occupied much of the last two decades of Plutarch's own life.
 [[roman:plutarch|Plutarch Page]]
 ===== Poseidonius =====
+Greek Stoic philosopher, politician, astronomer, geographer, historian and teacher native to Apamea, Syria. He was acclaimed as the greatest polymath of his age. His vast body of work exists today only in fragments.
 [[roman:poseidonius|Poseidonius Page]]
 ===== Ptolemy =====
+Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, at least three of which were of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the __Almagest__ (in Greek, Ἡ Μεγάλη Σύνταξις, "The Great Treatise", originally Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις, "Mathematical Treatise"). The second is the __Geography__, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known sometimes in Greek as the __Apotelesmatika__ (Ἀποτελεσματικά), more commonly in Greek as the __Tetrabiblos__ (Τετράβιβλος "Four books"), and in Latin as the __Quadripartitum__ (or four books) in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.
 [[roman:ptolemy|Ptolemy Page]]
 ===== Sibylline Oracles =====
+Collection of oracular utterances written in Greek hexameters ascribed to the Sibyls, prophetesses who uttered divine revelations in a frenzied state. Fourteen books and eight fragments of __Sibylline Oracles__ survive. These are a collection of utterances that were composed or edited under various circumstances, probably between the 2nd century AD and the 6th century AD, and are not to be confused with the original __Sibylline Books__ of ancient Roman religion which are now lost. The __Sibylline Oracles__ are a valuable source for information about Classical mythology and early first millennium Gnostic, Jewish and Christian beliefs. Some apocalyptic passages scattered throughout seem to adumbrate themes of John's __Book of Revelation__ and other Apocalyptic literature. In places the oracles have also undergone extensive editing, re-writing, and redaction, as they came to be exploited in wider circles.
 [[roman:sibylline_oracles|Sibylline Oracles Page]]
 ===== Strabo =====
+Greek geographer, philosopher and historian. Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus (modern Amasya, Turkey). Strabo's life was characterized by extensive travels. He journeyed to Egypt and Kush, as far west as coastal Tuscany and as far south as Ethiopia in addition to his travels in Asia Minor and time spent in Rome. Travel throughout the Mediterranean and Near East, especially for scholarly purposes, was popular during this era and was facilitated by the relative peace enjoyed throughout the reign of Augustus (27 BC – AD 14). It is not known precisely when Strabo's __Geography__ was written, though comments within the work itself place the finished version within the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Some place its first drafts around 7 AD, others around 18 AD. The latest passage to which a date can be assigned is his reference to the death in AD 23 of Juba II, king of Maurousia (Mauretania), who is said to have died "just recently". He probably worked on the Geography for many years and revised it steadily, not always consistently. On the presumption that "recently" means within a year, Strabo stopped writing that year or the next (24 AD), when he died. The first of Strabo's major works, __Historical Sketches__ (Historica hypomnemata), written while he was in Rome (ca. 20 BC), is nearly completely lost. Meant to cover the history of the known world from the conquest of Greece by the Romans.
 [[roman:strabo|Strabo Page]]